The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into a challenging offseason where they have plenty of notable UFAs with little money to spend on.
The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into a challenging offseason where they have plenty of notable UFAs with little money to spend on.
The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into a challenging offseason where they have plenty of notable UFAs with little money to spend on.
The notable UFAs the Golden Knights have are Jonathan Marchessault, Anthony Mantha, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio and Alec Martinez. The Golden Knights also have one pending RFA on the current roster which is Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak is another RFA who won't be waiver exempt next season. With Robin Lehner on the LTIR and Brendan Brisson in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon will only have $6,772,516 to sign players.
McCrimmon has never been afraid to trade for players or let go of players if they aren't going to help him win but this offseason he'll have his hands full. Marchessault is a fan favourite in Vegas. He leads the franchise in goals, assists and points but there is a strong possibility that he won't be with the team next year.
The two main factors are the money he'll command and his age. At 33 years old, Marchessault can make over $6M on the open market. Giving him that contract will leave the team with little money to fill out the rest of the roster.
Stephenson and Mantha are likely too costly for the Golden Knights as well. Stephenson is a 30-year-old speedy forward that teams would love to sign. Despite getting healthy scratched from Game 4 to 7, Mantha will be a sought-after player in free agency. He has all the physical tools to be an effective winger on a good NHL team.
With his age, Martinez has lost a step but could he could be a player the Golden Knights possibly resign if he's willing to accept a low salary with little term.
Amadio and Carrier are depth forwards that the Golden Knights have cherished having on the roster but with the many big contracts they've given out, it might be hard for the Golden Knights to bring them back.
Dorofeyev is a candidate to return because of his RFA status. At 23 years old he's played just 67 career NHL games but has shown signs of being an effective middle six winger.
The Golden Knights have four draft picks in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. They have a first-round pick, a sixth-round pick and two seventh-round picks.
The Golden Knights have a roster of players in the midst of the primes like Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Shea Theodore, Adin Hill, Logan Thompson and Ivan Barbashev. Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson also still have a few prime years of their career. The Golden Knights still have the roster to win a Stanley Cup but they'll need to sign efficient contracts in the offseason to prolong their window.
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