Salary-cap deep dive: Vegas Golden Knights

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vegas Golden Knights

Current Cap Hit: $81,537,439 (over the $81.5M Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Peyton Krebs ($863K through 2023-24)

Potential Bonuses: $412.5K

Krebs, a 2019 first-rounder, got a brief NHL look late last season and held his own.  He may have to wait to get a look this coming season – there will be roster limitations again when everyone is healthy – but if their summer acquisitions to bolster their center depth don’t pan out as hoped, Krebs should get a legitimate opportunity soon after.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Sven Baertschi ($750K, UFA)
D Jake Bischoff ($717K, UFA)
D Nicolas Hague ($792K, RFA)
F Brett Howden ($885K, RFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($2M, UFA)
F Keegan Kolesar ($725K, RFA)
D Brayden McNabb ($2.5M, UFA)
F Nicolas Roy ($750K, RFA)
F Reilly Smith ($5M, UFA)
D Zach Whitecloud ($725K, RFA)

Smith has been a fixture in Vegas’ top six for the past four seasons but saw his production drop off considerably last season. His first three years provided good value for the Golden Knights but a similar showing in 2021-22 could result in his market value taking a dip. As it stands, they may have a hard time being able to retain Smith beyond this contract.  

Janmark was a surprise re-signing in that he was expected to get more elsewhere but instead opted to take a below-market deal to stay with Vegas. If Smith does leave, Janmark could be one of the beneficiaries with some of that money going to him for 2022-23 and beyond.  

Roy stepped into a bigger role last season and could double his current AAV next summer with a similar showing while Howden, another center in that mix, will need to play closer to his first two seasons if he wants any kind of sizable raise.  

Kolesar and Baertschi are both low-cost roster pieces and Vegas will need to have a few of those beyond this season.

McNabb is the only defenseman remaining in Vegas that was directly selected in expansion. He doesn’t put up the offensive numbers to command top dollar but solid stay-at-home blueliners have checked in over $3.5M in recent years. That’s certainly achievable if he makes it to the open market.  

Hague had a nice first full NHL season on the third pairing but with their depth and cap situation, he’s probably in a similar role this coming season and looking at a cheap one-year deal next summer to preserve short-term flexibility.  

Whitecloud isn’t as established but unlike Hague will have arbitration rights in the offseason to help him in negotiations, where he could push to double his AAV. 

Bischoff is tied for the lowest AAV in the entire league which will have him in the mix at times as well.

Two Years Remaining

G Laurent Brossoit ($2.325M, UFA)
F Evgenii Dadonov ($5M, UFA)
F Max Pacioretty ($7M, UFA)

Pacioretty eclipsed the point per game mark for the first time in his career last season while leading the Golden Knights in goals for the second straight season. As long as that’s happening, they’ll be happy with his contract.  

Dadonov was one of the more puzzling trades of the summer. Yes, he has helped on the power play in the past which is an area of concern but using a big chunk of cap space from the Marc-Andre Fleury trade on a winger who struggled last season is certainly a risk.

Brossoit has had two strong seasons out of the last three but in the middle was a particularly tough showing. In all three, playing time was limited. His career-high in games played in a single season is only 21. That led to him landing a cheaper deal than more proven backups. If Brossoit picks up where he left off in Winnipeg and can play a few more games, though, he’s still young enough (28) to land a bigger deal two years from now.

Three Years Remaining

F William Carrier ($1.4M, UFA)
F Jonathan Marchessault ($5M, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($5.35M, UFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($2.75M, UFA)

Marchessault has more than proven that his breakout year in Florida was no fluke as he has been a key piece of the Vegas attack for all four seasons. That price tag for someone playing at greater than a 50-point pace is a pretty good return. 

It’s not quite as good of a return as having a top-six center making third line money which is what they have in Stephenson. Leaving Washington has allowed him to become a reliable two-way second liner and a core player for them in the process.  

Carrier doesn’t produce a lot but is an effective role player with plenty of sandpaper and those are the fourth liners that often get paid in free agency. Vegas could fill that spot with someone cheaper if they had to but Carrier brings an element few others up front do.