Golden Knights Acquire Chandler Stephenson

Tuesday: The deal has official gone through. Vegas acquired Stephenson in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Monday: The Capitals and Golden Knights appear to be nearing an agreement on a trade involving Washington center Chandler Stephenson, according to reports from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link) and TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).

Stephenson is in his third full season as an NHL player but his hold on a roster spot has been tenuous at best.  He has played in 24 games with the Caps this season, recording three goals and an assist while averaging just shy of 12 minutes per night.  With a $1.05MM cap hit, he costs a fair bit more than the players making the $700K league minimum and with the Capitals being extremely tight to the salary cap, a prorated few hundred thousand can make a big difference.  Winger Carl Hagelin is nearing a return from LTIR which is providing an impetus to make a move to free up a bit of cap room.

As for what may interest Vegas in the 25-year-old, center Cody Eakin is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, creating an opening on the penalty kill which is an area that Stephenson can help in as he regularly kills penalties with Washington.  The Golden Knights are currently in action so any move won’t likely be announced until after the conclusion of their game.