With Alex Pietrangelo’s playing career likely over, the Golden Knights have a big hole to fill on their back end but beyond swapping Nicolas Hague for Jeremy Lauzon (and center Colton Sissons), Vegas hasn’t made any other moves on the blueline. It doesn’t appear that will change either. In an interview for The Athletic with Pierre LeBrun (subscription link), GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated that he thinks his roster is set for the upcoming season. He feels confident that Kaedan Korczak is now ready to step up and be a full-time regular after being more of a depth player through his first few NHL seasons. He also singled out veteran Ben Hutton, a frequent scratch last season, as someone who is capable of stepping up into a bigger role. More than $7.6MM over the cap already (before factoring in Pietrangelo’s eventual LTIR placement) per PuckPedia, there just isn’t much wiggle room for the Golden Knights to try to add to their back end even if McCrimmon was inclined to try to make another move.
More from the West:
- After a successful KHL season, winger Vitali Kravtsov surprised some with his decision to sign a two-way deal with the Canucks over the summer. Speaking with Alexey Shevchenko of Sport-Express, he discussed his departure from Traktor while also noting that he won’t be looking to return home should he make it through waivers unclaimed and be sent to the AHL. Kravtsov had 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 KHL contests last season.
- After spending last season on a two-way deal with the Flames before being non-tendered back in June, goaltender Connor Murphy will remain in the organization on a different contract. Their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, recently announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year deal. The 27-year-old struggled in limited action with the Wranglers last season but had a 2.54 GAA and a .922 SV% in 15 outings with them in 2023-24. He’ll battle for a spot with them in training camp but could also land with ECHL Rapid City for the upcoming season.