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Golden Knights Sign Carter Hart To Two-Year Deal

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Oct. 25: The Golden Knights have registered the contract, PuckPedia reports.  The deal carries a $1.45MM signing bonus this season with a league-minimum salary of $775K.  In 2026-27, Hart will make $1.775MM in salary with no signing bonus.

Oct. 24: Vegas will be converting Hart’s tryout into a two-year contract as expected. It’ll be worth $4MM with an average annual value of $2MM, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.

Oct. 16, 12:31 p.m.: The Golden Knights announced that Hart will be joining the organization, although there isn’t a guaranteed contract yet – he’ll begin his work on a tryout with AHL Henderson, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. Vegas’ full statement is as follows:

Following the reinstatement decision agreed on by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, goaltender Carter Hart will be joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization. The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision. We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception and expect that our players will continue to meet these standards moving forward.

Oct. 16, 8:30 a.m.: The Vegas Golden Knights are nearing a deal with free agent netminder Carter Hart, insider Frank Seravalli reported on his Victory+ show yesterday. Seravalli said, “I’d expect Hart’s deal to be two years,” a bit north of the league-minimum salary.

Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson seconded Seravalli’s report and provided a little more detail, stating that Hart’s deal is expected to be a two-year, $1.8MM AAV pact. Hart, who Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver reps, became eligible to sign an NHL contract yesterday but is not eligible to play until December 1st.

That Hart isn’t eligible to play until December is notable given a recent injury to starter Adin Hill during the team’s road win against the Calgary Flames two days ago. There has been no further update on Hill’s status, but since Hart remains ineligible to play for the next month and a half, the Golden Knights will have to look elsewhere to reinforce their position in the crease should Hill miss any time.

While no deal with Hart has been officially announced to this point, Vegas’ interest in Hart has been widely reported, even going back to September, when The Athletic’s Chris Johnston called the team a front-runner to secure the netminder’s services.

It was reported earlier that month that Hart would receive interest from multiple NHL teams, which is notable as the other four Hockey Canada players acquitted of charges this summer in connection to an alleged sexual assault have been met with more muted NHL interest.

Center Michael McLeod was at one point expected to sign a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, but ultimately agreed on a three-year extension with Avangard Omsk of the KHL, the side he played for in 2024-25.

A month ago, Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios commented that both his organization and forward Alex Formenton agreed that “a fresh start” would be the best option for both sides. Still, thus far, Formenton hasn’t been able to secure another NHL team to play for. He is currently playing out a four-month contract (that contains an option to extend for the rest of the 2025-26 season) with Swiss National League side HC Ambri-Piotta.

The final two players involved in this past summer’s trial, defenseman Cal Foote and forward Dillon Dube, remain free agents. Foote spent 2024-25 with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas of the Slovak Extraliga, while Dube played for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. There has not yet been much reporting indicating serious NHL interest in either player. The only notable report that was issued regarding either player came from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, who noted that the Toronto Maple Leafs would not be interested in signing Dube.

As a result, it appears Hart is, by far, the most likely candidate of this group of players to receive an NHL contract in the short-term future. Hart is also, among the group, arguably its most accomplished NHL player.

The 27-year-old was once one of the more promising goalies in the sport, playing to solid results (.906 career save percentage across 227 games) for the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Flyers mostly struggled during Hart’s tenure, especially later on, he did backstop them on one playoff run, posting a .926 save percentage in 14 games during the 2019-20 season. That Flyers team fell in seven games to the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In Vegas, Hart would potentially have the opportunity to get a real chance to play games for one of the NHL’s leading Stanley Cup contenders. The Golden Knights, who currently sit first in the Pacific Division with a 2-0-2 record, are loaded with high-end veteran talent, including center Jack Eichel, defenseman Shea Theodore, and wingers Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.

Hill, the team’s starter, backstopped the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2023, but the 29-year-old doesn’t have an extensive resume as a number-one goalie. While he started to achieve real success on a Stanley Cup-winning team, he has also made 50 starts in a season just once in his career.

Whether Hart has a path to being Vegas’ long-term number-one goalie is unclear at this stage.

Hill was signed to a six-year, $6.25MM AAV contract extension in March, signaling the Golden Knights’ commitment to him as their top netminder moving forward. But the Golden Knights have shown a willingness to make aggressive moves to maximize their competitive chances in the past, especially in net, such as when they acquired and extended netminder Robin Lehner despite the presence of Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury on their roster.

As a result, assuming Hart does sign in Vegas, and assuming he can play well upon his return to the NHL, a potential long-term future in Vegas cannot be counted out, even though Hill has signed that hefty extension. If the Golden Knights feel, down the line, that Hart gives them the best chance to win long-term, everything they have done and accomplished as an organization thus far suggests they won’t hesitate to re-sign Hart, even with Hill signed. Worth noting here is that under the reported terms of Hart’s expected contract (two years, $1.8MM AAV), Hart would become eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1st.

Bringing that up may be getting a little bit ahead of things, though, as the reality is Hart has not played competitive hockey since he left the Flyers in January of 2024. While he was once seen as a promising young netminder, it’s difficult to project how a player will perform, especially a goalie, after missing so much time. The Golden Knights, though, based on all of the available reporting, clearly believe in Hart’s NHL future, and appear poised to sign a two-year contract with the player that reflects that belief.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Golden Knights Place Mark Stone On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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Oct. 23: Stone’s IR placement has turned into an LTIR placement, per PuckPedia. They were short on cap space after recalling Carl Lindbom and Jaycob Megna from AHL Henderson on Wednesday, so this was the expected outcome. With an additional $3.82MM in their LTIR pool, they now have just under $2.5MM in cap space following the recalls. Since the placement is retroactive to Oct. 18 and he needs to miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he’s eligible to return, the soonest he’ll be back is Nov. 13 against the Islanders.

Oct. 21: Stone landed on injured reserve last night, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s purely a formality; a week-to-week designation ensured he’d missed the seven days required for IR. Vegas now has an open roster spot, but there’s only $310,275 remaining in their LTIR pool, according to PuckPedia. That doesn’t leave them enough room to make a corresponding recall unless they play short a skater for a game, allowing them to use an emergency exception and temporarily exceed the cap by recalling a player with a cap hit of $875,000 or less.

Oct. 20: Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that winger Mark Stone is out week-to-week with a wrist injury in a Monday press conference, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Stone fell face-first into the boards and briefly returned to the locker room in Vegas’ Thursday win over the Boston Bruins. He remained in the lineup and scored four points in Saturday’s win over the Calgary Flames, but appeared to take another awkward fall midway through the third period, also captured by Granger.

It’s not clear if either fall is connected to Stone’s injury. He’ll be forced out of the short term, leaving Vegas with a big hole in their top six. Stone ranks second on the team and across the NHL, scoring 13 points in six games. He has found a comfortable role next to scoring leader Jack Eichel and winger Ivan Barbashev, forming a top line that’s outscored opponents five-to-three at even-strength.

Stone has long been among Vegas’ best players but struggles with routine injury. He has missed 170 games across six full seasons with the Golden Knights, or roughly 35 percent of a possible 492 games. He’s also averaged 26 goals and 80 points per 82 games played in that period. That productivity and a lofty impact on defense make Stone a standout whenever he’s in the lineup. Now, Vegas will have to push through at least a few games without that difference-maker.

In Stone’s absence, Vegas will likely turn towards Brandon Saad or Reilly Smith to fill a top-six winger role. Smith has one point, while Saad hasn’t scored through six games this season. More pressingly, Stone’s absence should give Shea Theodore a chance to return to the top power-play unit. Vegas has been operating with five forwards on their top unit, thanks to Pavel Dorofeyev’s five power-play points to start the year. That’s left Theodore with just five minutes of ice time and no scoring on the power-play. Vegas could also turn towards William Karlsson, who has one power-play point and three total points in six games.

Adin Hill Out Week-to-Week

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  • The Vegas Golden Knights recalled netminder Carl Lindbom today as part of their response to the injury suffered by starting goalie Adin Hill, and it was confirmed today by head coach Bruce Cassidy that Hill would be out on a week-to-week basis. (Report via Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal) Cassidy added that Hill won’t travel with the team on its road trip to Florida and North Carolina, a trip that concludes Oct. 31 with Vegas’ home game against the Colorado Avalanche. It’s an unfortunate development for Hill, who has played in five games so far this season to a .888 save percentage and 2.73 goals-against average.

Golden Knights Recall Carl Lindbom, Jaycob Megna

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The Golden Knights announced they’ve recalled goaltender Carl Lindbom and defenseman Jaycob Megna from AHL Henderson. They only had one open roster spot, and they created another by moving defenseman Noah Hanifin to injured reserve, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. With insufficient cap space, there’s another corresponding transaction still to come.

That move will likely be an IR/LTIR shift or placement. Right now, Mark Stone is on standard injured reserve and is week-to-week with a wrist injury. If they expect him to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, they can transfer him to LTIR, retroactive to Oct. 18, and increase their LTIR pool by roughly $3.5MM, given their current cap space ($310,275, per PuckPedia).

Lindbom’s recall indicates they expect Adin Hill to miss some time after he departed Monday’s game against the Hurricanes in the first period. It’s an apparent lower-body injury for Hill, who reacted awkwardly after flashing his left leg to make a save (video via B/R Open Ice). It was the second time in under a week that he’d left a start early due to injury. A retroactive IR placement would rule him out of Vegas’ next two games and make him eligible for activation on Oct. 28.

In the meantime, Lindbom gets the call from Henderson to man the Knights’ crease with Akira Schmid. While Carter Hart is with the team on a tryout, he’s ineligible to play until Dec. 1 as a result of his suspension following a not-guilty verdict in connection with a sexual assault charge. Until he’s a factor, Lindbom is an intriguing call-up option. The 22-year-old was a seventh-round pick back in 2021 but has quickly seen his stock rise following some standout performances in Sweden’s top two pro leagues. He arrived in North America last season and spent the year exclusively with Henderson, recording a .912 SV% and 2.65 GAA in 36 appearances. This year, he’s off to a pristine start with a 1.00 GAA and .958 SV% in two showings for the Silver Knights.

Any playing time would mean his NHL debut. While Schmid is undefeated in his four appearances, he doesn’t have overly inspiring numbers with a .899 SV% and 2.57 GAA. He hasn’t been a significant drag by any stretch, but has still allowed 0.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. With him and Hill both posting tepid numbers out of the gate, it would make sense to give one of their top prospects a look, but amid a tough road trip through Florida and Carolina, they may be hesitant to do so.

Megna arrives to give the Knights an extra defenseman on hand for their road trip. They were only rostering six healthy ones without Hanifin, who hasn’t played since the season opener because of an undisclosed injury. Since he’s already missed more than a week, he’s eligible for activation at any time.

The 33-year-old Megna signed a two-year, $1.6MM deal with Vegas in the offseason and cleared waivers a few weeks back on his way to Henderson. The veteran of 193 NHL games has an assist, six penalty minutes, and a plus-two rating through his first four appearances with the minor-league club. With No. 7 Ben Hutton playing well since being inserted into the lineup for Hanifin, it’s unlikely Megna will see action unless another injury pops up. Hutton has two assists and a plus-three rating through six games while averaging 15:54 of ice time per night.

Stone Left Saturday's Game Due To Apparent Wrist Injury

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  • Golden Knights winger Mark Stone left last night’s game with what looked to be a wrist injury. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters postgame including Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there was no immediate update and that they were hoping to know more information about the injury by Monday.  The captain has had a great start to the season, leading the league in assists with 11 through his first six games.

Mark Stone Leaves Game With Apparent Wrist Injury

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  • Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone left last night’s victory over the Calgary Flames with an apparent wrist injury, reports Mark Anderson of the Associated Press. According to Anderson, Stone left the ice midway through the third period, clearly dealing with something. After the game, head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have a further update on Stone’s status, but said they’d likely have more information to give on Monday. Stone, 33, ranks second in leaguewide scoring at the moment with 13 points in six games, and it’s worth noting that he has been injury prone for much of his NHL career. Stone hasn’t hit 70 games played in a season since 2018-19, and played in 66 games last season.

Adin Hill Leaves Game Due To Injury

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A rough sequence from tonight’s game in Calgary has dealt a blow to the Golden Knights. Vegas’ starting goaltender Adin Hill left after the first period due to a lower body injury, as noted by Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

First, Hill appeared shaken up due to a shot that knocked his mask off, but in the following scrum, the 29-year-old seemed bothered by a lower body ailment as well. Akira Schmid took the crease to start the second period for the Golden Knights.

As mentioned by Granger, Carter Hart will become eligible to sign with a team tomorrow, but will not be able to play until December. The Knights have been speculated as a possible fit in the past, and while the hope is certainly that Hill will not be sidelined for long, it will be interesting to follow what comes next.

Pacific Notes: Oilers, Sherwood, Kings, Golden Knights

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The Edmonton Oilers, who were hit by the injury bug out of the gate, have a number of players expected back soon. Mark Spector of Sportsnet shared today that Head Coach Kris Knoblauch “hopes” that Mattias Janmark and Alec Regula are set to return this weekend, Jake Walman next Thursday, and finally, Zach Hyman’s November 1st estimated return is still on track. 

Hyman originally suffered a very untimely major wrist injury in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, newcomer Andrew Mangiapane is off to a hot start with 2 goals, in the coveted seat of Connor McDavid’s wing. It will be interesting to see how the Oil work Hyman back into the lineup, along with the recent addition of Jack Roslovic. 

Walman and Janmark have both been out with undisclosed injuries not thought to be serious. Regula has appeared in both of the Oilers’ games to start the season, but is out tonight with yet another undisclosed injury. The 25-year-old was claimed off waivers from Boston last year, offering imposing size and a right handed shot, filling a bottom-pair role perhaps missed by the team since the departure of Vincent Desharnais. 

Elsewhere across the division:

  • In an article published by The Fourth Period earlier today, referencing word from their own David Pagnotta, Kiefer Sherwood and the Canucks have not begun contract discussions yet. A late-bloomer who established himself as a full-time NHLer with Nashville, Sherwood signed with Vancouver last season on a two-year deal and took another step, posting 40 points, and most notably, breaking the NHL single-season record for hits. Sherwood is a prototypical fourth liner in today’s game, and perhaps the club is feeling out his performance this year before they take next steps toward a considerable pay increase. 
  • The Kings have updates of their own; as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared on today’s episode of the FAN Hockey Show, that star Adrian Kempe wants to stay. Friedman said that talks had been in the $9-10MM range, but now, given the market explosion, it could go higher. The 29-year-old broke out in a steal of a 4-year deal at $5.5MM which finally ends this season. Additionally, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period also shared that the team is in no rush with an extension for young standout Brandt Clarke, as published today. Given such huge contracts given out to Luke Hughes and Lane Hutson, the Kings will be content to play the long game and see how Clarke’s season unfolds. 
  • SinBin.vegas noted tonight from the Golden Knights Insider Show, that forward Brett Howden will be out of tonight’s game in Calgary, and Cole Reinhardt will make his Vegas debut. It is not clear if it is an injury or scratch for Howden, who has one goal in the team’s first three games. Reinhardt signed a two-year deal coming over from the Senators, where he spent most time in the AHL, but notched two points in 17 games for the big club last year. 

Golden Knights To Sign Jack Eichel To Eight-Year Extension

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The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to sign star center Jack Eichel to an eight-year, $108MM contract extension, per the Vegas Review Journal’s Danny Webster. The move was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. Weber adds that the deal is believed to carry a $13.5MM cap hit.

On a day where the Winnipeg Jets extended star winger Kyle Connor, the Golden Knights have still found a way to steal the show. Eichel’s extension was long anticipated, both for his impact on the Golden Knights’ roster and the intricacies of how Vegas would fit the deal in alongside the $12MM cap hit of Mitch Marner. That question has now been answered, with Vegas locking up the tandem through the next eight seasons for $25.5MM each season.

Landing a max-term extension with Eichel before he has a chance to play alongside 100-point scorer Marner could prove lucrative for the Golden Knights. Eichel had a career-year last season, setting career-highs with 94 points and a plus-32 in 77 games. It was a major leap over the 31 goals and 68 points that Eichel managed in 63 games of the 2023-24 season – and the 66 points he scored in 67 games of the 2022-23 campaign. It seems the top center simply needed to ease into his starring role in Vegas after going through a true saga with the Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo drafted Eichel second-overall in 2015, properly dubbing him second-fiddle to Connor McDavid’s historic draft season. Despite that seat, Eichel boasted plenty of reason for excitement in his own right, and seemed to single-handedly will Boston University to a National Championship loss in his draft year. He brought that team-leading drive straight into the NHL, marked by 24 goals and 56 points in 81 games of the 2015-16 season. That remains the most a Sabres rookie has scored since the 1980s. Even better, Eichel matched it in fewer games of his sophomore season, with 24 goals and 57 points in 61 games.

But – that quickly became Eichel’s M.O. He was oft-injured, but proved to be the undeniable star of Buffalo’s lineup when healthy. He reached at least 25 goals in each of his next three seasons in Buffalo, and even showed his strength with 82 points in 77 games of the 2018-19 season, when the Sabres collectively only won 33 games. The tension between a struggling club and their productive star reached a peak as the 2020s rolled around – and a breaking point when the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement on how Eichel should handle an unprecedented shoulder surgery in 2021.

After multiple bouts back-and-forth, and a seemingly endless run of trade rumors, Buffalo decided to trade Eichel to Vegas in November, 2021. In return, the Sabres received Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, the draft pick used on Noah Ostlund (2022: 1-16) and a second-round pick traded to Minnesota. All three players remain with Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Eichel quickly received the surgery he had preferred upon arriving in Vegas. His 2021-22 campaign was limited to 34 games as he recovered from injury, but he was back to health in time for the 2022-23 season. Routine injury still marred his year, but he stayed healthy long enough to lead Vegas on a run to the Stanley Cup in 2023. He led the Golden Knights, and the postseason, in scoring with a dazzling 26 points in 22 games – though the Conn Smythe trophy would go to his goal-scoring teammate Jonathan Marchessault.

Regardless, Eichel’s push towards a Cup win showed the Golden Knights, and the hockey world, that he had the grit to be the star center on an NHL champion. He has reaffirmed that thought with 17 points in 18 playoff games since Vegas lifted the Cup.

With this move, Vegas will place a strong bet on Eichel’s ability to hang onto that role through his 30s. More importantly, they’ll give him a big bode of confidence as he heads into his age-29 season. Eichel has never played alongside a 100-point scorer, nor broken that ceiling himself, but he’ll get his first chance this season. Like Eichel, Marner struggled to crack the century mark for multiple seasons, recording at least 85 points three times between 2021 and 2024. He even reached 99 points in 2022-23. But it wasn’t until last season, when he scored 27 goals and 102 points in 81 games, that Marner was finally able to achieve the feat.

In a rare shift, he has now changed teams following the career-year, and will look to keep the good times rolling on a recent Cup winner. The top of Vegas’ offense is truly a stacked group, featuring Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Ivan Barbashev to support Eichel and Marner. The heights of the lineup seem hard to place, and should all go well, Vegas has ensured they can keep the band together with a pair of max-term extensions for their two stars.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports.

Golden Knights Sign Alexander Holtz, Waive Jeremy Davies

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10/8: In a corresponding move to Holtz’s signing, Vegas did indeed place defender Davies on waivers. He cleared earlier today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, officially granting the cap space needed to register Holtz’s contract. Davies will be a top call-up option, while Holtz looks to stay above that standing as the season kicks off.

10/7: The Vegas Golden Knights have signed winger Alexander Holtz to a two-year, $1.675MM contract. The deal will carry an $825K salary in year one, and a $850K salary in year two, per PuckPedia. This move likely indicates that defenseman Jeremy Davies will be placed on waivers and assigned to the minor leagues, opening up $1.15MM in cap space for Vegas to sign Holtz. Davies signed a two-year deal with Vegas just a few days ago.

Holtz sat as an unsigned restricted free agent for the entire summer. He had to wait patiently for a new deal after splitting last season between Vegas’ NHL and AHL rosters. He began the year in the NHL, vying for routine ice time among the Golden Knights’ bottom-six. His season kicked off with a six-game scoring drought that he spurred with a five-game scoring streak, and seven points in nine games, during November. But Holtz’s scoring would prove cold more often than not, and he was assigned to the AHL in February with only 11 points in 49 NHL games.

Holtz found fire in the minor-leagues, netting seven goals and 13 points in 16 games with the Henderson Silver Knights. The second-tier flight shined as a proving ground of the flashy play-driving and quick shooting Holtz has long showed off. It was exactly those attributes that earned him the seventh-overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, coming off the heels of a standout rookie year in the SHL.

The New Jersey Devils originally drafted Holtz. He joined the organization’s ranks the next season, and quickly found a rut as a top-end AHL scorer but quiet NHL performer. Through four years split between the Devils’ NHL and AHL rosters, Holtz posted 65 points in 76 AHL games but only 34 points in 110 NHL games. Those totals include Holtz’s 2023-24 campaign, when he spent all 82 games in the Devils lineup and managed only 16 goals and 28 points.

Holtz will likely begin the 2025-26 season back on the cusp between major and minor rosters. Davies’ assignment could help Vegas keep the Swedish sniper as their extra forward for a bit longer, though a return to the AHL could make sense as a way to spur Holtz towards scoring early in the year. Meanwhile, Vegas will be pushed against the salary cap ceiling with this move.

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