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 for the 2023-24 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: $89,210,531 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Kaedan Korczak (one year, $789.1K)
Potential Bonuses
Korczak: $82.5K
Korczak has bounced back and forth between Vegas and AHL Henderson this season and that will likely continue. He’s someone who could be a candidate for taking less than his qualifying offer in exchange for a one-way salary. Meanwhile, his bonuses are games played-based and while it’s unlikely he’ll top out, he should reach at least some of that amount which, thanks to them being in LTIR, will result in a bonus carryover penalty for next season.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Michael Amadio ($762.5K, UFA)
F William Carrier ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Pavel Dorofeyev ($825K, RFA)
D Ben Hutton ($850K, UFA)
F Jonathan Marchessault ($5MM, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Daniil Miromanov ($762.5K, RFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($2.75MM, UFA)
Marchessault had a strong showing last year with 57 points and followed that up with a Smythe-winning performance to help Vegas win the Stanley Cup. Accordingly, some expected that he’d be a strong candidate for an early extension but the veteran acknowledged that there weren’t talks in the summer as GM Kelly McCrimmon tends to wait before handing out new deals. That hesitation might be wise on the part of the Golden Knights as the 32-year-old is off to a slower start. He’s still in line to get a multi-year deal but it might wind up coming closer to this AAV in the end whereas in the summer, he likely could have pushed for $6MM or more on a long-term agreement.
Stephenson has been one of the better bargains around the NHL in recent years; his trade from Washington certainly sparked his offense, making him a quality two-way center. He’s also off to a quieter start this season but his recent track record will be good enough for some teams to view him as a second-line fit. Accordingly, he should reach (or even surpass) the $5MM mark on the open market. Carrier, one of the few remaining original expansion picks, hasn’t really moved up the depth chart over his now seven seasons in Vegas but remains an every-game fourth liner that brings plenty of physicality. The open market isn’t always great for players in that role but after his good playoff showing, he could be one of the exceptions and push for closer to $2MM.
Dorofeyev is in his first full season with Vegas although a good chunk of that has been in a reserve role. While he’s arbitration-eligible next summer, he also doesn’t have enough of an NHL track record to command much more than his $866K qualifying offer. As for Amadio, he has become one of the better recent waiver claims around the league, going from a fringe player to a full-time bottom-six piece who has produced at a pretty good rate after notching 16 goals last season. If he stays on the pace he’s on now for this year, he could easily double this AAV on the open market.
At the time Martinez’s deal was signed, the belief was that the final season could be a bit of a drag for the Golden Knights. Unfortunately, injuries struck in the first year and since then, his minutes have been closer to the 19-minute mark compared to the 21 or 22 minutes he has been at in the past. Effectively, he has gone from being a number two blueliner to a fourth option. Given his age (36), that’s not entirely surprising. His next deal, if there is one, is likely to be a one-year agreement closer to half this price point and could also contain some games played incentives.
Hutton is a serviceable seventh defender who can hold his own on the third pairing when needed. It’s hard to see him commanding much more than this on the open market while the Golden Knights need to keep this roster spot as close to the league minimum as possible. Miromanov lands on here due to his LTIR presence as he has yet to play this season. When healthy, he’ll likely return to AHL Henderson and is another candidate to sign for less than his qualifier in exchange for a one-way deal in the summer.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Nicolas Hague ($2.294MM, RFA)
G Adin Hill ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Brett Howden ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Keegan Kolesar ($1.4MM, UFA)
G Robin Lehner ($5MM, UFA)
D Brayden McNabb ($2.85MM, UFA)
D Brayden Pachal ($775K, RFA)
D Shea Theodore ($5.2MM, UFA)
G Logan Thompson ($766.7K, UFA)
Howden wound up accepting what amounts to a third bridge deal over the summer, settling after filing for arbitration. His production dropped last season and is at a similar clip this year although he plays an important role on the defensive side of things. That said, unless his offense comes around, he’ll be in tough to get much more than this in free agency, even as a 27-year-old at that time. Kolesar is in a similar situation as Carrier, just without quite as long of a track record. He’s a true fourth liner which limits his earnings upside but some team is going to look at him playing a regular role in the playoffs last year and use that to justify an above-market offer that could also push him into the $2MM range.
Theodore showed plenty of promise but was a little inconsistent early in his time with the Golden Knights, understandable given his age at the time. That has changed now as he has become an all-around all-situations player who can log big minutes on the top pairing. His offensive game has blossomed to the point where he could make a case for number one money if he gets to the open market. Not to the top-end level, mind you, but a long-term deal in the $9MM range could be doable. It might be tough for Vegas to match that price point, however, so if he wants to stay with them, Theodore might have to leave a bit of money on the table to do so.
McNabb has turned into a reliable second-pairing shutdown defender over his tenure with Vegas. He’s being paid at the level of a higher-end depth piece so this contract has certainly worked in their favor. The offense is limited which hurts to an extent but we’ve seen shutdown blueliners go well past $4MM in recent years. It seems reasonable to think McNabb will land there as well.
Hague was basically limited to a bridge deal in 2022 with Vegas not having enough cap room to entertain a longer-term agreement. However, his play has largely leveled out since then, slotting in as a fourth or fifth defender most nights. This is still a good value contract but perhaps a long-term next summer might cost less than it could have if Vegas had the ability to offer one last time out. He’ll be owed a $2.7MM qualifier and should land more than that with arbitration rights but his cap might be in the $4MM range if he stays at this level. Pachal is waiver-eligible this season which has helped keep him on the NHL roster. He’s in a depth role at the moment and until he can lock down a full-time spot on the third pairing, it’s hard to see him getting much more than this even with arbitration rights.
Lehner missed all of last season after undergoing hip surgery and remains on LTIR now. At this point, it’s reasonable to suggest that he might be on there for all of next season as well, especially based on what they did with Hill this summer.
Speaking of Hill, he certainly benefitted from his strong playoff performance, earning a deal that few would have seen coming just a few months earlier. It’s a deal they could afford thanks to Lehner’s LTIR. So far, he has been even better this season. It’s early but if he can maintain that level, he could push closer to the $6MM range on a long-term agreement. If he goes back to his level of play before his time in Vegas, he’s still on the upper end for platoon players so he could still come close to this contract.
As for Thompson, his first full season was quite good, earning an All-Star nod while finishing second on the All-Rookie team. Hill’s playoff run largely took away from that but Thompson remains an above-average NHL netminder with a cap hit below the league minimum, making him one of the top bargain deals in the league (and one I missed in a recent mailbag when discussing value deals). Even if he stays in a platoon through the end of this contract, he could also push past the $4MM mark, especially if multiple teams see him as a true starter. If that happens, $5MM or more becomes doable.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Paul Cotter ($775K, RFA)
F Jack Eichel ($10MM, UFA)
Vegas landed their long-coveted top center when they acquired Eichel and while no one can say that his contract is well below market value, they’re getting a decent return value-wise. Last season, he was close to a point-per-game player and is near that mark again this year. Accordingly, given the demand for centers, if he was on the open market today, he’d get pretty close to this, perhaps even a bit more. He’ll be 30 when he hits free agency and while there could be a cheaper year or two at the end on a max-term agreement, a small raise could still be doable. Cotter has become a quality fourth liner who can move up in a pinch. Three years for that at the minimum is a nice piece of business. If he can stay as a regular throughout the deal, he could have a shot at doubling this in free agency.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Jordan Gustafson To Entry-Level Contract
The Vegas Golden Knights announce they have come to an agreement on a three-year, entry-level contract with forward Jordan Gustafson. Gustafson was originally drafted 79th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2022 NHL Draft and is currently playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
Although he is still only 19 years old, Gustafson is now in his fourth season with the Thunderbirds, a major junior career that has been productive in more ways than one. In a total of 130 regular season games played for Seattle, Gustafson has scored 43 goals and 59 assists, while managing an extremely impressive +39 rating.
His best performance in the WHL playoffs came back in the 2021-22 season, as the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds went 12-7 en route to the WHL Finals, losing to the Edmonton Oil Kings in six games. During that run to the finals, Gustafson would score four goals, and assisted on 12, while carrying a +9 rating through the playoff stretch.
Not only has Gustafson shown that he can score at a respectable rate at the junior level, but he plays well in all three zones. Showcasing his skillset mostly in the neutral zone, Gustafson has shown the ability to be a very productive off-puck player throughout his career in the WHL.
Shea Theodore Week-To-Week After Successful Surgery
The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that top defenseman Shea Theodore is out week-to-week after undergoing a successful surgery. The surgery addressed the upper-body injury that has held Theodore out since November 22nd, although no other specifics were shared.
Theodore was in the midst of a fantastic start to the season, netting four goals and 18 points in 20 games so far this year. That mark leads the Golden Knights’ defensemen in scoring, despite Theodore missing the team’s last three games. In fact, the team’s second-highest-scoring defender, Alex Pietrangelo, only has nine points this season – half of Theodore’s total. Theodore also leads the team’s blue line in xGF% (expected goals-for-percentage) and ranks third in CF% (corsi-for-percentage), speaking to the prowess he’s had on the offensive side of the puck this year.
Theodore’s hot start comes in the wake of an impressive 2022-23 season, where the defenseman netted 41 points in 55 games, or 0.75 points per game. That was the second-highest point-per-game pace of Theodore’s career, only matched by the 42 points he scored in 53 games in the 2020-21 season. He has totaled 470 NHL games through his nine-year career, scoring 70 goals and 282 points. 417 of these games have come with Vegas, who took him from the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
Vegas is currently rostering ten different defenders, with Theodore and Daniil Miromanov on the team’s injured reserve, Alec Martinez currently day-to-day with injury and scratched, and Brayden Pachal serving as the healthy extra defenseman. Pachal slotted into the lineup while Zach Whitecloud was out with injury, playing in 13 games and recording one point.
Evening Notes: Zadorov, Giordano, Hyman
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes is reporting that there remains a lot of interest in Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Among the teams interested are the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and fresh off their cap-clearing trade, the Vancouver Canucks.
Zadorov requested a trade a few weeks ago and at the time his agent Dan Milstein had hoped for a quick resolution although one has yet to be reached. Trades have proven difficult this season due to so many teams being within a million dollars of the NHL salary cap ceiling. The Flames have reportedly told Zadorov that they are willing to move him but will be patient in the process as they wait for the right deal to come along.
Zadorov has a goal and five assists in 21 games so far this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
In other evening notes:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that defenseman Mark Giordano will not return to tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury. It is unclear when Giordano sustained the injury as he had a shot on goal during his final shift and then remained on the ice until the Florida Panthers scored their first goal. The Maple Leafs’ defense core has been decimated by injuries which has forced Giordano to play in an elevated role after starting the season on the third pairing. The 40-year-old has a goal and four assists in 20 games this season and has an average 18:28 of ice time per game.
- The Edmonton Oilers have announced that forward Zach Hyman won’t dress for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights due to an undisclosed illness. Hyman was a full participant in the team’s morning skate today taking his usual spot on the team’s top line but was not well enough to play this evening. Mattias Janmark was elevated into Hyman’s role alongside Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins which also opened a spot for Sam Gagner to be reinserted into the lineup. Hyman has been one of the Oilers’ most consistent players with 12 goals and 10 assists in 20 games this season.
Golden Knights Sign Ben Hemmerling To Entry-Level Contract
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed forward prospect Ben Hemmerling to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team release. A natural right-winger, Hemmerling will remain on loan to the WHL’s Everett Silvertips for the remainder of the season, meaning the contract will likely slide to 2024-25. His deal would then break down as follows, per PuckPedia:
2023-24: $70K signing bonus
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $82.5K minors salary,
2025-26: $775K NHL salary, $82.5K minors salary, $67.5K signing bonus
2026-27: $775K NHL salary, $82.5K minors salary
Hemmerling, 19, was selected by the Golden Knights in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. Some had viewed him as a potential selection as early as the third round, considering his good offensive production with Everett during the prior season. Elite Prospects was not optimistic about his NHL future in a 2022 scouting report, though, calling him a skilled but “inefficient” playmaker prone to costly turnovers. However, they did praise his physical game and his “proactive” defending style away from the puck.
Since then, Hemmerling’s stock hasn’t seen a meteoric rise, but it does appear he’s on his way to a pro career. Serving as a member of the Silvertips’ leadership team beginning in 2022-23, Hemmerling has notched over a point per game in junior play since his draft day and saw preseason action with the Golden Knights in September. After beginning this season with seven goals, 18 assists, and 25 points in 24 games for the Silvertips, an entry-level contract comes to avoid Hemmerling re-entering the draft next summer.
He will be a restricted free agent when his entry-level deal expires in 2027. Expect him to spend at least one season with the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson before looking at a potential NHL call-up.
Vegas Golden Knights Recall Kaedan Korczak
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Kaedan Korczak from their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The move appears to be motivated by the fact that Vegas is currently missing two defensemen due to injury.
Alec Martinez is currently out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, while Shea Theodore is out with his own upper-body injury on an unclear timeline. The Golden Knights already roster eight defensemen, meaning they can still have a full unit of six blueliners with these two injuries.
But as Vegas begins a three-game road trip that will take them through Western Canada, it appears the team has decided it needs to carry a fully healthy seventh defenseman, which in this case would be Korczak.
Should Korczak get into the Golden Knights’ lineup during their road trip, he would be playing in relatively familiar surroundings. Korczak, a Saskatchewan native, played the entirety of his junior career with the Kelowna Rockets. As a result, he frequently played road games in all three of Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary.
A 22-year-old right-shot defenseman, the Golden Knights drafted Korczak 41st overall at the 2019 draft. He’s developed nicely for them, currently serving as a depth blueliner who plays heavy minutes at the AHL level and a more sheltered role when called upon by the big club. This season, he’s already played in seven games for the Golden Knights and tallied four points. He last played for Vegas in a November 5th loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Injury Notes: Walman, Theodore, Martinez, Mahura
Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde shared an update on defenseman Jake Walman‘s injury, calling him day-to-day and questionable for the team’s Saturday night game. If Walman doesn’t play on Saturday, he’s likely to return when the team plays on Wednesday.
Walman has continued to perform well with the Detroit Red Wings, scoring eight points in 18 games this season – his second full year with the club. Walman has become the go-to partner for top defenseman Moritz Seider, with Walman spending 87 percent of his even-strength ice time next to the former Calder Trophy winner. They’ve accounted for an admirable 49.59 xGF% (expected goals-for percentage) and 49.8 CF% (Corsi-for percentage) when they’re on the ice togehter, speaking to their ability to control possession and scoring chances. Seider takes a small hit to both of those statistics when he plays with any other partner. Getting Walman back into the lineup helps a Red Wings lineup that hasn’t been too impacted by injuries get back to normal.
Other injury updates from around the league:
- The Vegas Golden Knights will be without both Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez on Friday night. Theodore is battling an upper-body injury, while Martinez has a lower-body injury. Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy added that he’s unsure how long Martinez will be out of action, dubbing him day-to-day.
- The Florida Panthers are planning on keeping defenseman Josh Mahura on injured reserve for at least another week. The team placed Mahura on IR on November 17th, after he left a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury. Mahura has appeared in 16 games this season, scoring five assists and recording a -2.
Injury Updates: Zary, Martinez, Avalanche
Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. He did not dress for the Flames’ loss to the Nashville Predators, though the day-to-day nature of the absence does leave a chance for him to return in time for the Flames’ contest tomorrow in Dallas.
The loss of Zary, 22, is a significant one for the Flames, as he’s quickly emerged as one of the team’s more gifted offensive players. In just nine games so far this season Zary has eight points, displaying a knack for finding his way onto the scoresheet. A 2020 first-round pick, Zary’s initial transition from WHL stardom to pro hockey was rocky, but after his 25-point AHL rookie season Zary scored 21 goals and 58 points there. He scored 10 points in just six AHL games so far this season, a performance that earned him his call-up to Calgary.
Some other injury updates from the Western Conference:
- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez missed yesterday’s overtime victory over the Dallas Stars due to a lower-body injury. Martinez’ vacated spot in the lineup next to Alex Pietrangelo was filled by Nicolas Hague, while Ben Hutton re-entered the lineup to fill Hague’s old role on the team’s bottom pairing next to Zach Whitecloud. Martinez is among Vegas’ most important defensemen, averaging nearly 20 minutes per night and over two minutes per night on the penalty kill.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media, including NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding, that forward Logan O’Connor has a lower-body injury and is out day-to-day. Additionally, forward Valeri Nichushkin left last night’s game to get stitches for his mouth but did end up returning to the contest. At the moment, O’Connor plays third-line minutes for the Avalanche on a line with Ross Colton and Miles Wood. Should he miss any time, physical spare forward Kurtis MacDermid could draw into the lineup, or they could place a player on injured reserve and recall a forward such as Ben Meyers. O’Connor, 27, has scored three goals and seven points in 17 games so far this season.
Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague From Injured Reserve
As the team begins to take warm-ups in their Sunday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Vegas Golden Knights announce that defenseman Nicolas Hague has been activated off of the team’s injured reserve, and will play in tonight’s game.
Hague had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since the team’s October 30th game against the Montreal Canadiens. Although not a member of the original Golden Knights team that managed to make the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in the league, Hague was the fourth-ever draft pick of Vegas, being selected 34th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.
As one of the more unheralded members of the Golden Knight’s blue line, over the last three years, Hague has regularly averaged more than 18 minutes of ice time per night, as well as receiving regular minutes on Vegas’ penalty kill units.
Last season, in what has been the best of his career to date, Hague played in 81 games for the Golden Knights, scoring 17 points in total, while blocking 133 shots and throwing 117 assists. He also carried an above-average Corsi For % of 46.8%, and an On-Ice Save Percentage of 91.7%.
Getting off to one of the hottest starts in the league, the Golden Knights have cooled off a bit in Hague’s absence, going 4-3-1 in their last eight games, after starting off the season 9-0-1. With Hague back in the lineup, Vegas will now have added confidence in their ability to keep the puck out of their net.
Evening Notes: Lehkonen, Xhekaj, Meier
Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen’s upper-body injury is a neck injury. Previous reports had the 28-year-old dealing with an upper-body injury, but Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Baugh the news today. The early reports come with no timetable for a potential return, or any specifics about how severe the ailment is. The Avalanche have put Lehkonen on LTIR which means the earliest he can return is December 5th against the Anaheim Ducks.
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Lehkonen is currently in a neck brace after suffering a scary fall in a game last week against the Seattle Kraken, which is certainly not a great sign. Lehkonen’s mother has also flown to Colorado which indicates that he could need assistance over the upcoming weeks. Lehkonen is a player who plays a lot of important minutes for the Avalanche in all types of situations. He has three goals and five assists so far this season in 12 games.
In other evening notes:
- The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj left tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old suffered the apparent injury after taking a huge hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev in the second period. Xhekaj appeared to be favoring his left shoulder as he left the ice, but the team has yet to comment on the nature of the injury. Xhekaj scored his first goal of the season earlier this week and has three points in 16 games for the Canadiens.
- Star-Ledger reporter Ryan Novozinsky tweeted that New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters tonight that Devils forward Timo Meier will be out of the lineup on a short-term basis. What exactly that means remains to be seen but it is probably a safe bet that Meier won’t be in the lineup on Saturday night when the Devils are home to the New York Rangers. The 27-year-old is in his first full year with the Devils and has five goals and six assists in 14 games. He did not dress in tonight’s 5-2 Devils victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.