Robin Lehner To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner is set to undergo shoulder surgery next week, GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters including NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika (Twitter link). The procedure is being termed as a ‘cleanup’ and the team expects that Lehner will be ready to participate in training camp which, as thing stand, is pegged for sometime in December with the NHL currently targeting a January 1st start.
The 29-year-old signed a five-year, $25MM contract with Vegas last week, entrenching himself as their goalie of the future. It was a big improvement from a stability perspective for Lehner after he played on three straight one-year deals. Last season between the Blackhawks and Golden Knights, he posted a .920 SV% along with a 2.89 GAA in 36 games. His GAA dropped considerably in the playoffs to 1.97 in 16 starts with a .917 SV% which was all the Golden Knights needed to see to commit to him.
While veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has been a speculative trade candidate following the signing (plus the recent addition of Alex Pietrangelo), McCrimmon stated (via Cotsonika) that they will not be moving the 37-year-old. That ensures that they’ll have a quality insurance policy behind Lehner given this procedure but it also means that their cap trimming will have to come from elsewhere.
Canucks Acquire Nate Schmidt
It was only a matter of time before Vegas made a move to shed some salary to fit in Alex Pietrangelo‘s new deal which is now official. That trade has now been made as the Canucks announced that they’ve acquired defenseman Nate Schmidt from the Golden Knights for a 2022 third-round pick. GM Jim Benning released the following statement on the acquisition:
Nate has been one of the top defencemen in our division in recent years. He’s a dynamic player who competes hard all over the ice. I think he will be a really good fit in our group.
The 29-year-old joined Vegas via the expansion draft and went from a depth defenseman to a core player along the way. Last season, he had seven goals and 24 assists in 59 games, the highest point-per-game average of his career while logging 21:41 per night. He played even bigger minutes in the playoffs at just over 23 minutes a game in 20 postseason contests.
While serving a 20-game suspension for violating terms of the NHL’s performance-enhancing substances policy back in 2018, Schmidt signed a six-year, $35.7MM contract extension of which five years remain on it heading into next season. That deal also contains a 10-team no-trade clause. Vegas is not retaining at all on the contract, meaning that Vancouver will be absorbing the entirety of the deal.
It has been a tough offseason for the Canucks so far with the free agent departures of Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev (Calgary), Troy Stecher (Detroit), and Tyler Toffoli (Montreal) with Braden Holtby taking Markstrom’s spot between the pipes. Schmidt should step in nicely into the spot vacated by Tanev inside Vancouver’s top four.
Both teams appear to have some work to do still when it comes to their salary cap situation. Vancouver has just under $2MM in cap room per CapFriendly with forwards Jake Virtanen and Adam Gaudette needing new deals. Meanwhile, Vegas is still nearly $1MM over the cap per CapFriendly and that’s only with carrying the minimum number of forwards on their roster. Assuming that they’ll want a spare, that will only add to what they have to try to clear in the coming weeks and months. Marc-Andre Fleury has been a speculative trade candidate for a while now but his market may be thin with most teams have their tandems in place already.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was first to report that Schmidt was heading to Vancouver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Golden Knights Sign Alex Pietrangelo
While it has been rumored for the last few days, the Golden Knights announced that they have struck a deal with the top UFA on the market in defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, inking him to a seven-year, $61.6MM contract for an $8.8MM AAV. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (via Twitter) that the pact contains a full no-move clause. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic provides the full breakdown:
- 2020-21: $2.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $2.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2022-23: $1.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $4.3MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $4.5MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $4.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $8.8MM salary
The 30-year-old is the first number one defender to hit the open market in quite some time but in this particular environment with a flattened salary cap, very few players have managed to land a big-money, long-term contract. Many expected Pietrangelo to be the exception and this is indeed the case as his new deal is the longest handed out to any UFA so far and makes him the fifth highest-paid blueliner in the league. The deal comes in quite close to our projection as we had him pegged for a seven-year, $61.25MM in our Top-50 UFA list where he was the unanimous choice for number one.
Pietrangelo is coming off of one of the best offensive seasons of his career as he put up 16 goals and 36 assists in 70 games while logging more than 24 minutes per game for the ninth straight season. Few teams, including the Golden Knights, have a blueliner of this caliber and while Vegas has managed to build a strong back end without a true top option, their defense corps will be that much stronger now.
GM Kelly McCrimmon’s job is far from done, however. The team is now well over the salary cap and by the time you factor in all one-way contracts and two-way deals pro-rated based on their 2019-20 days on the roster (which are factored in the 10% allowable offseason overage), Vegas is over the $89.65MM offseason Upper Limit. Accordingly, cap-clearing moves need to come soon.
In recent days, defenseman Nate Schmidt ($5.95MM through 2024-25) has been a speculative trade candidate which makes sense as Pietrangelo plays the same side he does. The Golden Knights could also move goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury ($7MM through 2021-22) who is expendable after the extension of Robin Lehner but they haven’t had much interest in him so far and any trade would almost certainly require some salary retention.
In Pietrangelo, Vegas has landed another top-end player but while they didn’t pay anything but money to get him, we’ll soon find out the other part of the acquisition cost in who has to be moved out before the deal can be made official.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first to report) the $8.8MM price tag.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vegas Working On Nate Schmidt Trade
7:35PM: Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes that the Panthers have not completed a deal for Schmidt. Considering their cap situation, a trade of someone making a sizable salary will need to happen before they can finalize any contract with Pietrangelo.
5:59 PM: While the talk the last hour or so has been with the Vegas Golden Knights looking to deal one of their defenseman to the Winnipeg Jets to make room for an Alex Pietrangelo signing, now Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that Vegas is expected to send defenseman Nate Schmidt and his contract of five years at $5.95MM, is heading to the Florida Panthers. No word yet on the return.
Schmidt has been a big component for the Golden Knights since their inception. The blueliner was one of the Golden Knights selections in the expansion draft and has been one of their top minutes eaters since joining the team. While likely being surpassed as the team’s top defenseman last season by the improved play of defenseman Shea Theodore, Schmidt has been a key face for the Golden Knights franchise and a major locker room presence, going back to the Golden Misfit days. Last year, the 29-year-old blueliner averaged 21:41 of ice time, while posting seven goals and 31 points last year, while providing solid defense for the Golden Knights.
In Florida, Schmidt should immediately fill a significant role for the Panthers that was hurting on the defensive end. Last year, Florida spent significant money on free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled out of the gate, much due to the fact that the Panthers defense was subpar, even under first-year head coach Joel Quenneville. This offseason, Florida has re-tooled their defense, moving multiple players out. The speedy Schmidt should fit in well besides Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Anton Stralman and newly acquired Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara.
Teams are only able to go more than 10% above the Upper Limit during the offseason which is $89.65MM. Accordingly, this deal will seemingly need to be finalized before Pietrangelo’s contract can be made official.
Vegas Golden Knights Closing On Deal With Alex Pietrangelo
The Vegas Golden Knights are rumored to be close to signing the top unrestricted free agent on the market in defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, who says a deal could be completed as early as tonight. Fox Sports Andy Strickland confirms that the Golden Knights and Pietrangelo are working towards finalizing a contract.
The deal could also coincide with a trade as the Golden Knights, who have already moved out Paul Stastny, are also a likely candidate to move out defenseman Nate Schmidt and his contract, which includes five more years at $5.95MM AAV. It’s likely both moves could be done in tandem with the belief that the Winnipeg Jets might again be part of that package, which would include restricted free agent Jack Roslovic. Even that trade could prove to be complicated as the Jets might be forced to move out a contract in order to take on Schmidt’s contract.
For the Golden Knights, bringing in Pietrangelo would finally give the franchise its first clear cut No. 1 defenseman. The team had tried to pry away Erik Karlsson several years ago at the trade deadline, but failed to pull that trade off. This time, the team is trying to juggle its finances to fit Pietrangelo into their salary cap, which is quite a daunting task.
Pietrangelo has been a stabilizing force the last 11 seasons with the Blues and is coming off an impressive season last year. The 30-year-old had 16 goals and 52 assists in 70 games and another six points in nine playoff games for the Blues, but is probably best known for his defensive abilities, something that could only help Vegas in their quest to win a Stanley Cup in the next couple of years. Vegas also has a major need for a right-handed blueliner as the only right-hander on the team is Zach Whitecloud.
The Golden Knights still have to move out goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and his $7MM AAV contract for the next two years, but with little movement on that front over the last week, the team might be more likely forced to move out one of their pricier defensemen with Schmidt’s salary being the largest at the moment.
Winnipeg Jets Looking To Trade Jack Roslovic
The Winnipeg Jets have been shopping restricted free agent forward Jack Roslovic with more intensity today with the hope of moving him for a top-four defender, according to the Winnipeg News’ Mike McIntyre. Several teams have expressed interest in the young center with the Vegas Golden Knights being at the top of that list, although the Columbus Blue Jackets are also interested in the Columbus native.
The scribe writes that there has been talk of dealing Roslovic, who has expressed an interest in a change of scenery. The 23-year-old Roslovic has steadily improved in his three years in the league with the Jets. He posted career highs in goals (12) and assists (17) and has been starting to show the potential to be a No. 2 center on the team, a role he has not been able to seize up until now. However, after making $1.1MM last season, Roslovic could get a considerable raise, something that other teams will have to take into account.
While the Golden Knights are just one candidate to acquire the young center, several names have already been mentioned by McIntyre, including Nate Schmidt and Alec Martinez. Winnipeg, who is looking for a left-handed defenseman, has already completed one trade with the Golden Knights recently when it acquired Paul Stastny just before free agency opened on Friday.
The Golden Knights are rumored to be close to signing No. 1 free agent, Alex Pietrangelo to a long-term deal, but still would need to move out some salary to make the deal work. With little known progress on moving goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, it would make sense to move on from one of their top-four defenders, likely Schmidt or Martinez. Both offer different advantages to Winnipeg if they choose to take one. Schmidt is locked up for another five years at $5.95MM with a 10-team no-trade list, which would give the Jets some security at that position. Martinez, on the other hand, will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020-21 season, but comes in a little cheaper at just $4MM.
Vegas Golden Knights Sign Danny O’Regan
The Vegas Golden Knights have added a depth option to the mix up front. The team has announced a one-year deal with young journeyman forward Danny O’Regan. The contract carries the NHL minimum $700K salary. It is assumed that this is a two-way contract, but AHL salary figures were not disclosed.
O’Regan, 26, is already onto the fourth NHL organization of his young pro career and is still seeking some real opportunity. A San Jose draft pick who starred at Boston University, O’Regan played his first season and part of his second with the Sharks. He put up impressive numbers in the AHL both years and by the time he was dealt had earned 19 games with the Sharks in the 2017-18 season. Yet, when he was traded away to the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres, he was inexplicably buried in the minors rather than given more opportunity. O’Regan played in just three NHL games over a season and a half with Buffalo. He left the team as a Group 6 UFA last season, signing with the New York Rangers. The Rangers also felt O’Regan wasn’t worthy of NHL opportunity and he did not make an appearance at the top level last year.
Yet, O’Regan continues to produce in the minors and has been in demand as a free agent. The Golden Knights are a relatively deep club at forward, but their AHL depth might be even better. With a number of experienced pros and promising prospects on the newly-minted Henderson Silver Knights, O’Regan may struggle to stand out. However, if he can find a way to out-produce his teammates, he should find the chance to play in Vegas this year.
Alex Pietrangelo Visiting Las Vegas
No, Alex Pietrangelo has not signed with the Golden Knights, at least not yet. He is visiting Las Vegas though. After rumors emerged that Pietrangelo had boarded a private flight headed to Vegas, it was confirmed to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun that Pietrangelo is taking a free agent visit with the Golden Knights.
Pietrangelo, our No. 1-ranked UFA, appears to be done in St. Louis. Although Pietrangelo himself never ended talks with his former club, the Blues signed Torey Krug, putting an end to their pursuit of an extension with the captain, much to his surprise. The Calgary Flames, another team expected to be a top player for Pietrangelo, also seems to have moved on, signing Chris Tanev. Even the Toronto Maple Leafs and their limited cap space landed T.J. Brodie, ruling out a homecoming for Pietrangelo. All signs point to the Golden Knights right now.
Of course, Vegas also has cap issues of their own and would be well over the upper limit by signing Pietrangelo. That didn’t stop us from projecting Sin City as his eventual landing spot, but this will not be a cut-and-dry process for the Golden Knights. Pietrangelo also clearly wants to see the city and make sure that he and his family will be comfortable before signing what will very likely be the final contract of his NHL career. This is the first reported UFA visit of the off-season, but Pietrangelo is a player worth the extra time and effort. It remains to be seen whether it pays off for Vegas.
Golden Knights Sign Tomas Jurco
The Golden Knights have added to their winger depth. Simon Cop of Oh My Hockey reports that the Slovak winger has signed a one-year, one-way contract with Vegas that pays the league minimum of $700K. Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link) also confirms the terms.
The 27-year-old split last season between Edmonton and their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. With the Oilers, he played in a dozen games, recording two assists in his first NHL action since the 2017-18 season. He was more productive in his injury-limited action in the minors, picking up four goals and three assists in eight games. Jurco has a fair amount of NHL experience under his belt, playing in 213 games between Detroit, Chicago, and Edmonton, tallying 22 goals and 30 assists.
It’s likely that Jurco will at least start next season with AHL Henderson, the new affiliate of the Golden Knights. He has been a productive veteran scorer at the minor league level in recent years when healthy and should serve as a capable first liner there that can come up and hold his own with the big club when injuries arise.
Deryk Engelland Won't Return To Golden Knights
- Deryk Engelland’s time with the Golden Knights appears to have come to an end. GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters, including Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that there probably won’t be an opportunity for the 38-year-old veteran to return to Vegas. Engelland spent the last three seasons with them after being selected in the expansion draft but was relegated to a reserve role down the stretch and in the playoffs as he failed to suit up in any of their 20 postseason contests.