Vegas Golden Knights Claim Ryan Carpenter

After hitting waivers yesterday, Ryan Carpenter has been claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The former San Jose Sharks forward played 16 games with the team this season, recording a single point. A corresponding move will have to happen for the Golden Knights, who currently have 23 players on their active roster.

This is a very interesting move by the Golden Knights, as they don’t seem to have any need for Carpenter at the moment. The team is full of forwards capable of centering the fourth line and penalty killing, the two things Carpenter did for the Sharks. Perhaps the team sees a higher potential in the 26-year old, since he has shown a high offensive profile in the minor leagues.

As Pierre LeBrun reports, the Golden Knights have scouting Carpenter since before the expansion draft but weren’t able to select him when the Sharks used a protection slot on him. They eventually did select David Schlemko, but immediately flipped him to the Montreal Canadiens for nothing more than a fifth-round pick.

Carpenter went undrafted, but after starring at Bowling Green University the Sharks signed him in the spring of 2014. He’s since earned two additional contracts, including the two-year deal he’s currently under that runs through the 2018-19 season. The contract is two-way in nature this season—meaning he earns different amounts depending on whether he’s in the AHL or NHL—but turns into a one-way minimum salary deal next season.

Interestingly, the Golden Knights only have two waiver-exempt players on the roster at the moment, and neither of them seem poised to be sent down. Alex Tuch and Shea Theodore started the year in the minor leagues to give the team some flexibility, but are key parts of the team now. Instead, Stefan Matteau is the likely candidate to go back down as though he’s not waiver-exempt, he did clear in late September and has yet to spend the 30 days on the active roster that would reset his clock.