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.

Signed Through 2026-27 Or Longer

F Ivan Barbashev ($5MM through 2027-28)
F William Karlsson ($5.9MM through 2026-27)
D Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM through 2026-27)
F Nicolas Roy ($3MM through 2026-27)
F Mark Stone ($9.5MM through 2026-27)
D Zach Whitecloud ($2.75MM through 2027-28)

When healthy, Stone is still a legitimate top-line winger and one of the top two-way forwards in the NHL.  The problem is that he has struggled to stay healthy with lingering back trouble.  Things seem to be better on that front now but if those issues return, this could be an anchor contract (unless he lands on LTIR long-term).  Karlsson has seen some of his offensive minutes dry up with the Eichel acquisition but he remains a capable second center and is off to a great start this season.  That said, he’ll be 34 when this deal is up and his market value could be much different at that time.

Barbashev also turned a strong playoff run into a nice raise and some job security.  After being in more of a depth role with St. Louis last season, he spent some time on the top line down the stretch and in the playoffs and ultimately decided not to test the market.  It’s possible he left a bit on the table in doing so but it was a justifiable more nonetheless.  Roy is hard-pressed to move into a full-time top-six spot with the center depth they currently have but he’s an above-average third-line option who can move up when injuries arise.  Players like him generally have a fair bit of free agent interest so it’s fair to suggest he’d have gotten more than this had he played his way to free agency which would have been this coming summer.

Pietrangelo surprised many by leaving St. Louis to go to Vegas in free agency but the move has certainly worked out for both sides.  He continues to be a consistent top-pairing defender whose offense isn’t quite good enough to get him into that truly elite territory which helped keep the AAV below the $10MM mark when this deal was signed back in 2020.  They should get good value on this contract for a while yet.  Whitecloud’s contract is a longer-term gamble.  While he’s a third-pairing player now, they’re banking on him becoming a top-four piece in time.  If that happens, they’ll do quite well with this deal but if he stays around this level, it will be an above-market contract although not an extreme overpayment.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Best Value: Thompson
Worst Value: Martinez

Looking Ahead

With Vegas being deep into LTIR, cap space is quite limited for them this season.  They have enough flexibility to carry a full-sized roster which is a luxury they haven’t had lately.  Closer to the trade deadline, if the team is healthy, they could try to combine a couple of lower-cost salary slots into an upgrade but it would still likely be a smaller move.

We’re not going to be seeing Vegas have plenty of cap room anytime soon but they’re not in bad shape moving forward.  There aren’t many true long-term contracts on their books and over the next couple of years, there are pricey expirings that could be replaced with cheaper options, affording them a chance to keep some of their other players in line for a raise.  For a team that has had cap troubles a lot lately, their books now are a lot cleaner than they were.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.