- Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel will tie the NHL consecutive games streak tonight, when he takes on his old club the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward will play his 989th straight game, matching the record set by Keith Yandle. The last time Kessel missed a game was his first year with the Maple Leafs, back in 2009-10. He is also just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.
Golden Knights Rumors
Laurent Brossoit Will Be Re-Evaluated On November 1st
- When the news broke that Robin Lehner would miss the entire 2022-23 season, the Vegas Golden Knights goaltending situation, and ultimately their season, was heavily doubted. Thus far, the 4-1-0 Golden Knights have received more than solid goaltending from rookie Logan Thompson and the recently acquired Adin Hill, and that is without veteran netminder Laurent Brossoit, who is still recovering from injury. A return timetable for Brossoit was unclear heading into the season, though not expected to be long-term. His return is still unclear though, says the Las Vegas Sun’s Danny Webster. Brossoit has not been cleared for any contact, but is progressing well and will be re-evaluated on November 1st, Webster reports.
Salary Cap Could Increase More Than Expected In 2023
Speaking with the media today, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there’s a “good probability” that the remaining COVID-related escrow balance could be paid by the players this season, and remains optimistic about revenues. If the escrow balance gets paid off, the salary cap could jump more than the predicted $1MM incremental increase, two years sooner than originally expected coming out of the pandemic.
Bettman did note that it would be a close call, but if the revenue numbers hit, the cap could jump roughly $4MM to a figure of around $86.5MM for the 2023-24 season. The league’s cap growth would then mirror pre-pandemic trends, if not more.
This is gigantic news for a number of teams, especially those who have big-name free agents due for contracts by July 1 of next year. It also bodes well for teams tight to the salary cap to be able to have more roster flexibility in the offseason.
That list of big-name unrestricted free agents next summer is no joke, and a ~$4MM salary cap increase would have a massive effect on many negotiations. Ryan O’Reilly in St. Louis, David Pastrnak in Boston, Dylan Larkin in Detroit, Bo Horvat in Vancouver, and Frederik Andersen in Carolina are some notables who could re-sign with their current teams for a big payday.
It also makes life easier for teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, who are poised to get a healthy Robin Lehner back but already remain well over the currently projected $83.5MM salary cap for 2023-24.
Vegas Golden Knights Assign Daniil Miromanov To AHL
The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned defenseman Daniil Miromanov to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, according to their affiliate team.
Miromanov, who played in 11 games with the Golden Knights last year, missed the team’s training camp after undergoing offseason surgery. Now healthy, he’ll return to Henderson, where the 25-year-old Russian had a stellar 40-point campaign in 53 games.
A versatile player who can play both defense and forward, Miromanov is one of the team’s best call-up options, especially considering their thinned-out organizational depth. He still does not require waivers after signing a two-year contract extension this past offseason.
Vegas acquired Miromanov as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2021, signing him to a one-year entry-level contract after he had 29 points in 58 games with HK Sochi in the KHL. Miromanov returns to Henderson as the team’s top defender
Henderson Silver Knights Make Training Camp Cuts
- The Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, made several cuts from its training camp roster today. Forwards Patrick Guay, Daniel D’Amato, Lynden McCallum, and defenseman Connor Corcoran have all been assigned to the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL (link). Guay could be an intriguing name in this group, coming off a season in which he scored 55 goals to go with 49 assists in just 68 games with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. The forward was a fifth-round selection by Vegas in 2022 as a 20-year-old.
Snapshots: Samuelsson, Carrier, Roos
When the Buffalo Sabres announced a gargantuan seven-year, $30MM extension for defenseman Mattias Samuelsson earlier today, it raised some eyebrows around the league – and justifiably so. Samuelsson has yet to score an NHL goal and has played just 54 NHL games, coming over the past two seasons. But as The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski notes in his column breaking down the deal, general manager Kevyn Adams thinks Samuelsson and his contract and both key parts of his approach to building a championship contender.
“We wanted to be really disciplined and smart with how we put our roster together and the reason for that is we can do things like this and make sure that we identify the people that we’re gonna move forward with long-term and we know there’s more coming,” said Adams today. Buffalo is banking on development here, but the organization believes in Samuelsson and that he has long-term top-pairing potential. How that bet pans out remains to be seen.
- After sitting out last night’s season-opening win in Los Angeles, Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier may be healthy for tomorrow’s home opener against Chicago, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. Carrier has been listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury since September 26 but has obviously returned to practice. He’ll likely draw in for Michael Amadio if he does play, as Amadio was the only Golden Knights forward to receive 10 minutes or less of ice time against Los Angeles.
- One of the more interesting names to appear on opening night rosters will be making his NHL debut tonight: Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Filip Roos. The 23-year-old Roos is a rare case: a European, undrafted free-agent on an entry-level contract playing in his NHL team’s first game of the season. Roos had six points in 50 games for Skellefteå in the SHL last season and will suit up on the third pairing alongside Alec Regula.
Golden Knights Re-Sign Nic Hague
It took basically all of training camp but the Golden Knights have worked out a deal with RFA defenseman Nic Hague, announcing that they’ve signed him to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $2,294,150 which allows them to best maximize their LTIR pool once season-opening rosters are submitted later today. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal breaks down as follows:
2022-23: $750K salary, $1.95MM signing bonus
2023-24: $775K salary, $707,450 signing bonus
2024-25: $2.7MM salary
Hague was an early second-round pick (34th overall) back in 2017, Vegas’ first year of participating in the draft. He has turned out to be a solid selection as the 23-year-old has quickly become an important piece on their back end. Last season, he played in 52 games, recording 14 points while averaging a career-high 18:40 per game. In his three-year career, he has 10 goals and 32 helpers in 142 contests.
With Vegas being tight to the cap even with Shea Weber, Nolan Patrick, and Robin Lehner all on LTIR for the entire season, a short-term bridge deal was the expected route for both sides to take. This deal ensures that the Golden Knights will still have Hague under team control at the end of it as he’ll have one RFA year remaining where he’ll be owed a $2.7MM qualifying offer with salary arbitration rights. As for that cap situation, this contract puts them within $17 of their fully-maximized LTIR pool; Laurent Brossoit will then likely be added to that pool tomorrow to create room for extra recalls until he’s able to return.
Nic Hague Believed To Be Seeking Under $2MM On Two-Year Deal, Under $3MM On Three-Year Pact
With the start of the season fast approaching for the 30 teams that didn’t play overseas, Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague remains one of two remaining restricted free agents. Jesse Granger of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner is believed to be seeking an AAV a little under $2MM on a two-year contract or under $3MM on a three-year agreement. On the surface, those asks are certainly reasonable as Hague had 14 points in 52 games last season while averaging 18:40 per night; that cost for a fifth defender isn’t particularly high. However, as is quite often the case with Vegas, their cap situation is quite tight which probably isn’t helping things here.
Speculatively, they might prefer a one-year deal that could be closer to the $1MM mark, one that hands him arbitration rights next summer but gives them more flexibility this season. Either way, the pressure will be on both Hague and the Golden Knights to get something done sooner than later.
Latest On Nicolas Hague
- While Robertson’s contract saga came to an end earlier this week, the contract standoff between the Vegas Golden Knights and restricted free agent defenseman Nicolas Hague is still ongoing. Per Friedman on 32 Thoughts, the Golden Knights’ desire to maximize the cap benefits they gain from long-term injured reserve is not considered to be a barrier to getting Hague’s deal done. The 23-year-old former Mississauga Steelhead had a breakout season of sorts in 2021-22, seeing time with Alex Pietrangelo on the team’s top pairing, and it looks like the main obstacle to getting a deal done is based more on value disagreements than anything related to the Golden Knights’ cap management.
Bill Foley Reportedly Purchases Majority Stake In AFC Bournemouth
- Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley is generally regarded as one of the more hands-on team governors in the sport, and under his watch the Golden Knights have experienced a period of success that is unprecedented for an expansion franchise. As of today, Foley has reportedly expanded his sports ownership portfolio. As reported by Matt Slater and Ahmed Shooble of The Athletic, Foley has entered into a verbal agreement to purchase a majority stake in AFC Bournemouth, a club participating in the Premier League, the top level of the English soccer pyramid. While the implications of this move on the Golden Knights are not immediately clear, it is fair to wonder if acquiring Bournemouth will lead Foley to be less extensively involved in the Golden Knights’ day-to-day operations.