Vegas Golden Knights: How They Could Surprise The NHL

The Vegas Golden Knights could surprise a lot of teams this season.

While the Vegas Golden Knights are a new NHL team, they could make it to the playoffs. If they use their depth and cap situation properly, they could become a surprisingly good team.

Also, this is all hypothetical. I do not believe that Vegas would make these type of moves nor do I believe that they want to be competitive at the moment.

Building your team from the draft has been proven to be the best way to grow a team and I believe that Vegas will be going down that route.

Depth

Vegas does not have a superstar forward or a number one defenceman. What they do have is a lot of depth and that could help them in the long run. The Knights currently have 17 forwards who could play in the NHL. They could use that to their advantage by trading a bundle of them for an upgrade or by using the extra forwards as replacements for injured players.

The Knights have even more depth on defence with 11 players who are NHL ready. Like the forwards, they could bundle a few of them for an upgrade or use them as replacements for injured players. They also have three goalies who can play in the NHL this season.

Also, the Knights could use these players as trade bait, which they most likely will do. They could trade the extra players for picks and/or prospects.

Cap Situation

Currently, the Knights have just over $5,600,000 in cap space. That is without Vegas putting David Clarkson and Mikhail Grabovski on the IR. Combined, they are worth $10,250,000, giving Vegas just under $16,000,000 in cap space.

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With 11 defenceman currently on their roster, Vegas will have to drop at least two of them to the minors, which could save them between $1,500,000 to $4,500,000 depending on who they drop. We will go with the median and say that they save $3,000,000. This means that Vegas has just under $19,000,000 in cap space.

If they really wanted to compete this season – which I still think is highly unlikely – they could go to free agency and sign Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla for $2,500,000 for one year each. That would be a total of five million dollars spent for the both of them.

On top of that, if they really wanted to compete and did not mind losing their firsts – again, highly unlikely – then they could decide to send in an offer sheet of $12,500,000 for one season to get David Pastrnak. While – as I have said about three times now – that is highly unlikely, this could push Vegas into a contention spot. They would lose four first round picks for the singing because it is over $9,814,935 but they would get a shot at winning the cup.

Conclusion

I have two questions. Would the Knights surprise the NHL? And would it be smarter for them to not do this and grow from the draft? I will answer those for you. Vegas would definitely surprise the NHL because nobody would ever think that Vegas would do this. While seeing Jagr in a Vegas jersey would be nice, this should not happen because Vegas needs to grow from the draft.

If they want to win the Stanley Cup, growing from the entry draft is the smartest way. Most of the top teams in the league have done it, with others rising in the standings. The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins are an example of how patience is key.

Next: Expansion Draft: Chicago Blackhawks (7/30)

Use the draft to grow your team and develop your prospects, that is the best way to become one of the top teams in the NHL.