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Vegas Golden Knights Recieve Great Value In Brayden McNabb Contract

By Richard Cardinale

GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 25: Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on November 25, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 25: Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on November 25, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Affordable money and a long-term deal in place for Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb? Sign me up.

The Vegas Golden Knights have more than a few unrestricted free agents to sign before July 1st. Some UFA’s may not even make it to the end of the regular season because a trade is always possible. McPhee has not changed plans in potentially trading assets on the team for future building blocks for the long haul.

Despite the team’s fantastic success and results, McPhee is all about the future of this franchise. He also stated that plans could change, and he could still try to improve this year’s team, but it’s very early in the season. But like the last year, McPhee will have his hands full once again going into the trade deadline and next years offseason.

Vegas has 17 pending free agents, and eight of them are unrestricted. Those eight players are Jason Garrison, Deryk Engelland, Clayton Stoner, Luca Sbisa, Jonathan Marchessault, Mikhail Grabovski, James Neal and David Perron. Obviously, all of those players aren’t coming back to next years squad. However, one unrestricted free agent wasn’t mentioned because he just signed his contract with the Golden Knights Wednesday afternoon.

The Vegas Golden Knights announced that the team signed defenseman Brayden McNabb to a four-year deal. The contract is worth ten million dollars over the next four years meaning his cap hit is only at 2.5 million. Very affordable for a Golden Knights team that’s trying to figure out how they’re going to look in five to ten years from now.

McNabb is by no means an offensive defenseman, and he never will be that type of player. What makes him stand out is his work in his defensive zone. He’s got great size, loves dishing out some huge hits and even drops the gloves on a timely basis.

He doesn’t turn the puck over often and usually makes the right play. A comparable player to McNabb is Boston Bruins defenseman, Adam McQuaid. Both have similar contracts, they’re both big steady defenseman and will enforce when they have to, given the game situation.

One of McNabb’s best qualities is his leadership. The 27-year old wears the “A” for the Golden Knights, and he does so with pride. He’s a great locker room guy and leads by example which is significant for the younger players in the dressing room.

You can tell how much the Golden Knights value him as he is tied for the team lead with Engelland in plus/minus rating with +11. He may only have one goal and two assists, but again, he’s not an offensive defenseman. However, staying out of the box seems to be the biggest issue with McNabb.

The Davidson, Saskatchewan native leads the team in PIM with 19, and that number needs to stay down if he wants to continue to have success with the Knights. He’s too valuable of a defenseman on the ice to have in the box on a consistent basis. The team also needs him on special teams as he’s a massive part of the success on the penalty kill.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Call Up Forward From The Chicago Wolves.

All in all, great deal by the Vegas Golden Knights. They didn’t overspend for McNabb and have him locked in for the next four years at reasonable cash. The player and team are happy, so I’m all for it. You have to wonder if McPhee will sign another UFA during the season or wait it out till the offseason. And if so, who will the NHL’s newest franchise sign next?

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