We continue our deep dive on the offseason today by taking a look at the cluster of restricted free agents the Vegas Golden Knights have on their books.
The Vegas Golden Knights enter a busy and arguably pivotal offseason with five players set to become restricted free agents.
Headlining this list is of course star center William Karlsson, who we did a deep dive on a couple of days ago in regards to why it is crucial the two parties reach an agreement on a long-term extension.
We will now look at the other restricted free agents and give our verdicts on their long-term futures with the Golden Knights.
William Karlsson – Forward
Let’s get this one out of the way first.
As already mentioned, we have already gone in-depth about what the Vegas Golden Knights should do with one of their faces of the franchise.
Karlsson has been lights out for the Golden Knights since being selected in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, tallying 78 points (43 goals, 35 assists) in 2017-18.
His offensive production did dip somewhat this year with 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points, but he has already proven himself as an elite two-way center in the NHL who, at 26 years of age, still has his best hockey ahead of him.
As a result, that could result in Karlsson seeking a deal worth in the region of $6-7 million per year. To facilitate that, however, the Golden Knights will have to get creative with their payroll given the fact that they are already pressing right up against the projected $83 million salary cap for 2019-20.
That would almost certainly involve trading away some assets and shedding a couple of unrestricted free agents, a list which potentially includes fans’ favourites Ryan Reaves and Deryk Engelland.
It would be a price worth paying though when you consider that another arbitration deal would cast serious doubt on Karlsson’s long-term future in Sin City.
Put it simply, coming to terms on a new long-term contract with Karlsson this summer is in the best interests of the Vegas Golden Knights and I believe it will get done.
Malcolm Subban – Goaltender
Malcolm Subban’s sample size of work with the Golden Knights is an interesting one.
During some stretches he has been almost unstoppable, winning seven of nine starts in the latter stages of 2018-19, but he can also be exposed on other occasions and a severe lack of consistent ice time can perhaps disrupt his focus.
He also has an alarming habit of letting in goals that should be routine saves and he had a shocking .885 save percentage during a five-game stretch towards the tail end of the year.
And that is the biggest issue facing the Golden Knights going forward. Subban is now a restricted free agent and, at 25-years of age, he will have his sets set on winning a starting job soon.
With Marc-Andre Fleury under contract through the 2021-22 season, Subban will have to bide his time to take over the throne if he indeed wants to become a starter in Vegas.
If not, then the Toronto native may well choose to test the waters of free agency and see what is out there in terms of potential starting jobs in the NHL.
In the meantime Vegas have themselves a more than capable of backup who, with a salary cap hit of $650,000, comes cheap and is a significant upgrade on the other two netminders on the depth chart in Oscar Dansk and Max Lagace.
Expect to see Subban as Fleury’s deputy once again in 2019-20 but what happens beyond that is anyone’s guess.