Vegas Golden Knights – Who could be traded this offseason

Salary cap issues will be the main talking point of the offseason for the Vegas Golden Knights who don’t have a lot of wriggle room with which to play with.

Of course, having to crunch the numbers and make tough decisions in order to construct an NHL worthy roster while staying under the salary cap is a fine balancing act that all General Managers have to deal with, and that will be no different for new Vegas Golden Knights GM, Kelly McCrimmon.

As has been extensively covered on this site already, the biggest priority for the Golden Knights this summer will be dishing out an extension to star center William Karlsson.

With 207 points (including playoffs) in 379 games, Karlsson will likely command in the region of $6-7 million a year, although to achieve that figure will demand some juggling by the Knights given that they are already pressing right up against the projected NHL Salary Cap of $83 million for 2019-20.

And, with four unrestricted free agents and five restricted free agents (including Karlsson) on the books, some players will be heading out of the exit door this summer.

Vegas could also clear some cap space by trading away some contracts already on the books, and we’ve taken a look at the likely candidates.

Now, and here’s a disclaimer, in truth anyone on the Vegas Golden Knights roster can technically be available for a trade, but we’ve selected the players we think are the most realistic options to be traded away this offseason based on their current contracts and roles within the team.

Ryan Reaves – Forward

This won’t be a popular opinion at all and I’m already braced for plenty of backlash for even suggesting that Ryan Reaves could be a potential trade candidate.

Reaves is adored by the Vegas faithful and it is easy to see why, he’s a throwback to hockey of old in the way he plays the game. He hits like a train, he loves to get under the skin of his opponents and nobody drops the gloves like he does.

He’s also got a larger than life personality off the ice to match his huge on ice persona, which is perfectly suited for the entertainment capital of the world.

However, Reaves has shown during his one-and-a-bit years with Vegas that there is more to his game than crunching hits and vicious haymakers – although there has certainly been plenty of both which we will never complain about.

No, the 32-year-old enjoyed an offensive splurge in 2018-19 and achieved career highs in goals (9), assists (11) and points (20). Three of those 20 points came on the power play which further underlies the fact that Reaves isn’t just a one trick pony.

And you can put forward a strong argument that the fourth line of Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and William Carrier is one of the strongest in the NHL when they are all on their game.

But, and here is the caveat. Reaves, despite his surge in offensive production this year, will always be a fourth line grinder tasked with dropping the gloves and making a pest of himself in order to give his team a bolt of energy.

Reaves is currently being paid $2,775,000 a year through 2020 and that is a lot of money to pay a 32-year-old who, although he has shown he is capable of chipping in with goals and assists, will never be anything more than a bottom six enforcer.

Granted, if the Golden Knights can keep hold of Reaves then there is no doubt that they opt to do just that given the standing he has in the locker room and the impact he’s made on the ice.

But with less than $1 million worth of cap space left to play with and the small task of locking down William Karlsson to a long-term contract, trading away Reaves in order to free up some more cash may be a price the Vegas Golden Knights will have to pay.

Cody Eakin – Forward

Trading away Cody Eakin seems the most likely outcome this summer for the Golden Knights for a number of different reasons.

First and foremost, and despite his body of work with Vegas which we will get on to shortly, the Knights can afford to lose a player of Eakin’s ilk.

Why? Two names. Erik Haula and Cody Glass. Haula played just 15 games in 2018-19 before a lower-body injury wrecked his season. He’s back skating on his own following knee surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

There is no doubt that, when fully healthy, Haula is a significant upgrade on Eakin having registered 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 76 games in 2017-18, including 19 points and 12 goals on the power play.

Earning $2,750,000 a year through 2020, Haula represents great value for a third-line center who will put up hefty numbers for a bottom-six forward and log big minutes on the power play.

Then you have Cody Glass. The first draft pick in the history of the Vegas Golden Knights has a sky-high ceiling in terms of his potential and he looks ready to burst onto the NHL stage sooner rather than later.

He has six goals in 13 games for the Chicago Wolves, including the game-winner in overtime against Iowa in Game 1 of the Second Round in this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Glass could well be ready to step up and fill the void as a third-line center if Haula needs more time to fully recover from his knee injury.

Should Haula come back with no long-term damage and Glass proves himself during training camp, then Eakin would likely be bumped down to the fourth line and, as a result, see less ice time which would be hard to justify given his $3,850,000 yearly salary.

Again, trading away Eakin would be tough given that he enjoyed a career year in 2018-19 with 41 points and 22 goals. He also logged 15:23 minutes of ice time a night on average, won 51.0 percent of his draws in the faceoff circle, had 88 hits and 51 takeaways.

However, he is due to become a free agent in 2020 anyway and you can’t keep everyone when you are working within the constraints of a salary cap.

It all boils down to who is more valuable to this team – Karlsson or Eakin? If shedding Eakin’s contract can help towards signing Karlsson long-term then Vegas will have to bite the bullet and trade Eakin.