Valentin Zykov – Forward
Vegas claimed Valentin Zykov off waivers in December, 2018 after failing to earn a point during a short stint with the Edmonton Oilers. He also struggled with the Carolina Hurricanes, totalling just 11 points in 25 games.
Zykov was part of the 2018 AHL All-Star game, so there is some talent there but whether he can translate that to the NHL remains to be seen. The left-wing’s body of work so far, although a small sample size, would suggest not.
The 23-year-old had five points (two goals, three assists) in 28 games for the Golden Knights this year and didn’t make much of an impression. Although he earns just $675,000 which isn’t a huge hit against the salary cap, there are a glut of forwards on the roster and in the farm system who look better equipped for the NHL than Zykov.
Nick Holden – Defenseman
This is perhaps the easiest decision to make for the Vegas Golden Knights if they can find a willing trade partner, which is perhaps the only problem with this suggestion.
Holden struggled during his time with the New York Rangers and he hasn’t fared much better with the Golden Knights, although he did post a plus / minus rating of five in 61 regular season games for Vegas.
He didn’t have much impact in the postseason, however, and was scratched for the final six games of the series against the San Jose Sharks after posting a -2 rating in Game 1.
With a glut of talented young blueliners waiting in the wings, such as Nicolas Hague, Zach Whitecloud and Jimmy Schuldt, Vegas would be wise to look to shift Holden off the roster in order to clear some cap space and give their prospects a chance to earn a roster spot.
Holden is 31-years-old and will earn $2,200,000 a year through 2020, which makes the argument to trade him even stronger given that there a plethora of talented studs who are primed to win a roster spot once training camp gets underway.
Malcolm Subban – Goaltender
Unstoppable some nights, a liability on other nights, Malcolm Subban still has plenty of room to develop and has proved himself as more than a capable backup for Marc-Andre Fleury.
Subban is a significant upgrade on Maxime Lagace and Oscar Dansk, who are both below him in the depth chart, and his yearly salary of £650,000 represents excellent value for a backup netminder in the NHL.
So why is he on this list?
Well Subban is a restricted free agent and will be allowed to walk away for nothing after 2019-20, which seems a likely outcome given the 25-year-old’s desire to secure a regular starting job in the NHL, which is unlikely to be with Vegas given Fleury’s continued brilliance.
It would seem unlikely that Vegas would look to move Subban given his value, but the threat of losing him for nothing in 2020 could force the Golden Knights’ hand given that every dollar is precious right now.