Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

3 budget free agents the Vegas Golden Knights should sign this offseason

By Andrew Steele-Davis

EDMONTON, AB - MARCH 23: Alex Chiasson #39 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates after scoring a goal during the game against the Ottawa Senators on March 23, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - MARCH 23: Alex Chiasson #39 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates after scoring a goal during the game against the Ottawa Senators on March 23, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
WINNIPEG, MB – FEBRUARY 26: Ben Chiarot #7 of the Winnipeg Jets keeps an eye on the play during second period action against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell MTS Place on February 26, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – FEBRUARY 26: Ben Chiarot #7 of the Winnipeg Jets keeps an eye on the play during second period action against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell MTS Place on February 26, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /

You can’t rest on your laurels in professional sports and the same applies to the Vegas Golden Knights who are coming off their second consecutive postseason appearance.

However, unlike 2017-18 where they embarked on a deep run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, it was a disappointing early exit for the Vegas Golden Knights who gave up a 3-1 series lead and four goals in five power play minutes to bow out of the Second Round to the San Jose Sharks.

As big a blow as that setback was though, it does give the tandem of General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee more time to fine-tune a roster that looks destined to lift a Stanley Cup sooner rather than later.

Every NHL franchise will enter the offseason with a shopping list when it comes to sprucing up their roster, be it full-scale changes or subtle little tweaks here and there.

It should be an exciting time for NHL fans too given some of the names primed to hit free agency, including Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky to name but just a handful.

The Golden Knights won’t be shopping in the elite section this summer, however, with their salary cap issues likely to force them to look in the bargain bucket unless the front office can pull a rabbit or two out of the hat when it comes to manipulating the cap.

That seems extremely unlikely though given that star center William Karlsson still needs a long-term contract and is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Four of his teammates will also be restricted free agents this offseason, while four other players including fans’ favourite and locker room leader, Deryk Engelland will be allowed to walk as an unrestricted free agent.

Vegas have some big decisions to make and they are already operating right under the NHL’s projected salary cap of $83 million for 2019-20, which doesn’t leave them with a lot left to play with when it comes to potentially dipping their toes into the free agent pool.

So, as a result, we have looked at three free agents (one forward, one defenseman, one goaltender) that can bring something to the table for the Vegas Golden Knights and won’t cost the earth.

Home/Analysis