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Vegas Golden Knights should go after Luke Schenn this summer

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 04: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn (2) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, held on April 4, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 04: Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn (2) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks, held on April 4, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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VANCOUVER, BC – APRIL 2: Micheal Haley #18 of the San Jose Sharks looks on as Luke Schenn #2 of the Vancouver Canucks takes a shot during their NHL game at Rogers Arena April 2, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)”n
VANCOUVER, BC – APRIL 2: Micheal Haley #18 of the San Jose Sharks looks on as Luke Schenn #2 of the Vancouver Canucks takes a shot during their NHL game at Rogers Arena April 2, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)”n /

The Vegas Golden Knights, like every other team in the NHL, will enter the offseason needing to address a number of needs on their roster.

Unlike the previous two summers for the Vegas Golden Knights where they have built a team from the ground up, this offseason will be about applying minor tweaks and retooling a roster that is built to win a Stanley Cup sooner rather than later.

Able to boast one of, if not the most formidable top six forward units in the NHL, the Golden Knights also possess a bottom six that can provide secondary scoring in troves and they are just an offensive juggernaut, as backed up by the 3.57 goals per game they averaged in the playoffs and the 246 goals scored during the regular season.

It will be on the blueline that could be in line for a radical makeover, however, with Vegas needing to make sure that they bring in quality reinforcements in order to give goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban as much protection as possible.

Defensively, the Knights were sound in 2018-19 having given up an average of 2.78 goals per game, which ranked 22nd overall in the NHL.

However, top-four defenseman Colin Miller has been the subject of much trade talk in recent weeks while team leader Deryk Engelland could be allowed to walk as an unrestricted free agent.

Related Story. VGK should sign these 3 free agent blueliners. light

Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt are without doubt the team’s top two defensemen, while young studs in the ilk of Nic Hague, Jimmy Schuldt and Zach Whitecloud will be given the chance to nail down a job on the blueline in training camp.

Other than that, Vegas have Jon Merrill and Brayden McNabb who are nice depth pieces, and Nick Holden who hasn’t impressed overly in either of his last two stints in Sin City and in the Big Apple with the New York Rangers.

This blueline needs sprucing up anyway and that need will become even more pressing if Miller does indeed gets traded and Engelland hits free agency, especially when you consider that those two are the team’s only two right-handed defensemen.

As a result, the Golden Knights are going to have to address that need either via a trade, the 2019 NHL Entry Draft or by dipping their toes into the free agency pool.

And, although the team will be hamstrung somewhat given the fact that they are already pressing right up against the projected $83 million salary cap for 2019-20, there are plenty of bargains to be had in the free agent market if you dig deep enough.

This leads us nicely on to why the Vegas Golden Knights should seriously consider making an offer for veteran defenseman Luke Schenn, who enjoyed quite the rebirth in 2018-19…

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