Vegas Golden Knights: What to do with Nikita Gusev

This has been a successful offseason so far for the Vegas Golden Knights, but arguably one of their toughest decisions still lies in wait.

After locking down star center William Karlsson to a new long-term deal, replenishing their farm system with a slew of intriguing prospects and bringing back a number of role players, the Vegas Golden Knights are having a productive summer.

However, their work isn’t done yet and they face one of their most complicated situations of the offseason when it comes to deciding what to do with Nikita Gusev.

The Russian stud, who lit it up at the IIHF World Championships with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points, is a restricted free agent this summer and his future in Sin City is very much in doubt.

Jesse Granger of The Athletic, who does a brilliant job covering the Golden Knights by the way, has reported that Gusev is looking for an average annual salary of $4 million.

Vegas, who are still navigating the stormy seas of the salary cap, are reportedly only willing or able to offer a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2 million.

It is a tough spot for the Knights to find themselves in with the front office deserving praise for the way they’ve clawed their way out of salary cap hell, with moves still to be made.

However, it seems that the overall narrative of this offseason will be dictated by what eventually happens with Gusev.

Still to thrash out a new contract for veteran leader Deryk Engelland and stud defenseman Jimmy Schuldt, coupled with the need to either shed David Clarkson’s $5,250,000 contract or placing it on the long-term injured reserve list, the Golden Knights are hamstrung as they continue to try and squeeze under the $81.5 million salary cap for 2019-20.

Even if they do manage to move Clarkson’s heft salary, the Knights won’t have much wriggle room to conduct any other business given that they are still projected to have a cap hit of $85,024,999 for next year.

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All in all, it doesn’t paint a pretty picture when it comes to evaluating if Gusev has a long-term future in Sin City.

Vegas fans seem to be all in when it comes to keeping the forward and you can’t blame them if you look at his numbers.

One of the most potent and productive scorers in the KHL, Gusev has racked up 147 goals and 253 assists for 400 points in 458 games, averaging 0.873 points per game (info per The Athletic).

That last stat in particular is impressive given that Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov both have a lesser points per game average than Gusev.

Dadonov is an interesting comparison in itself given that the 30-year-old has an annual cap hit of $400,000 with the Panthers. He has accumulated 135 points during his first two years in Florida but, looking at his body of work in Russia prior to his move to the NHL, you can understand why Gusev and his camp would be looking for a similar salary.

Getting back to Gusev, though, and there is no denying the left wing’s body of work both in the KHL and on the international stage.

He’s a four-time All-Star in the KHL, he led the league in points (81) and assists (64) in 2018-19, feats he also achieved in 2017-18.

In addition to the above, Gusev also has two World Championship Bronze Medals and an Olympic Gold Medal, in addition to a slew of other hardware and honors.

The one caveat to all of the above is that the vast majority of that success was achieved on bigger ice pads, and it is nearly impossible to predict whether or not Gusev could replicate those feats in the NHL, even if you try and compare it to other KHL players who have trodden a similar path to the majors in America.

However, the counter to that argument can be based on what Gusev showed he was capable of when playing alongside elite NHL stars at the IIHF World Championships.

Forging a deadly and unstoppable combination with Tampa Bay Lightning stud Nikita Kucherov, Gusev finished the tournament tied second for most points along with his fellow countryman behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander.

Gusev was at the very peak of his powers in Slovakia and he showcased his talents in the big moments on the big stage.

He’s worked hard for his shot at the big time in the NHL and, if he can translate his style of play to the American stage, then there is no doubt that Gusev will be a formidable force in the best league in the world.

Whether that is with the Vegas Golden Knights remains to be seen, though. The Knights find themselves in an almost impossible situation and they are right to take their time with this.

There is no crystal ball out there to predict exactly how Gusev will fare in the NHL, and whether or not he will morph into a star or flop like former Vegas forward and fellow Russian, Vadim Shipachyov.

Ultimately, the main priority for the front office tandem of General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee this summer was to lock down Karlsson to a long-term contract.

They’ve accomplished that mission and everything else from that point on can be considered a bonus for a franchise about to enter their third year as an NHL team.

But, with their Stanley Cup window open right now, you can’t blame the Vegas hierarchy if they do indeed decide to roll the dice and do whatever it takes to sign Gusev to a deal.

In order to do that they will have to pull the trigger on more moves alongside shedding David Clarkson’s contract, including considering trading away the likes of Cody Eakin or Ryan Reaves.

Both players perform key roles for this Vegas team and, like Erik Haula, would be hard to give up but that is the price you would need to pay if keeping hold of Gusev is a top priority.

Also, and this is another factor to consider, you would have to weigh up what would be included in a potential return for Gusev.

If the Knights can get back a package containing a plethora of picks and prospects then it makes losing the Russian easier. However, if that return proves to be a lot less, it may give the front office added motivation to thrash out a deal and force it over the finishing line.

He’s clearly a high-end talent with a lot of upside but he’s an unproven quantity in the NHL and, given their salary cap complications, the Golden Knights would have to pay a hefty price and take an almighty gamble in order to either give Gusev what he wants or to reach some kind of compromise.

Put simply, there is no easy answer for the Vegas Golden Knights when it comes to working out what to do with Nikita Gusev.