Vegas Golden Knights: Is Dillon now a trade target with DeBoer hire?

Cons to trading for Dillon

There are some that think, us included, that the Vegas Golden Knights need a puck-moving defenseman in order to help with the transition game.

Shea Theodore is Vegas’ smoothest skater and, granted, the transition game has improved, but Brenden Dillon is more of a stay-at-home defenseman than an offensive juggernaut.

However, with new Head Coach Peter DeBoer known for his defensive-based systems, coupled with Dillon’s skating ability, that may not matter anymore.

Dillon is also a left shot, of which the Golden Knights already have plenty on the blueline, although that is hardly the be-all and end-all.

The biggest con to trading for Dillon will come down to the financials. Carrying a cap hit of $3,270,000, the 29-year-old is an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Therefore, the Golden Knights will need to shed some expiring contracts in order to create some cap space to pull the trigger on a trade, while they will also need to pay Dillon in the summer if they want to re-sign him, although they will be more plush in cap space by the off-season.

Then there is the small matter of what the Golden Knights will have to give up. According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the San Jose Sharks would be looking for something along the lines of a second-round pick and a mid-level prospect.

That in itself is doable for the Golden Knights, especially if they can quickly thrash out an extension with Dillon, and Vegas could look to include prospects in the ilk of Dylan Coghlan or Lucas Elvenes as part of any package.

There is the added caveat, though, of the bitter hatred that exists between the two franchises, so that could potentially throw a wrench in the works when it comes to thrashing out the details on a trade.