Teams are now determining whether they will be buyers or sellers at the upcoming Trade Deadline, and it is expected that the Vegas Golden Knights will be in the former category.
One of the first big dominoes fell on Monday when the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild, and the Vegas Golden Knights will no doubt be getting ready to pull the trigger on one or two moves themselves in the next couple of weeks.
And, given the makeup of this team, the Golden Knights should continue to go all in as they try and make history by becoming the fastest expansion franchise to win a major championship.
Granted, the Knights won’t have a plethora of cap space to make a major splash at the Trade Deadline as they have done in previous years, but they should still have the resources to pull the trigger on a significant move.
More from Vegas Hockey Knight
- The moment the Vegas Golden Knights have been waiting for
- 3 Golden Knights players deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy
- If Golden Knights win Stanley Cup, who should Mark Stone pass it to first?
- Why are Vegas Golden Knights fans obsessed with flamingos?
- Just one more game for Golden Knight supremacy
By significant move we of course mean trading for a defenseman, be it a puck-moving blueliner or a stay-at-home defenseman.
If Vegas could also add a third-line scoring wing then that would constitute a pretty successful Trade Deadline.
As it stands, the Knights are projected to have just under $3 million in cap space at the Trade Deadline, but that should increase given that it is highly-likely Nick Holden, Ryan Reaves and Cody Eakin could all be moved.
While this year hasn’t been the kind of dominant show we were expecting to see from the Golden Knights, they are built to win right now and they have an owner who has a real craving for a championship.
As such, the Vegas Golden Knights should follow the lead of the LA Dodgers and go all in at the Trade Deadline in order to significantly push this team a step closer to their ultimate goal.
After years of pushing the rock up the hill, the Dodgers decided now was the time to go all-in and they did that this week by officially acquiring 2018 MVP outfielder Mookie Betts and former Cy Young Award winner David Price from the Boston Red Sox.
Those are both move-the-needle type additions and it is a clear statement of intent from an organization that know their window to win is right now.
The Vegas Golden Knights are in the same boat.
Again, they don’t have the resources to go and pull of another Mark Stone-esque trade, but the Knights can be aggressive buyers and bring in fresh faces that will help them to win right now.
After all, the Knights have been aggressive since entering the league in 2017 and they have created one of the most talented rosters in the entire league.
If they can now plug one or two gaps by being clever when it comes to creating cap space at the Trade Deadline, then that will help this team come the postseason.
Vegas has leveraged significant pieces of their future in order to create a core that can dominate together for the next few years, and now is not the time to stand pat and admire what you already have.
Rather, now is the time to maintain that aggressive attitude and do what it takes to bolster this roster by Feb. 24, surrounding that core with potent weapons that can contribute both down the stretch and during the thick of the battle in the postseason.
Owner Bill Foley wants a championship, and he wants one badly, and the Vegas Golden Knights need to do what the LA Dodgers did by rolling the dice and giving themselves the best possible chance to embark on a deep postseason run.
After all, this team is far too talented not to win a Stanley Cup, just as the Dodgers are far too talented not to win a World Series.
The Dodgers went all in to try and make their dream a reality, and now the Vegas Golden Knights must do the same.