Three areas of need Vegas Golden Knights must address at Trade Deadline
1. Top Four Defenseman
Everything suggests that the Vegas Golden Knights’ biggest priority at the Trade Deadline is to acquire a top-four defenseman, preferably a puck-moving blueliner.
Of course, such pieces don’t come cheap and as a result the Knights may have to make do in other areas in order to ensure they address their biggest need.
Other than Shea Theodore, the Vegas blueline has been less than stellar all year and their inability to transition out of the zone without giving up turnovers is proving costly.
They have also allowed 15 goals in the last three games and rank 17th in Goals Against Per Game in the NHL (3.07).
As such, the need for a high-end top four defenseman is incredibly high for the Vegas Golden Knights and there are plenty of options available to them.
General Manager Kelly McCrimmon could go down the rental route and look for someone in the ilk of gritty blueliner Brenden Dillon, who was coached by Peter DeBoer with the San Jose Sharks.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green and Sami Vatanen are other rentals that would be exploring for the Knights too.
Then there is the option of going for term and Alec Martinez, who is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the LA Kings, would fit perfectly into the Vegas system as would Montreal Canadiens blueliner Jeff Petry.
It appears an almost certainty that the Golden Knights will acquire a defenseman at the Trade Deadline and, depending on who they trade for, that could be the difference between a long or a short summer.