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Three areas of need Vegas Golden Knights must address at Trade Deadline

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 08: Alec Martinez #27 of the Los Angeles Kings takes the puck in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on February 08, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey.The New Jersey Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 08: Alec Martinez #27 of the Los Angeles Kings takes the puck in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on February 08, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey.The New Jersey Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 28: Michael Grabner #40 and Brad Richardson #15 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrate after Grabner scored a first-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on December 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 28: Michael Grabner #40 and Brad Richardson #15 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrate after Grabner scored a first-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on December 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

2. Secondary Scoring

The Vegas Golden Knights have their explosive top six forward unit locked up for the foreseeable future, giving this team a wide window to win a Stanley Cup.

However, in a hard cap sport, you can’t pay everyone and the Knights have had to sacrifice some depth in order to sign the likes of Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Max Pacioretty to long-term deals.

That has really come back to bite Vegas on the butt this year, with the third-line in particular a black hole when it comes to offense.

When you consider that 263 of the 446 total points recorded by the Knights this year have been contributed by the top six, then that tells you all you need to know.

Cody Eakin is enduring a down year and could be moved at the Trade Deadline anyway given that he is a UFA in the summer, while Alex Tuch‘s regular season has been ravaged by injury.

Brandon Pirri and Valentin Zykov, who were both meant to provide secondary scoring at the start of the year, are in the minors and you need depth scoring in the postseason.

VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 18: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks skates with the puck during NHL action against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on January 18, 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 18: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks skates with the puck during NHL action against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on January 18, 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

There are options for the Golden Knights to explore when it comes to acquiring a third-line wing or a depth scorer, and I’ve always liked Michael Grabner of the Arizona Coyotes.

He’s quick, he’s going to get at least one breakaway a game and he also plays a real gritty style of hockey.

However, given the Knights’ need for a defenseman coupled with their salary cap constraints, Grabner’s $3,350,000 cap hit could be a problem.

Could Joe Thornton be an outside bet? The veteran could play as the third-line center for the Knights and he’s still capable of producing given that he has recorded two goals and 22 assists for 24 points in 56 games.

He has a cap hit of $2,000,000 and would no doubt jump at the chance to play for a contender, while Joe Thornton in a Golden Knights jersey would be the ultimate slap in the face for the Sharks.

It is clear thought that Vegas need to spark their secondary scoring into life because teams win championships, and not the individual.

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