Vegas Golden Knights: The pros and cons to Martinez trade

We are a few days away from the NHL Trade Deadline and the Vegas Golden Knights have already made a major move.

It was announced on Wednesday that the Vegas Golden Knights had sent a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round selection in 2021 to the LA Kings in exchange for defenseman Alec Martinez.

You could argue that it was a steep price to pay for a 32-year-old who has been on the decline this year, although the Golden Knights did address a very real need.

While it wasn’t a move-the-needle-type trade, Martinez will bring depth and vital experience to the Vegas blueline, while he is a shot-blocking machine.

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He is more of a stay-at-home defenseman so won’t offer much offensively, but the veteran will bring some balance to the defensive pairings.

Martinez has declined somewhat this year, although you could argue that has more to do with being stuck on a bad and rebuilding Kings team rather than the player himself.

So, on that note, let’s run through all the pros and cons when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights trading for Alec Martinez.

Pro – He’s a proven winner

Experience and know-how are two crucial ingredients in sports and Alec Martinez has both in abundance.

Playing all 11 of his NHL seasons with the LA Kings, Martinez has amassed 597 career regular season games, recording 62 goals and 136 assists for 198 points.

But, perhaps most importantly, the veteran is tried and tested in the postseason having skated in 64 playoff games with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists).

That puts Martinez third on the Vegas Golden Knights in terms of postseason experienced, behind Paul Stastny (79) and Marc-Andre Fleury (142).

He was a cornerstone piece of the LA Kings team that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and then again in 2014, while Martinez scored the goal that clinched the championship in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers.

Martinez also recorded the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, proving that the defenseman can keep his head and come up clutch in key moments and on the biggest stage.

The 32-year-old is one of only three players on the Golden Knights roster to have won a Stanley Cup, Fleury being the other obviously along with Chandler Stephenson, and that experience and knowledge of what it takes to win at the highest level will prove invaluable.

Con – The Price

We’ve seen this week alone the dramatic spike in the buyers market, and that is sure to set the tone for the Trade Deadline on Monday.

The Tampa Bay Lightning sent a monster package of prospects and picks to the New Jersey Devils for Blake Coleman, while the Vancouver Canucks did the same in order to acquire forward Tyler Toffoli from the LA Kings.

And the Vegas Golden Knights also had to pay a steep price in the trade for Alec Martinez, sending a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round selection in 2021 to the Kings.

Two second-round picks for a 32-year-old defenseman who has been on the decline this year is a steep price, especially when you consider that the Kings didn’t retain any of Martinez’ $4,000,000 annual average salary.

Granted, the Knights do have a treasure chest of second-round picks, including two more in 2021, but that is still a lot of capital to give up for what will be a bottom-four defenseman who doesn’t exactly move the needle.

However, the Golden Knights fell foul of the market and they had no choice but to overpay in order to improve their roster.