Vegas Golden Knights strike it right with Eakin trade

It has been a good few days for the Vegas Golden Knights and they have now set themselves up for an interesting run up to the Trade Deadline.

After trading for LA Kings defenseman Alec Martinez on Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights lined up another move by trading Cody Eakin to the Winnipeg Jets today.

The Knights got back a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021, which could turn into a third-round selection if the Jets either make the postseason or re-sign Eakin.

That is a fantastic return for a pending UFA, especially when you consider that Eakin has shown clear signs of regression this year.

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This was a home run of a move by the Vegas front office who have now given themselves some flexibility when it comes to making another move before the Trade Deadline on Feb. 24.

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, the Golden Knights are interested in trading for Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks, who is a puck-moving defenseman.

The Knights are also in need of a depth scorer to come in and provide some secondary scoring both down the stretch and in the postseason.

So, by moving Eakin, Vegas has now shifted $3,850,000 off the books and will have the cap room to make another move by Monday in order to bolster this roster.

To get what could be a third-round pick for a pending UFA without retaining any salary was a stroke of genius by the front office too, and it gives them some more draft capital to play with too.

It was probably the right time for the Golden Knights to move on from Eakin too, given that the forward has suffered from decline this year.

Through 41 games, the center has four goals and six assists for 10 points with -9 rating, while his goals below replacement share of 2.2 was fourth-worst on the Knights.

The eye test also suggests that Eakin has struggled this year, with the 28-year-old just not an effective presence on the ice.

Even bumping Eakin up to a top-six role couldn’t spark the forward into life, and maybe a change of scenery will help to get his year back on track.

The Vegas Golden Knights also did right by trading Cody Eakin to his hometown team in the Winnipeg Jets.

After all, this season aside, Eakin has been a pivotal figure for this franchise and he was a cornerstone piece of the team that made the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, while he carved out career-highs in goals (22) and points (41) last year.

Overall, the Vegas Golden Knights got it 100 percent right with this trade and they managed to clear some cap space for another Trade Deadline move while stocking up on draft capital with what could transform into a third-round pick for a forward who was going to be a UFA in the summer anyway.

You can’t do much better than that.