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Vegas Golden Knights: Breaking down the Salary Cap ramifications for 2020-21

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 31: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights is introduced before the team's game against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on March 31, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-2 and clinched the Pacific Division title. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 31: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights is introduced before the team's game against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on March 31, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-2 and clinched the Pacific Division title. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Paul Stastny of the Vegas Golden Knights takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena on March 1, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Paul Stastny of the Vegas Golden Knights takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena on March 1, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. /

The 2019-20 Roster

First and foremost, the Vegas Golden Knights have the core of their roster locked up for the foreseeable and all of their big hitters are signed to long contracts.

So, in that respect, the heart of their team won’t really be impacted from the salary cap remaining at where it is.

However, and as we saw this year, their ability to add depth to the roster will be somewhat hindered now.

After signing franchise center William Karlsson to an eight-year, $47,200,000 contract on June. 24, 2019, the Golden Knights had to clear some bodies off the roster in order to accommodate that deal.

Despite the fact that the deal was team-friendly, Vegas was still in danger of not being cap compliant which epitomizes their cap struggles this year.

As a result, key role players in the ilk of defenseman Colin Miller and forwards Nikita Gusev and Erika Haula were traded, while the likes of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter were allowed to walk in free agency.

Those moves ensured that the Golden Knights were cap compliant to begin the year, with rookies such as Cody Glass, Nicolas Roy and Nic Hague all on entry-level contracts while filling key holes in the lineup.

That lack of depth really hurt Vegas on occasion, however, especially when big stars went down with injury, while they employed the tactic of sending the likes of Roy and Glass down to the AHL on a consistent basis in order to accrue cap space prior to the Trade Deadline.

David Rittich of the Calgary Flames stops the shot of Nicolas Roy of the Vegas Golden Knights during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 8, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
David Rittich of the Calgary Flames stops the shot of Nicolas Roy of the Vegas Golden Knights during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 8, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. /

They acquired two players at the Deadline in goalie Robin Lehner and forward Nick Cousins, while they had traded for depth forward Chandler Stephenson from the Washington Capitals earlier in the year.

The Knights managed to get both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs to take on some of Lehner’s salary, meaning Vegas was only on the hook for $1,400,000 of the goalie’s sizeable $5 million cap hit.

Plus, by trading Cody Eakin and his $3,850,000 cap hit to the Winnipeg Jets prior to the Trade Deadline, the Golden Knights remained cap compliant even after adding some depth to the lineup while keeping flexibility for when Alex Tuch and his $4,750,000 cap hit came off the LTIR.

Overall, it was a year of really crunching the numbers for the Vegas Golden Knights who had to walk the salary cap tightrope more than most teams.

They had hoped it would be different in 2020-21 but, due to the coronavirus crisis, it promises to be more of the same…

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