The Vegas Golden Knights are in quite the unfortunate predicament with the cap. Since making a move for superstar center, Jack Eichel, the Vegas Golden Knights have had to put multiple players in a “could move” category. Which, in all fairness, the good outweighs the bad. Trading people away is never something people like to do, but when you had the chance to get a star like Eichel, you have to pull the trigger.
Looking at what happens now, well, they are going to have to make room for him as he continues to get closer to his return. This article, in all honesty, is probably a little pre-mature given the fact they still have time till they have to make this decision. Nonetheless, it’s good to plan ahead.
With the Vegas Golden Knights starting to get some of their original players back in the lineup, the Knights cap space continues to get tighter and tighter. However, they definitely still have time before anything gets solidified. Regardless, as I said above, they need to start figuring out their options.
The Vegas Golden Knights traded for superstar center, Jack Eichel, from the Buffalo Sabres in early November. In return, the Knights sent the Sabres a first-round pick this year(top-10 protected), Alex Tuch, and Peyton Krebs. It’s easy to say that the Knights made out pretty well in that trade, but it sucks that now there’s more difficult decisions to make. For Example, who are they going to move when Eichel comes back?
I’ve written a couple articles on this topic now, but things change constantly and it makes it hard to predict what they will do in January when Eichel is more likely to return. Nonetheless, it’s nice to make predictions and this one has been something that I haven’t really considered until now.
Why Moving Jonathan Marchessault Makes Sense for the Vegas Golden Knights
As I stated above, I’ve written multiple prediction articles stating who I think could get moved in order to make space for Eichel. In those articles I had a couple different names/combinations that include: A Mattias Janmark/Brayden McNabb combo, Shea Theodore, Reilly Smith, and Evgenii Dadonov.
I’ve given reasons that I feel are actually very valid for moving each and every one of those names, but for today, we’re not going to be talking about them. Today, I’d like to talk to you about a different name that could be a dark horse to get moved by the Vegas Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault.
Jonathan Marchessault is one of the most cherished Vegas Golden Knight players by both the fans, and by the organization. As one of the original misfits, he holds a very special place for all Vegas Golden Knight fans-Including me. Which I understand is probably not coming off as truthful right about now. However, there is one thing you need to consider about this- It’s a business.
Regardless of how many championships you help a team win, or how well you produce, it doesn’t change the fact that it is a business. So with that, it means that literally anything can happen. Even some of the best players of all time have gone on to play with multiple teams throughout their career.
When Jack Eichel comes back, he is going to be making roughly $10,000,000 per season. On the other hand, the Vegas Golden Knights currently have $488,333 according to Capfirendly.com. So, as you can see the Knights have to make some moves in order to make everything fit inside the cap.
In order to make that fit you are going to have to make at least one hefty trade, maybe even two. That’s why I think trading Jonathan Marchessault is the right move for the Vegas Golden Knights organization.
When trading a player away, there is one question that you really have to ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish by doing this trade? Once you get that question answered, everything else will sort itself out. In the mean time, I’ll answer those questions.
What am I Trying to Accomplish?
First, with the way the Vegas Golden Knights have handicapped themselves, they need to find a way to trade away a player who is currently taking up a large portion of cap. Which, quite frankly isn’t that hard to find on this roster. However, that leads me into the next part of this question: Who can I get the most back for? Answer: Jonathan Marchessault.
The Vegas Golden Knights will not be trading away Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Alex Pietrangelo, or any of those players. It’s as simple as that, they aren’t going anywhere. So after removing those players out of the equation, your ultimately left with either Reilly Smith, or Jonathan Marchessault.
Between the two of them, I’d bet that if you were to trade Marchessault, you could obtain more draft capital and/or prospects than if you were to trade Smith. There is nothing wrong with Smith, and I’m sure you could still get something back for him. However, the value around Smith’s name is not even in comparison to Marchessault.
In Conclusion, the Vegas Golden Knights, if they could, would probably love to keep all of their players. However, that’s not how the league works. So they have to make a move in order to obey by the National Hockey League‘s rules. So with that being said, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Knights trading away Jonathan Marchessault when Eichel is ready to return.