I know some people were expecting the Vegas Golden Knights to make a splashy move this summer. While they certainly did that, it wasn't the move that they were thinking of. Instead, they sent Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers for some draft picks, clearing up future cap space. In a way, it makes sense.
You don't want to pay a winger specialized in power play work $11 million per year. That would be bad business, especially since that type of money is reserved for the world's best players. So, why take the risk on someone who could regress if he doesn't get his power play touches?
But there's always the trade deadline to look forward to, mate. It's when certain teams are out of the running and are selling pieces to better themselves in the future. Believe it or not, the Golden Knights finally have some draft capital to maneuver for a star player or two.
With that, three teams come to mind for the upcoming NHL season. These teams didn't make the Stanley Cup playoffs last season and could be selling their pieces once again. Watch for the following three teams to be movin' and groovin' if things go south like birds heading away for the winter.
1.) Detroit Red Wings
Obviously, the talk will center on Dylan Larkin because he requested a trade and had the Golden Knights on his short list. But there's also John Gibson, who's in the last year of his current deal, alongside Alex DeBrincat. There's one caveat: Rumor has it that the winger wants to stay in Michigan to be closer to his family.
I mean, that was the assumption from Larkin, who's a native of Waterford, Michigan. Yet, here we are. Anyway, watch for the Red Wings if they continue struggling into the 2026-27 season.
2.) Winnipeg Jets
As is tradition, the Golden Knights are linked to yet another big name. This time, it's Connor Hellebuyck, who's been connected to the Golden Knights before. While he's currently stuck with a full no-movement clause, Vegas has worked crazier trades before.
Aside from the big fish waiting in the little pond, there's also a swath of forwards with a year left on their current deals. That includes Nino Niederreiter, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Morgan Barron. McCrimmon will have plenty of depth options if he wishes to pursue a deeper lineup scoring-wise.
3.) Columbus Blue Jackets
Now, the first thing that'll come to mind for Golden Knights fans is Zach Werenski. While the Olympic gold medalist has a salary cap hit of roughly $9.6 million and no-trade/no-move clauses of varying intensities, he does have two years left on his current deal.
But he's not the only player that the Golden Knights should target. If McCrimmon wanted to get extra frisky, he could go after forwards like Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko. The moves might take up future salary cap space since both forwards are restricted free agents with arbitration rights after this season. But since Vegas needs youth in the forward group, does that really matter?
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