It seems more likely by the day that Adin Hill isn't going anywhere. The beleaguered Vegas Golden Knights netminder had a season to forget in 2025-26, falling off the proverbial cliff stat-wise. You don't need to go through the stats to see how bad it was for the former Stanley Cup hero.
Still, David Pagnotta confirmed on Leafs Morning Take that teams have an interesting stipulation for the Golden Knights. That involves *GULP* taking on some of his $6.25 million salary cap hit in a potential trade.
"Teams want Vegas to retain on Adin Hill's contract."David Pagnotta on Leafs Morning Take
Now, there's a common rule that McCrimmon follows with the Golden Knights. Other teams must retain the player's salary in a Golden Knights trade (see the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins). It's almost never the Golden Knights that invoke this rule where they retain any salary on a team's behalf.
But it perfectly explains why teams haven't budged on a deal for the goaltender. That even includes teams loaded with cap space, who haven't been impressed enough to take on the netminder outright. So, what better way to make that happen than to have Vegas take the burden off of you?
Of course, that means McCrimmon deals with the retention for the contract's remainder. That's no bueno in the realm, specifically with Hill's current deal running up to 2031. That retention could be used for other purposes, such as filling one to three roster spots, which is far better than keeping an injured netminder's salary.
It looks like the Golden Knights will have the lightning rod back in the fold for the 2026-27 season. Adin Hill's trade rumors keep getting more complicated by the day, leaving many fans frustrated by the lack of progress. Oh well, that's how the cookie crumbles.
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