3 Vegas Golden Knights trade rumors we're happy never came to fruition
It's tough making every trade work on a hockey team. Sometimes, it's best to walk away and avoid it altogether. Who did the Vegas Golden Knights wisely avoid?
Imagine if your favorite team gets a goaltender like Alexandar Georgiev or Karel Vejmelka in a trade. Robin Lehner suffers another hip injury, turning him to LTIR fodder. They come in and bomb, leaving your team to miss the playoffs. The fanbase is angry and is demanding answers from the front office.
"What happened?"
"Why did we make this move?"
Sometimes, there are decisions you make in life that you instantly regret. You get annoyed because you wasted precious time doing something you could've simply avoided. Whether it's going to a boring party or seeing an awful movie, it leaves you in a bad mood. That's never a good thing, especially with hockey trades.
The Vegas Golden Knights know first-hand about this feeling, with duds such as dealing Nick Suzuki to the Montreal Canadiens. It was a nice deal in the short term, providing the team with a bona fide scorer in Max Pacioretty. However, Suzuki has become a great playmaker, giving Montreal fans hope for a 25th Stanley Cup.
Still, some good moves happened on the flip side, such as acquiring Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres or getting Adin Hill from the San Jose Sharks. These moves got the Golden Knights a Stanley Cup championship in 2023, capped off by a breathtaking save in Game 1. It beats having Georgiev in net, huh?
So let's explore some of the bullets that Kelly McCrimmon and company dodged. What happened with these players after they were looked past by the Golden Knights? Why were they passed up in a potential trade? Here are three deals that we're glad never happened for Vegas.
The Vegas Golden Knights pass up Karel Vejmelka for Jonathan Quick
The Vegas Golden Knights were dealing with a wave of goaltender injuries heading into the 2023 trade deadline. They needed a stop-gap netminder who could hold the fort down once Laurent Brossoit or Adin Hill returned. One of the names considered was Arizona Coyotes goalie, Karel Vejmelka.
The native of the Czech Republic was a cheap option, carrying a $2.725 million cap hit. Knowing how Kelly McCrimmon operated, somebody else could carry a bulk of the hit. It was a win-win for the Golden Knights, especially since they were desperate to stop the bleeding in net.
But there were another option in Jonathan Quick, who was passable as a Golden Knights netminder. The former Conn Smythe winner had a save percentage of .901 in 10 games, bridging the gap for Vegas before the cavalry returned. He had a renaissance with his childhood team, the New York Rangers, posting a GAA of 2.62 and a save percentage of .911 in 27 games in 2023-24. Meanwhile, Vejmelka had a GAA of 3.35 and a save percentage of .895 in 38 games. It's safe to say picking Quick worked out for Vegas, getting them their first championship.
Jesse Puljujarvi or Ivan Barbashev?
The Vegas Golden Knights had a similar situation with their forwards in 2023. Instead of pursuing Karel Vejmelka, they were linked to Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi. The Finnish winger scored five goals and nine assists in 58 games, a far cry from his stat line of 14 goals and 22 assists the year prior. He needed a change of scenery from Canada, getting more playing time with a new team.
The Golden Knights were one of those teams mentioned, where he would have a team filled with veteran goal-scorers. However, Puljujarvi was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he scored two assists in 17 games. A year later, he scored three goals and one assist in 22 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The former fourth-overall pick fell off and didn't live up to expectations, leaving him as a first-round draft bust.
As for Vegas? They went with Ivan Barbashev, who paired nicely with Jack Eichel that year. He scored six goals and 10 assists in 23 regular-season games. He thrived in the postseason, scoring seven goals and 11 assists in 22 Stanley Cup playoff games, en route to another championship. As a result, he got a five-year, $5 million AAV deal last summer, solidifying himself as an important piece for Vegas.
Another goaltending target in Alexandar Georgiev?
In the 2022 offseason, Alexandar Georgiev was brought up as a potential trade target for the Vegas Golden Knights. The New York Rangers were tight on salary cap space and needed a move to clear up room. Eventually, he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche, where he served as the starting netminder.
He did do good in his first season, posting a GAA of 2.53 and a save percentage of .918 in 2022-23. That season, he also had a GA%- of 86 and five shutouts, finishing seventh in the Vezina Trophy voting. However, the Bulgarian goaltender fell off in 2023-24 with a GAA of 3.02 and a save percentage of .897 in 63 games.
Meanwhile, Adin Hill and Logan Thompson held the fort down, winning a Stanley Cup in 2023. Hill had a GAA of 2.45 and a save percentage of .915 that year while Thompson had a GAA of 2.65 and a save percentage of. 915. A year later, the British Columbia native had a GAA of 2.71 and a save percentage of .909 while the Calgary native posted a GAA of 2.70 and a save percentage of .908. Whether passing Georgiev up helped the Golden Knights or not is up for debate. However, last season showed what could've been if Vegas went with the Avalanche netminder.
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