In case you haven't heard the news, the Vegas Golden Knights had a helluva trade deadline. They acquired the services of Anthony Mantha, Noah Hanifin, and Tomas Hertl. Three seismic trades prove Kelly McCrimmon wants to put the exclamation point on the Golden Knights's current run.
So the average hockey fan is probably wondering...
"Do the Vegas Golden Knights have any picks left?"
They actually have some, dear reader! In fact, they still have a 2024 first-round draft pick, among others. Here's the updated draft picks after the trade deadline chaos settled.
Vegas Golden Knights Draft Picks for the Next Three Seasons
2024
- 2024 1st-round draft pick
- 2024 6th-round draft pick
- 2024 7th-round draft pick
- 2024 7th-round draft pick (from CBJ)
2025
- 2025 Conditional 2nd-round draft pick
- 2025 3rd-round draft pick
- 2025 3rd-round draft pick (from SJ)
- 2025 4th-round draft pick
- 2025 5th-round draft pick
- 2025 6th-round draft pick
2026
- 2026 2nd-round draft pick
- 2026 3rd-round draft pick
- 2026 5th-round draft pick
- 2026 6th-round draft pick
- 2026 7th-round draft pick
If you're wondering why the Golden Knights haven't been gun-shy about trading their draft picks, it's because a majority haven't been traditionally successful. Of their current 12 forwards not on injured reserve or beyond, only three were drafted by Vegas (Paul Cotter, Brendan Brisson, and Pavel Dorofeyev). Just three. Compare that to six forwards that were acquired via trade.
Digger deeper, here's the list of past first-round draft picks for the Vegas Golden Knights:
- Cody Glass (2017; traded)
- Nick Suzuki (2017; traded)
- Erik Brannstrom (2017; traded)
- Peyton Krebs (2019; traded)
- Brendan Brisson (2020; in the NHL)
- Zach Dean (2021; traded)
- David Edstrom (2023; traded)
Only one first-round draft pick on the Golden Knights is currently in the organization: Brendan Brisson. The former Michigan Wolverine is splitting time between the Henderson Silver Knights and Vegas Golden Knights, so it remains to be seen where he goes.
Still, it should come as no surprise that the Golden Knights don't have much use for higher draft picks (or regular draft picks, in general). General manager Kelly McCrimmon is the type of executive who nabs a good player off the market to fit the team's current needs.
Jeez, I really hope @GoldenKnights fans appreciate what they have in Bill Foley, George McPhee, Kelly McCrimmon and VGK hockey ops. Smart, committed, driven. The best.
— gary lawless (@garylawless) March 8, 2024
When you're the Golden Knights, you don't worry about whether draft picks succeed or not. Winning at all costs comes first. Whether it's acquiring a world-class center like Jack Eichel or getting Tomas Hertl, winning cures everything. Golden Knight fans hope that translates into another deep postseason run with another Stanley Cup.