The Vegas Golden Knights appear set with their current roster heading into the 2025-26 season. They got the big fish they wanted and are ready to serve to the public. They also brought back two key players from the 2024-25 season.
But does that mean they should be done with roster upgrades? One insider doesn't see it that way.
James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now came up with the Golden Knights as one of three potential destinations for the young goaltender. Included were talks about how the Golden Knights don't have a viable future standout in the net aside from Adin Hill and Daws being in a logjam in New Jersey.
Looking at this, it seems like a good fit! Daws is 24 years old and would make Vegas younger. That's what the team needs, right?
But this move goes beyond merely hopping into the "Fountain of Youth" and making the team younger. What does Daws bring to the table? Would he be a suitable replacement and a potential backup to Hill?
Does Nico Daws coming to the Golden Knights make a lot of sense?
Now, I had to do some digging on the German goaltender here. It seems he's the victim of a massive logjam in New Jersey. The starting goalie job is Jacob Markstrom's and Jake Allen came back on a five-year, $9 million deal. Therefore, there's no room for the 24-year-old in the Garden State.
Bizarrely enough, he had a similar stat line in a small sample to Akira Schmid. Daws had a GAA of 1.60 and a save percentage of .939 in six games played. It doesn't stop there, though. He also had a GAA of 3.16 (Hell Yeah!) and a save percentage of .893 in 34 games with the Utica Comets.
Schmid had a slightly better campaign with the Golden Knights in five games last season. He posted a GAA of 1.26 and a save percentage of .944. However, his AHL numbers were less stellar, posting a GAA of 3.58 and a save percentage of .886 with the Silver Knights.
They're also similar in size, with Daws standing at a mean 6'4" and Schmid standing an inch taller. In essence, it'd be replacing one goaltender with a similar player. Thus, the move isn't necessarily needed unless you want to give Schmid some competition.
Then again, that's what having Carl Lindbom and Cameron Whitehead is good for. The Golden Knights have a solid prospect pool for goaltenders who can give Schmid that push during the preseason. In fact, should one of the goalies in the tandem go down, Lindbom should get some playing time if he's seen as being fit.
Overall, I think Vegas is fine with its current roster. Sure, certain players (*cough* *cough* Rasmus Andersson) will be talked about throughout the season. However, McCrimmon has stated that he's satisfied with where his roster is. Therefore, I think I will pass for now.