Kelly McCrimmon, general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights, responds to a question during a news conference introducing new head coach Bruce Cassidy at City National Arena in Las Vegas Thursday, June 16, 2022.
Thursday, July 7, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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It’s one of the more important times in the NHL’s calendar year, and for the Golden Knights, it’ll soon be time to see what the front office has been thinking with their extended downtime.
First thing’s first: The NHL Draft returns to in-person viewing today for the first time since the pandemic. The host Montreal Canadiens have the No. 1 overall pick and the last-minute decision on who the Canadiens take between Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky will make things intriguing.
The Golden Knights likely won’t have as interesting of a weekend. They don’t have a first-round pick for Thursday’s portion of the draft, and their fourth-round selection belongs to Detroit.
Vegas’ draft board looks like this:
- 2nd round – No. 48
- 3rd round – No. 95 (from New York Rangers)
- 5th round – No. 135 (from Chicago)
- 5th round – No. 145
- 6th round – No. 177
- 7th round – No. 209
On a normal calendar, the NHL Draft is usually held with 10 days remaining before the start of free agency. With everything moved up as the league tries to get back to a normal schedule, activity is expected to be frantic with six days before the new league year gets underway.
Of course, that’s less time than usual, but the Golden Knights have seemingly prepared for this their season came to an end back in April.
Whether or not a plan is already in the works between now and next Wednesday is up in the air. As of now, the Golden Knights are “looking at all options,” according to a source.
Those options have varied from trades to getting under the salary cap, to acquiring assets that can help them by opening night, and even kicking the tires on trading back into the first round Thursday, but the likelihood of that remains minimal.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported Wednesday that the Golden Knights may be evaluating the goalie market to add a veteran in the likelihood that Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit are not ready by October.
This piece of news is interesting on multiple accounts. Lehner, who underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the season, could potentially be out until November and create a seven-month recovery timeline. That’s compared to his prior shoulder surgery from October 2020, in which he was available for the start of the COVID-shortened 2021 season that began in January.
The other is Brossoit, someone seen as a surefire trade chip thanks to the emergence of Logan Thompson. Brossoit had hip surgery in May and was expected to be ready for training camp.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon said June 16 that everyone who has had offseason surgery is doing well in their rehabs and no setbacks were expected.
If Brossoit is too injured to the point where the Golden Knights can’t get any return back for a trade, it’s a possibility Vegas could stash him on long-term injured reserve and create another avenue of salary relief.
But the potential absences of Lehner and Brossoit open the door for the Golden Knights to explore the goalie market. The options, however, are limited and two of them are likely not available. Montreal’s Jake Allen started 35 games last season in place of the injured Carey price, the most the 31-year-old has made in four seasons. He went 9-20-4 for the Canadiens, who hold the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Another option could be Brian Elliott, who revived his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, going 11-4-3 with a .912 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average. He has one year left on his deal at $900,000, a cheap option that Vegas could explore.
Other than that, there aren’t many feasible options on expiring contracts. Semyon Varlamov, who was tied to Vegas rumors at the trade deadline last season, has a $5 million cap hit with one year left that the New York Islanders could move. Antti Raanta from the Carolina Hurricanes ($2 million) might be another option if Carolina is ready to have Pyotr Kochetkov be a full-time NHL goalie.
And yes, you can rule out any hope of a potential Marc-Andre Fleury reunion.
Trade discussions will be ongoing throughout the weekend, but it’s unclear how pressed the Golden Knights are to wanting to get business done before Wednesday. Defenseman Alec Martinez is still considered as someone the Golden Knights would like to move on from given their depth at the blue line. William Karlsson remains an option, but the sense is things have cooled on that front.
A long offseason aided by missing the playoffs for the first time ever has quickly turned the corner to the most important time of the summer. Now, eyes will be on the Golden Knights for how they handle another cap-crunched summer.
How to watch 2022 NHL Draft
When: Thursday (1st round), 4 p.m.; Friday (Rounds 2-7), 8 a.m.
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, QE
TV: ESPN, ESPN+, NHL Network
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
