It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. This is usually the quiet part of the hockey calendar. However, there is plenty of activity going on behind the scenes. Teams are trying to address needs that weren’t taken care of in the early part of free agency. General managers are trying to figure ways to solve roster issues. However, they have to do deal with some cap constraints and other challenges.
One team that is trying to take care of a particular need and that is the Vegas Golden Knights . This edition of NHL rumours deals with one position that the Knights are trying to add depth to.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Vegas Golden Knights Hoping to Add Goalie Depth
Rumour: Michael Amato of Sportsnet said the Golden Knights might try to address their goaltending depth . Adin Hill is the unquestioned starter, but they currently have Akira Schmid as their backup.
Analysis: Hill played in a career-high 50 games last season for Vegas. One worries if the Stanley Cup winner will wear down later on with that large workload. In previous seasons, Hill shared the workload with goalies like Logan Thompson and others.
One cause for alarm was Hill’s numbers fell off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s likely that having to shoulder that heavy load in goal may have played a hand in that. Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon will likely want to give his number one netminder a chance to have some games taken off his plate.
Vegas currently has Schmid as the backup goalie. Schmid has shown some flashes of brilliance in the early stages of his career. The Swiss goalie helped the New Jersey Devils steal a post-season series from the New York Rangers just a few seasons ago. However, Schmid has also only played in 48 career regular season games. He’s also been very inconsistent at times during his young career.
What It Means
The Golden Knights do need to find a solution for this issue. However, the team is up against the salary cap like it usually is. Vegas is currently over the salary cap by over $7.6 million. However, that number will go back into the positive after defenceman Alex Pietrangelo goes on long-term injured reserve . That move will make the Golden Knights cap-compliant. However, that will leave them with around $800,000 in cap space to work with.
Amato mentions that Vegas could look into getting Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, that move could be very difficult to pull off. The Penguins can retain up to half of Jarry’s salary that is currently $5.375 million that runs until the end of the 2027-28 season. This works out to nearly $2.7 million, but Vegas would have to clear out even more cap space to make this possible.
Finding a backup will be critical because the defence may struggle to get its footing with the loss of Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hauge being traded to the Nashville Predators due to cap constraints. Vegas does have some talented blueliners, but may take a step backwards due to losing some key players.
Main photo by: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
The post NHL Rumours: Vegas Golden Knights Could Seek Goalie Help appeared first on Last Word On Hockey .