Golden Knights re-sign Saad to 1-year, $2M deal

The Vegas Golden Knights have extended forward Brandon Saad to a one-year, $2 million contract, per PuckPedia.

The deal was first reported by SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday, though details of the contract were not made available until Friday.

It is the second move made by the Golden Knights this week to solidify the club’s depth on the wing after inking Reilly Smith to a one-year, $2 million extension on Wednesday.

The details of Saad’s deal — which features a $1 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and a full no-trade clause — are identical to Smith’s.

The Golden Knights have now locked up both veteran wingers who were acquired during the 2024-25 season. The Saad extension is another low-risk, team-friendly deal, as both he and Smith elected to take less money in order to stay with the Golden Knights.

Vegas signed Saad to a one-year contract with a prorated $1.5 million cap hit on Jan. 31 after Saad and the St. Louis Blues mutually agreed to terminate his contract.

Saad recorded six goals and 14 points in 29 games with the Golden Knights and developed chemistry with Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev on the second line. In 163 minutes, the trio managed a Corsi share of 59.48 percent, an expected goal share of 62.79 percent and a high-danger Corsi share of 63.16 percent.

Saad was injured in Game 2 of the second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers and did not return in the playoffs. Though he didn’t score in the postseason, he played very well and tallied two assists in eight contests.

The veteran will be 33 in late October and brings two Stanley Cup rings to the table after winning twice with Chicago.

Saad has 266 goals and 529 points in 935 career games with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Avalanche, Blues and Golden Knights. Like Smith, this contract will give Saad the opportunity to reach the 1,000 NHL games milestone this season.

With Saad and Smith signed, the Golden Knights have $5.615 million of remaining cap space, according to PuckPedia.

Draft update

The Golden Knights did not have a selection in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on Friday but will be on the board at No. 58 overall in the second round on Saturday.

Vegas owns five additional selections, including No. 91 (third round), 122 (fourth round), 154 (fifth round) and 186 and 187 (sixth round).

Day two of the draft begins at 9 a.m. PT on NHL Network and ESPN+.