The Vegas Golden Knights have signed defenseman Brayden McNabb to a three-year contract extension with a $3.65 million cap hit.
McNabb was in the final year of his three-year contract with a $2.85 million cap hit, and was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. There are currently no details regarding any no-move/no-trade clauses or signing bonuses with this contract.
With his new contract, McNabb receives a raise of $800,000 per year, with his new contract having the highest AAV of his career. The Golden Knights lock him up until he’s 37 years old, with his closest cap hit comparable being Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, who is in the first year of a five-year contract with a $3.6 million cap hit.
McNabb has had a bit of a slow start to the season production-wise with just 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points in 16 games, and is on pace for his lowest-scoring season in a full season. However, is one of the few defensemen who has been driving play for the Golden Knights, as he’s second behind Alex Pietrangelo in 5v5 expected goal share relative to his team with +3.52%, according to Natural Stat Trick.
McNabb was a third-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2009 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut with the team in the 2011-12 season. After playing 37 games with the Sabres in that and the 2013-14 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Jonathan Parker and two second-round picks for Nicolas Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching close to the 2014 trade deadline. While he didn’t play for the Kings for the rest of that season, he did play the next three seasons before he was selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft. He’s now in his eighth season with Vegas, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2023.
The Golden Knights will look to build off of their 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday when they visit the Utah Hockey Club on Friday at 6 p.m. PST. Vegas is currently in first place in the Pacific Division with a 10-4-2 record.
