The Vegas Golden Knights are close to retaining another winger, as it’s expected that they will re-sign Brandon Saad, according to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman.
Saad is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Golden Knights. The terms of the contract have yet to be confirmed.
Saad started the 2024-25 season with the St. Louis Blues, as he was in the fourth year of his five-year contract with a $4.5 million cap hit. However, after the Blues placed him on waivers in January, he decided to terminate the rest of his deal to find an NHL role with another team, forfeiting $5.425 million in the process. It took only a few days for him to eventually sign with the Golden Knights, and he played out the rest of the season in Vegas.
Saad finished the season with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 72 games, including seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 43 games with the Blues and six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 29 games with the Golden Knights.
Saad also had two assists in eight games in the playoffs, as Vegas was eliminated in five games in the second round of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers.
Saad isn’t the first player on the Golden Knights to be re-signed, as they also secured winger Reilly Smith for one more season on a $2 million contract. The only other move they’ve made this summer was signing forward Tuomas Uronen to a three-year entry-level contract.
Vegas has roughly $7.6 million in salary cap space this summer, although they may get more should the rumours that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will be spending the season on long-term injured reserve be true. They currently have nine UFAs and eight restricted free agents left to re-sign, with blueliner Nicolas Hague being the biggest priority for Vegas.
