The Stanley Cup Final begins Wednesday night, but for 30 NHL teams, the offseason is in full swing. If Nick Kypreos Offseason Trade Board 1.0 is anything to go off of, there will be plenty of trades in the coming weeks. Of the 20 players appearing on Kypreos’ list, two play for the Vegas Golden Knights.
After getting unceremoniously bounced in the second round, the Golden Knights should look to make changes to their lineup. However, after going all-in for eight straight years, their assets are limited. Their prospect pool isn’t much deeper than Trevor Connelly, and they don’t have a first-round draft pick until 2027.
So, with Free Agency less than a month away, the Golden Knights should be trying to clear cap space to sign a high-end winger. But here’s where things get interesting. The Golden Knights’ five highest-paid forwards and four highest-paid defensemen all have some form of trade protection.
Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo have No Movement Clauses. Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin, and Brayden McNabb have No Trade Clauses. Tomáš Hertl, William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev, and goaltender Adin Hill have Modified No Trade Clauses.
Of course, it’s certainly possible to trade a player with a Modified No Trade Clause– like 29-year-old Ivan Barbashev, who has an 8 Team No trade List and appeared on Kypreos’ Trade Board. Kypreos called Barbashev the ‘most moveable player.’ He cited Barbashev’s 23-goal, 51-point season and $5 million contract, and listed Ottawa and Carolina as potentially interested teams.
With Theodore, Hanifin, McNabb, and Pietrangelo all under contract, Kypreos mentioned defenseman Nic Hague as a potential odd-man out. Hague, 26, is a pending RFA, and the Golden Knights are reportedly shopping his rights as a potential sign-and-trade player.
