The Vegas Golden Knights have avoided arbitration with another player who made an impact in their 2023 Stanley Cup run, inking forward Brett Howden to a two-year deal worth $3.8 million, the team announced on Wednesday.

Howden was set to have his arbitration hearing on July 24, but the restricted free agent will now be locked up in Las Vegas for at least the next two seasons. With the signing, the Knights have only one restricted free agent left in Russian Pavel Dorofeyev.

The 25-year-old Howden scored six goals and 13 points in 54 regular-season games in 2022-23, his second full campaign with the Golden Knights. He turned on his game in the playoffs, scoring five goals and registering 10 points over 22 playoff contests to help his team win its inaugural Stanley Cup.

Howden is a former first-round pick, being selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was traded to the New York Rangers in early 2018 in the deal that sent JT Miller to Florida.

He was then acquired by the Knights in the summer of 2021 in exchange for defenseman Nick DeSimone and a 2022 fourth-round pick. The Manitoba native has scored 31 goals and added 51 assists over 279 games spent with the Rangers and Knights.

After the deal, which will cost Vegas $1.9 each year, the team is approximately $3.3 million over the cap. They will remain cap compliant if injured goaltender Robin Lehner and his $5 million cap hit remain on long-term injured reserve to start the 2023-24 season.

Brett Howden figures to slot in on the middle-six next season, playing a similar role he did with the Stanley Cup iteration of the Vegas Golden Knights last year.