The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the best teams in the league since their debut in 2017-18. Their core included players like Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and Brayden McNabb, but they were never able to get the team over the hump. It took Kelly McCrimmon bringing in players like Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo to win the Stanley Cup in 2023. The Golden Knights moved on from fan favorites like Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith recently amidst a cap crunch, and we could see some more trade candidates coming this offseason.
The Golden Knights aren't well-liked amongst fans of the league. They've been performing cap circumvention to get under the salary cap and load up their teams for deep postseason runs. It seems like that strategy will finally catch up with them this season, which makes the need to trade one of their more expensive contracts even more prominent.
Shea Theodore is on an expiring contract
Theodore was a big reason the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023. The downside of that win is that the Golden Knights are up against the salary cap ceiling. They need to trim their roster before the start of the regular season, sitting $3.7 million above the ceiling. Theodore is in the last year of his contract, which pays him $5.2 million per season. He will undoubtedly get a raise on his next contract, and the Golden Knights don't have the space to pay him that money. They could trade another expensive contract to sign their valuable defenseman, but the acquisition of Noah Hanifin last season likely spells the end of Theodore's tenure. The $7.35 million per year deal would've been the money needed to sign Theodore.
The Golden Knights aren't in a position to waste assets, as they're already looking worse than those cup-contending teams. If they lost Theodore for nothing, it'd be another poor move by the front office. Vegas has been aggressive and never backed down from being a contender. However, they must consider making the team worse in the interim by trading Theodore's expiring contract.
Brayden McNabb is also expiring
Trading McNabb's contract won't give the Golden Knights as many assets in return as Theodore, but it may be easier to handle. The Golden Knights have plenty of depth on the left side, with Hanifin, Theodore, McNabb, Nicolas Hague, and Ben Hutton. Their right side is a little thin, but Theodore played on his off-side in the past. The Golden Knights need to get under the salary cap ceiling, and as of right now, no injuries can help them perform cap circumvention. Eliminating McNabb's salary won't get them under, but it'll get them closer without the quality loss that a Theodore trade would bring.
The positive of keeping McNabb instead of Theodore is that he is more reliable. McNabb played all 82 games in back-to-back seasons and was a steady presence in every playoff run. Theodore missed 27 games in 2022-23 and 35 in 2023-24. The Golden Knights may look at that reliability and think that McNabb is the more valuable of the two defensemen. However, it's starting to look like they need to get rid of at least one before October. The rumors were that dealing one of their defensemen for a Mitch Marner trade may make sense, but the Golden Knights cap situation makes that nearly impossible.
William Karlsson could garner interest
Karlsson had his best season in a Golden Knights uniform since the inaugural year when he tallied 30 goals and 30 assists last year. Karlsson burst out of the gates in 2017-18, recording 78 points in 82 regular season games and 15 in 20 playoff games. He has never been able to replicate that success in the regular season but had some incredible performances in the postseason. Karlsson had 16 points in 19 games in 2020-21, then 17 in 22 games in the 2022-23 Stanley Cup run. He may drive the fans and his coaches crazy with inconsistent play in the regular season, but he always seems to emerge when the games matter in the spring.
Karlsson has a manageable $5.9 million cap hit for the next three seasons, which makes him a good trade target for other teams. The Golden Knights can afford to move one of their big contracts up front, but it's hard to see them trading Mark Stone or Jack Eichel. Likewise, they are unlikely to move Tomas Hertl after giving up so much for him last season. Karlsson is the next in line and the most logical trade candidate.
Karlsson is one of the two remaining misfits from the Golden Knights' first season in the league. Brayden McNabb is the other. They were loyal to those players for years, but it seems like a changing of the guard after letting Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith walk in the last two seasons.
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