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Kevin Allen: Knights' final cost for acquiring Jack Eichel isn't finalized |
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The transaction that moved Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres to the Vegas Golden Knights has been officially recorded as Eichel for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, plus a first- and second-round pick. The Golden Knights also received a third-round pick.
But in real terms, this deal isn’t complete because the Golden Knights aren’t finished giving up assets.
Eichel is moving closer to joining the Vegas roster. Before that can happen, the Golden Knights must give up more players.
According to a recent CapFriendly.com tweet, the Golden Knights will have to either trade away a player with a salary cap of $4.3 million or more or add a player with that salary cap hit to the long-term injured reserved.
Among the players who could be dealt to clear space for Eichel:
Reilly Smith: He seems to be a likely choice because he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and the Golden Knights probably can’t afford to keep him. His salary is $5 million. Giving him up would hurt. He has 14 goals this season, meaning he is on his way to another 20+ goal season. But he would be easy to move. Several contenders would love to have him.
Evgenii Dadonov: He’s 32 and still an effective offensive player. He has 10 goals this season. He’s a $5 million player. But the Golden Knights can live without him. But he has this season and next season on his contract. That makes him more challening to move.
Mattias Janmark: Given the circumstances, he is expendable. But he is only a $2 million cap hit. If the Golden Knights move him, they will also have to move a couple of other players. Do you deal William Carrier? Or, how about backup goalie Laurent Brossolt? The math doesn’t work very well.
William Karlsson: The Jeff Marek Show mentioned Karlsson’s name. But this seems like a longshot. He is tied up contractually through 2026-27. Don’t see any team jumping to deal for him.
Whoever gets dealt adds to the cost of obtaining Eichel. Once the Golden Knights find room for Eichel, it’s still not over. Eichel is a $10 million salary cap hit. The only reason GM Kelly McCrimmon isn't looking to lop $10 million is Alec Martinez ($5.25 million) is on long-term IR. He will be ready soon and the Golden Knights will have more work to do. If they have to move someone else, that person is also added to the cost of Eichel.
That’s why the Golden Knights won’t rush Eichel. They want to make sure he is completely healthy before he comes back. The same is true for Martinez. If someone needs to go on long-term IR, it would help Vegas out of this salary cap mess.
The Notebook:
2. Is Mike Babcock ever going to return to the NHL as a coach? Is it too soon? Or, is his NHL coaching career over? He is 58 and there have been several openings since he was dumped.
3. The Columbus Blue Jackets are another team that could take on a short-term salary to help rivals make deals before the deadline.
4. The Lightning have no cap space. If the Tampa Bay Lightning were interested in right-shot defenseman John Klingberg, they could work out a three-way trade with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings. Klingberg’s cap hit is $4.25 million. The Stars could retain half of the salary and ship him to the Red Wings. Detroit could retain half of the $2.13 million salary and move him to the Lightning. The Lightning could then have Klingberg at $1.07 million. That could work for them. If that scenario sounds familiar, it’s because they made a similiar deal to land David Savard last season. The Lightning obviously would need to send assets to both Dallas and Detroit.
5. On this day, Feb. 11, 72 years ago, Gordie Howe registered his first NHL hat trick. That was the 1949-50 season. Can’t imagine that he thought he would score his last NHL goal 30 years later at age 52. Howe boasted a pair of two-goal games in 1979-80. He netted five goals in one four-game span in that season.
6. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau leads the NHL this season with 46 even-strength points. He's not receiving enough credit for the exceptional season he is having.
7. The Dallas Stars own a .568 winning percentage, and John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov are both at -16. Just saying…
8. If you are watching the Olympics, keep an eye on USA forward Marc McLaughlin. He’s a strong undrafted all-around center who scored 18 goals in 24 games for Boston College this season. He’s drawing plenty of attention from NHL scouts.
9. Add the Nashville Predators to the list of teams looking for a second-pairing defenseman before the trade deadline. Dante Fabbro and Alexandre Carrier have performed fine, but neither possesses an overwhelming amount of NHL experience.
10. The Carolina Hurricanes rank second-to-last in shot blocking (11.67 blocks per game). But maybe that’s not a big deal because they give up the second-fewest shots per game (28.51).
11.The Columbus Blue Jackets (35.2), Buffalo Sabres (34.8), Montreal Canadiens (34.4), Philadelphia Flyers (34.4), Arizona Coyotes (34.3), Ottawa Senators (33.8), Anaheim Ducks (33.2) and Detroit Red Wings (32.8) have given up the most shots per game this season. In that group, only the Ducks are in a playoff position, and their playoff spot is precarious.
12. The Predators still haven’t re-signed Filip Forsberg. You can understand if the Predators are gunshy about big-ticket, long-term contracts. The Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen deals have caused consternation. And you can understand that Forsberg probably believes he deserves a long-term, big-ticket contract. Could the compromise be a five-year deal for $9 million per season? It’s not scary long and yet the number should make Forsberg feel respected.
13. Fifty years ago this month, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey team won a surprising silver medal at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. The NHL didn’t have many American players at that time. But Mark Howe, Henry Boucha, Tim Sheehy, Robbie Ftorek, Lefty Curran, Keith Christansen were among those who ended up with NHL or World Hockey Association careers or both.
14. Don’t rule out the New Jersey Devils as a possible trading partner for the Canucks if they move Conor Garland or JT Miller.
15. Gordie Howe’s first NHL season was 1946-47. One of his Detroit Red Wings teammates that season was another right wing named Steve Wochy. He had arrived in 1944-45 and scored 19 goals for the Red Wings in the war-time NHL. Then he went back to the United States Hockey League and American League for a season before returning to the NHL briefly in 1946-47. He is believed to be the oldest living NHLer. He turns 100 later this year.
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