Fans of hockey had the pleasure of witnessing one of the greatest expansion team debuts last season. The Vegas Golden Knights not only surprised the NHL with how well they played, but the team almost walked away with a Stanley Cup.
The Golden Knights will continue to push forward and already have their sights set on top names they can bring into the organization through free agency.
Sunday night, Golden Knights insider Gary Lawless dropped a bomb, stating that the Knights are preparing to pick up some of the top free agents.
Gary Lawless on this evening's #GoldenKnights broadcast – "George McPhee has primed himself to go after Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene at free agency." *blinks
— Murray Pam (@Pammerhockey) October 1, 2018
During the broadcast, Lawless indicated that Golden Knights‘ General Manager George McPhee was prepping to make significant moves during the next free agency period.
“George McPhee has primed himself to go after Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Matt Duchene at free agency,” Lawless said.
The list of players almost feels like another fantasy draft for the Golden Knights. It may not be possible for the Golden Knights to sign all of those players above, but there is a real possibility some of those names don a Knights jersey next season.
According to Cap Friendly, six roster spots are going to become UFA’s next year. If the Knights decide to let those contracts walk, the Knights should have enough cap space to add another top-tier talent.
And it isn’t like the Golden Knights shy away from adding top-level talent to their team. In September, Max Pacioretty was dealt to the Knights.
🚨TRADE ALERT🚨
The Golden Knights have acquired forward Max Pacioretty!#VegasBorn https://t.co/A87OuA1sfE
— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 10, 2018
The 2019 summer will be interesting. The Knights have some UFA’s coming up that could make some financial room for Vegas if they opt to not re-sign them.
