Random thoughts on the NHL Trade Deadline

Checking in on some general thoughts.

The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. Here are some random thoughts now that rosters are mostly set for the stretch run of the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Vegas did it again; don’t hate the player, hate the game

After the Golden Knights landed Anthony Mantha and Noah Hanifin I wrote here that nobody is better at this than the Golden Knights and Avalanche. And it is true. They have aggressive front offices that are not afraid to make a bold move, and in the case of Vegas, an owner that is consistently willing to spend well above the salary cap whenever he sees the opportunity. 

They did it again on Friday by shocking everybody and landing Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks. 

People are going to be mad about this, they are going to yell about salary cap circumvention, and there are going to be debates as to whether or not it’s right. But the reality is that it’s all within the rules. Mark Stone lacerated his spleen, they put him on the LTIR, and that gave them the opportunity to fill in that salary cap space while he is out for the remainder of the regular season.

Add in some salary retention on the part of Washington (Mantha), San Jose (Hertl), and a three-team trade (Hanifin) to do the same, and it all works. Every team in the league could utilize that practice whenever they have the opportunity. Some do. Some don’t. Some teams — contending teams, at that — don’t even utilize all of the salary cap space they have at their disposal. 

The bottom line is Vegas has a front office that knows how to use the rules to their advantage, an owner that is willing to spend, and that is all every sports fan in every league should want.

The other thing here is the reality that, very quietly, Vegas actually needs all of this help. 

I don’t know how many people have actually paid attention to where they are in the standings, but they enter the week in the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. I don’t think they are in danger of actually missing the playoffs, because there is a pretty big gap between them and the non-Wild Card teams, but after starting the season 11-0-1 the Golden Knights are only 23-23-6. They have been a .500 team for the overwhelming majority of the season and are a very middle of the pack team in terms of their underlying numbers.

Their expected goal share during 5-on-5 play is around 50 percent, good enough for 16th in the league.  They are 14th in expected goals against per 60 minutes, 14th in expected goals for and 10th in actual 5-on-5 goal differential. Injuries have played some part in that, but they simply needed more depth across the board given how consistently average they have been for most of the season. Well, they addressed that. And if Stone is able to return for the playoffs they should have one of the most formidable rosters in the league and be the absolute last Wild Card team that a potential division winner like Winnipeg or Vancouver would want to see in the first round.

Jake Guentzel in Carolina seems like the perfect fit