WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS DOESN’T ALWAYS STAY IN VEGAS

TORONTO, ON — The Vegas Golden Knights have some big decisions to make.

With six key players eligible to become unrestricted free agents July 1, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has his hands full this summer. He has started to loosen his workload as some pending UFAs will not be brought back, but a couple big names are waiting to chat.

As the 2024-25 roster is currently constructed today, per our friends at CapFriendly, the Knights have $897,516 in salary cap space. That’s without playing cap gymnastics and sending Brendan Brisson down, which would free up an extra $925,000 in cap space – he’ll be a regular next season.

If Vegas wants to play the LTIR game, they have an extra $5 million to spend by placing Robin Lehner there, and they COULD explore options and add another dead contract if they so choose.

Keep in mind, LTI is calculated differently in the off-season and teams are allowed to exceed the salary cap by 10 percent ($8.77M) during the summer as long as they are cap compliant by their first day of the new campaign.

Here’s what we know so far: forwards Michael Amadio, William Carrier and Anthony Mantha will not be brought back. All three are aware and are planning to test the free agent market July 1. Defenceman Alec Martinez doesn’t appear to have a spot on the blueline any longer; he’ll be 37 in late-July and word is he’s evaluating his options.

Additionally, versatile forward Chandler Stephenson will be a hot commodity this summer if he goes unsigned. As I reported in Saturday’s column, Stephenson’s camp and the Golden Knights are going to speak in the next week or two and go from there. If he prices himself out of Vegas, like many expect, he’ll draw a ton of interest and I suspect teams like Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Washington, Carolina, Nashville and several others will pick up the phone.

This brings up to original misfit Jonathan Marchessault.

Speaking with The Associated Press on Tuesday ahead of playing in the World Series of Poker, Marchessault revealed he hasn’t had any formal discussions with the Knights just yet.

“We don’t have a call yet or anything,” he told The AP. “They said they were interested to sign me. They have time until June 30 or so.”

Marchessault, 33, is coming off a six-year, $30 million contract. He wanted to get an extension worked out before the season started, but Vegas wasn’t ready, and the two sides didn’t have “during the season.”

“Technically, as an organization, you’ve signed a player for six years, right? So you have the full six years and after you can deal with it, so we’ll see,” he said.

And he’s right. McCrimmon still has one month to go before the contract of all his pending UFAs expire. Undoubtedly, the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner wants to get something done sooner than later, but good things come to those who wait. Or so they say.

The Golden Knights want to keep him, that is the clear message they have relayed publicly. And while the conversation hasn’t started yet, my understanding is they plan to begin those talks within the next one-to-two weeks – much like with Stephenson.

Marchessault’s agent, Pat Brisson, declined to get into specifics, but reiterated his client’s desire to stay in Vegas. He also used to represent Mantha, who switched representation during the season.

Getting Marchessault locked up will eat up all the team’s available cap space, and potentially more, even if the player takes a bit less to stay – playing in a no income tax state helps create that ‘discount’ illusion. The Knights are willing to roll the dice (remember, teams can exceed the cap by 10 percent until the new season begins) but keeping him will take extra roster creativity on McCrimmon’s part.

Marchessault’s future will become clearer by the time the Stanley Cup Final ends and teams head to Sin City for the NHL Draft. I believe both sides are willing to gamble here – by how much, we’ll wait and see.

HERE AND THERE

• So far, talks are quiet, but the Calgary Flames are preparing an offer for pending UFA defenceman Oliver Kylington. We’ll see where that goes.

• Matt Dumba’s ride in Tampa Bay was short-lived. As I reported Tuesday, he will not be re-signing with the Lightning and will hit the UFA market.

• Another player preparing to hit the market is veteran winger Tanner Pearson. He will not be re-signed by the Montreal Canadiens and will begin to weigh his options heading into July. The former Cup champ will be a quality mid-six add for a contender.

• San Jose Sharks assistant coach Brian Wiseman has drawn interest from other clubs. I’m told he has permission to speak with other teams – he has one more year left on his contract – and some have interest in exploring the possibility of him overseeing their powerplay. No guarantees he leaves, but his name is out there.

• On the Sharks, it sounds like a decision on the club’s next Head Coach is on the horizon. Sharks GM Mike Grier prefers to make a decision this week. Dennis Bernstein reported Marco Sturm met with the club over the weekend and it sounds like Sturm, Sharks Assistant Coach Ryan Warsofsky and former Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill (currently an assistant coach in Tampa) are leading contenders. Of course, others, like Todd McLellan and Dean Evason, have also interviewed for the job. There are many across the NHL who expect Warsofsky to become an NHL Head Coach in the next year or two if he’s not elevated now.

• Some teams are keeping an eye on Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves, who can become a restricted free agent July 1. He’s been a stud in net with Cleveland as they begin their battle in the AHL’s Eastern Conference Final. With Don Waddell running the ship, we’ll see what Columbus decides to do in net, but teams will inquire about Greaves at some point.

• Nice nugget from Anthony Di Marco last night on what Travis Konecny is looking for in Philadelphia on a long-term, eight-year extension. As he reported, contract negotiations haven’t picked up formally just yet, but Konecny’s camp is starting north of $10 million per season. The Flyers are looking somewhere in the $8 millions on his AAV. Talks will get going in June.

• Anthony Beauvillier enjoyed his stint in Nashville and his agent Phil Lecavalier has already spoken with the Predators about extending that relationship. It sounds like their initial talk went well, but for now both sides are keeping their options open.

• It is sounding more and more like this is Ken Holland’s final run with the Edmonton Oilers. Will he retire or look to join another club? I imagine the Oilers have some GM candidates in mind, but that process will take place when the time is right.

• Whoever takes over as GM in Edmonton this summer will have to weigh the pros and cons of buying out goalie Jack Campbell.

• I’ve mentioned Cole Perfetti a couple of times lately, and his name continues to pop up in discussions with various people across the NHL. Teams are curious as to Winnipeg’s plans for him and will inquire about his availability after his minimal usage in the playoffs. He can become an RFA in July.

• Teuvo Teravainen hasn’t decided to test the free agent market just yet. His agent and the Carolina Hurricanes will have at least one discussion in the near future about what a new contract may look like, and then the 29-year-old will go from there.

• As I reported Tuesday, Jean-François Houle signed a multi-year extension (believe it’s 3-years) to remain Head Coach of the Laval Rocket, who made the official announcement today. Another Eastern Conference AHL team has also signed its Head Coach to an extension, and they are expected to make a formal announcement soon.

• Di Marco and I talked about this during this week’s episode of our new podcast Monday Mix, but there was growing speculation that if Rod Brind’Amour didn’t stay in Carolina he could have joined Ron Francis in Seattle. As I mentioned in the pod, word across the NHL is the two men don’t exactly see eye-to-eye and that was never a consideration for Brind’Amour. You can listen to the whole topic here.

• The Los Angeles Kings will look to trade Arty Kaliyev again this summer. The pending RFA has asked for a trade and GM Rob Blake will try to move him – perhaps package him in a deal for an upgrade elsewhere on the roster.

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