Vegas Golden Knights began the NHL offseason with a major move within their coaching ranks, replacing head coach John Tortorella with Ryan Craig. And if NHL insider Chris Johnston is to be believed, they are expected to continue this trend of making moves regarding the players.

He gave his take on the Vegas Golden Knights’ plan for the offseason on the recent episode of his podcast, The Chris Johnson Show (TCJS). NHL Rumour Report shared the excerpt of it on its official X account on Thursday, June 18.

“Chris Johnston: Re Golden Knights: They're gonna be a main character here in the next two weeks - Chris Johnston Show (6/18),” they wrote in their X post.

The time period of “two weeks” from Johnston is very interesting since it will coincide with the start of unrestricted free agency next month. It will commence exactly on July 1, which is also known as the official opening of the league year in the NHL.

With that in mind, Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon is highly likely to focus on renewing a few of the contracts on their roster despite having just $4.6 million cap space. Defensemen Jeremy Lauzon and Rasmus Andersson are going to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 of this year.

At the same time, winger Pavel Dorofeyev, a top player at the Golden Knights, will be a restricted free agent at the start of next month.

In regards to signing new players, Vegas will have to generate funds by creating space on its roster. Detroit Red Wings captain and center Dylan Larkin has shown his interest in joining them after adding them to his trade list recently.

Vegas Golden Knights will be part of the 2026 NHL Draft later this month

The 2026 NHL Draft will happen this offseason at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, on June 26 and 27. It will take place during the two-week period in which the Vegas Golden Knights are expected to make their moves, as mentioned by Chris Johnston on his podcast recently.

Vegas has four picks in total in the upcoming NHL Draft, starting with 95th overall in the third round. They gave their first-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames as part of a trade deal to sign Mikhail Vorobyev from them in exchange for Daniil Miromanov in March 2024.

Furthermore, the Golden Knights forfeited the second-round draft pick due to flagrant violations of the media regulations during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

After losing the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes in six games last weekend, Vegas will be looking to go a step further next season. While the change of head coach might be considered as an initial step in this regard, they will have to make big player moves to keep their core and add depth.

While the cap hit might be a concern for them to do so, GM Kelly McCrimmon has the experience to navigate these situations and make the best out of what they have.

Will the Vegas Golden Knights be able to complete their desired moves in the ongoing offseason? Give your thoughts on the matter in the comments section.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi