The Vegas Golden Knights are in a unique LTIR situation, and the Canucks could take advantage of it

The Vegas Golden Knights are in a unique LTIR situation, and the Canucks could take advantage of it

It’s hard to say that the existence of the Vegas Golden Knights has been a net positive for the Vancouver Canucks.

Sure, the expansion fee was nice, and it’s always cool to have another team in the same time zone.

Beyond that, however, the Golden Knights were bad for the Canucks at almost every turn. They have finished far higher overall than the Canucks in each of the five seasons since they joined the league. The Canucks’ all-time record against the Knights? 5-9-2.

And the one time the Canucks actually made the playoffs in the last five years, who was it that knocked them out?

Oh yes, it was the Golden Knights.

Which is all a roundabout way of saying that it’s about time the Canucks got some good out of their second newest league rivals, and with the current LTIR situation in Vegas, that time may finally have come.

As of this writing, the Golden Knights are a point behind the Pacific lead and appear well on their way to another playoff spot. Which of course is all part of the plan. Unlike most expansion teams, Vegas was always built for the now, not the future. In fact, strange as it is, they’re so currently loaded that their argument window could already be on the way to closing, here just half a decade after their inception.

Most of their core is made up of veterans in their 30s. Alex Pietrangelo, 33 Mark Stone, 30 Jonathan Marchessault, 32 Reilly Smith, 31

Jack Eichel and Logan Thompson stand out as two key pieces that are firmly entrenched and still in their prime. In addition, however, the Knights are extremely economical with young players and interested parties.

What we’re really emphasizing here is that the Golden Knights really can’t afford to wait until next year. The way they are built, every year has to be “the year” for it.

It is therefore particularly unfortunate that they were so injured in the 2022/23 season. Or if you’re a team looking to take advantage of their situation, that might be considered particularly fortunate.

Robin Lehner has and will miss the entire season. Shea Weber is in LTI retirement. And just last week, it was announced that Mark Stone would be undergoing back surgery and would be out for at least the rest of the regular season, if not the playoffs.

Well, that’s a lot of talent on the sidelines, and the loss of Stone hits it particularly hard. But like we said at the beginning, the Golden Knights just can’t afford to give up the season because of that. They’ll have to find a way to somehow recoup the losses, or watch their cup competition window slam even closer to slamming.

In doing so, their wealth of potential LTIR space will prove extremely useful. Even with Stone still on the list, the Golden Knights have nearly $4 million in LTIR relief available at the close. Once Stone is placed on LTIR, that number jumps to a staggering $13.38 million in spend space. That’s a lot of money to play around with.

The already mentioned Thompson skillfully marked Lehner in the crease. And Weber was never really part of the plan on the Blueline. Therefore, the Golden Knights will try to make up for Stone’s absence and his score by throwing their extra cash around at deadline.

And who do we know that has a bunch of productive but expensive forwards available to trade?

Enter the Vancouver Canucks.

Should Vegas look for a replacement winger, the Canucks could offer them options. Perhaps the most directly comparable is Brock Boeser, who plays on the same side as Stone and could theoretically replace him on the power play. Conor Garland could also be a tempting option, and he appears to be playing hockey in true Vegas style. Perhaps even newly acquired Anthony Beauvillier could be of interest to a Golden Knights team that is still occasionally accused of being too slow.

Each of these players will be signed beyond this year, but it’s not the end of the world for the Knights. For one thing, Weber never gets out of LTIR, and neither may Lehner. That’s still a lot of extra cap space going forward. Vegas also doesn’t have any major new deals up for grabs until at least 2024, and as we mentioned earlier, they don’t have any up-and-coming players to worry about saving a raise for.

The Golden Knights have money to burn now and for years to come. Which brings us to our actual, central proposal:

Vegas should make a trade for JT Miller.

Whether on the wing or pushing Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson down, Miller fits the Golden Knights lineup like a glove today. He plays a hard forechecking style similar to what their franchise is trying to project and has an attitude that just screams “Vegas”. In terms of fully replacing Stone’s offensive production, there’s very little chance the Golden Knights will do better than Miller in the trade market. The only forwards available who even compare to Miller in this regard are Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, and at this point in their respective careers, Miller is probably the most valuable of the group.

As an added bonus, Miller only tops out a prorated $5.25 million for the rest of this season, which also gives Vegas plenty of room for a few rentals.

Of course, starting next year, Miller’s seven-year, $8 million AAV renewal begins. But even that might pose far less of a problem for the Golden Knights than it did for the Canucks. For one, Miller’s age just fits perfectly with the already established core. Second, Vegas is already set to chase after success and suffer the consequences in the future. What’s a more expensive and aging vet contract on a team full of them?

If Miller’s acquisition is the difference between the Golden Knights winning or not winning a Stanley Cup in the next few years, paying a 35-year-old Miller $8 million to score 20 goals won’t matter nearly as much to them achieve. The work will already be done.

Really, a trade from Miller to Vegas seems like a win-win-win. Vegas maintains its contender status, Miller transitions to a franchise that will value him more, and the Canucks get out of a millstone contract before he even starts. Hey, chances are pretty good the Golden Knights would even throw back a few select assets, like their first all-rounder of 2023, in exchange for Miller. That’s just gravy.

The Vegas Golden Knights have routinely exploited the Vancouver Canucks since their expansion into the league. Isn’t it about time the Canucks took advantage of them?

The path is there should the Canucks choose it.

Source: canucksarmy.com