Some pending UFAs that may interest the Golden Knights
Jesse Granger of The Athletic: A look at some unrestricted free agents thinks the Vegas Golden Knights could go after. Some may require salary being moved out.
Alex Pietrangelo would be a perfect fit for the Golden Knights. If there were able to sign him, it would be at over $7 million a season. They’d need to move salary out, possibly Alec Martinez.
Tyson Barrie drew the interest of the Golden Knights at the trade deadline. If the Golden Knights aren’t able to land Pietrangelo, they could fall back to Barrie.
The Golden Knights could check in on defenseman Brenden Dillon. He played under Pete DeBoer in San Jose. Not the same offense as Pietrangelo and Barrie but cheaper and less term.
Wayne Simmonds could provide some net front traffic and would play in a bottom-six role.
Tyler Ennis could provide some scoring depth. Though undersized, he could fit in their style of play.
Josh Leivo could re-sign with the Canucks, but could interest the Golden Knights if he hits free agency.
Joe Thornton might take a cheap, one-year deal to play for a contender.
Things haven’t worked out for Alex Galchenyk the past few years but he’s still talented. Would be a low-risk with potentially high reward.
Penguins could look to package Johnson with Murray
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins owe Matt Murray a qualifying offer between $3.75 million and $4.5 million.
The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild could be in the market for a goaltender.
Reports have the Arizona Coyotes looking for two first-round picks for Darcy Kuemper. Golden Knights Marc-Andre Fleury, Maple Leafs Frederik Andersen and Blue Jackets Joonas Korpisalo may also be on the trade block.
Murray has two Stanley Cup’s but he only had only a .899 save percentage last year. If a team won’t give up a first-round pick for Murray, maybe they can get a second-round pick for him.
The Penguins could look to package Murray with defenseman Jack Johnson. Johnson carries a $3.25 million salary cap hit. If Johnson is sent to the AHL, he would still carry a $2.2 million cap hit.