Sheng Peng: Who Should Vegas Target at Trade Deadline?; Wild Stampede Knights 5-2 Corey Sznajder on possible Vegas Trade Deadline targets like Mike Green, Michael Grabner, Max Pacioretty, and more + What happened to the Golden Knights last night?

I'm all for trades and I think every team needs some tweaking. But for Vegas, I think it's a case of don't fix what isn't broken.

I wouldn't change a thing.

I think Nash and Grabs would be great additions for any playoff team. Both play responsibly defensively and can add offense. Both very good on the PK as well. I think either will require a 1st or high end prospect and not sure what Vegas is willing to part with in their first year.

They do face something of a paradox: They presumably want to take advantage of this team's historic run and reward the players and the fans by building for the playoffs, but also presumably not mortgage the future for when guys like Karlsson come to earth.

This makes me wonder if the third option mentioned in your piece isn't the smart way to go--taking on players who have value but are on bad contracts. Any chance they might tell someone like the Kings that they would take say Marion Gaborik off their hands for a 5th or something? He's a guy whose cap hit is much bigger than his salary which declines fairly quickly after this year and could be a nice depth and PP piece, with playoff experience who might fit their style. Seems like almost a no risk deal given the huge amount of cap space they have.

This makes me wonder if the third option mentioned in your piece isn't the smart way to go--taking on players who have value but are on bad contracts. Any chance they might tell someone like the Kings that they would take say Marion Gaborik off their hands for a 5th or something? He's a guy whose cap hit is much bigger than his salary which declines fairly quickly after this year and could be a nice depth and PP piece, with playoff experience who might fit their style. Seems like almost a no risk deal given the huge amount of cap space they have.
- Troy_Ice

You're not wrong that VGK can take on a bad contract from a useful player, but Gaborik doesn't move the needle enough. Besides his erosion in skill, I question his fit. Vegas isn't just high-motor offensively, it's the same defensively. LA would do somersaults here too, I'm sure they'd add a draft pick or two to move Gaborik's whole contract out. But I can't see VGK doing LA a favor here.

Vegas should still sell at the deadline, as has been the plan since last summer.

Sure, they have taken a mishmash of players and defied all expectations this year, but they are still made up of a group that doesn't look excellent on paper. Young players like William Karlsson and Shea Theodore are the future of this team, but aging veterans like David Perron, Jason Garrison, Brad Hunt, PE Bellemare, and even MA Fleury should be moved for futures.

This team is brand new and has already defied all expectations for this season. They can divert from the plan now and try to win it all this season, or they can trade their possibly overperforming and aging players while their stock is high, and get back some quality prospects and 1st round draft picks in return. That way, rather than being the expansion team that overperformed only to get lost in the shuffle after a few seasons, they'll be the expansion team who did well in their opening season, and also managed to build the best farm system in the league, and kept themselves as contenders for the next 10-15 years.