The Vegas Golden Knights spent a summer watching the rest of the NHL spend like there was no tomorrow.
Around the league, the money was flying. Big names changed teams, superstars cashed in, and long-term deals piled up fast.
Vegas, by comparison, kept things far quieter than usual. Instead of making a splash for someone like Mitch Marner or Jack Eichel, the Golden Knights handled their business inside the room, extending Rasmus Andersson and bringing back Victor Olofsson.
They also moved on from John Tortorella and handed the head-coaching job to Ryan Craig.
That quieter approach looks even better when stacked against some of the deals handed out elsewhere. Bleacher Report quickly turned its attention to the five worst long-term contracts that could age badly by 2030, and two former Golden Knights ended up on that list. For a team built to stay in the Stanley Cup mix, that’s the kind of offseason luck you’ll take.
Among the contracts drawing attention is Darren Raddysh’s eight-year, $68 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The right-handed defenseman was 30 and coming off a career year, but Toronto still locked him in for the long haul in a move that could become a cap headache before too long.
Chicago made a similar kind of bet after acquiring Bowen Byram and signing the 25-year-old to a six-year, $75 million contract. That made Byram the Blackhawks’ highest-paid player until Connor Bedard landed a massive $75 million extension over five years. For a rebuilding club, that’s a lot of money committed very quickly.
The Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers also got dragged into the summer frenzy. The Flyers nearly signed Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet, and for a stretch it looked like he could become the NHL’s highest-paid player.
Instead, the Ducks matched and ended up with a five-year deal worth $90 million, or $18 million per year. At just 21, Carlsson is still early in his career, which is exactly why that number stands out.
The former Golden Knight with the biggest payday was Alex Tuch. One of Vegas’ Original Misfits, Tuch left in 2021 and became a three-time 30-goal scorer with the Buffalo Sabres before landing with the Washington Capitals. Washington gave the 30-year-old an eight-year contract worth $84 million, a deal that pays him $10.5 million annually.
The other name tied to Vegas is Pavel Dorofeyev, and this one hits a little closer to home for Golden Knights fans. The former two-time 35-goal scorer was dealt to the New York Rangers in June, and the Rangers quickly signed him to a seven-year, $77 million contract. At 25, he wasn’t going to get that kind of money from the cash-strapped Golden Knights, so moving on made sense for him and the club.
Now Dorofeyev heads to Broadway, where the spotlight will be brighter and the expectations different. Vegas, meanwhile, comes out of a strange summer looking steady, and maybe a little smarter, than the teams handing out all those giant checks.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Still Have One Roster Hunt Fans Should Watch
The Golden Knights head into opening night with roughly $1.9 million in salary-cap space, and that leaves them with at least one more roster conversation worth watching. After a busy stretch of changes, the front office still has room to keep exploring veteran help, especially as the PTO market remains part of the picture for unsigned players looking to extend their careers and teams looking for low-risk options.
Matt Grzelcyk, James van Riemsdyk and Vladimir Tarasenko are among the names that could surface if Vegas decides to bring in another body on a professional tryout contract. Each would bring a different kind of value, and the appeal for the Golden Knights is obvious: there is still flexibility here, but not enough to be casual about it, which is why the next move could say a lot about how the roster settles before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Just Got A Dynasty-Level Stanley Cup Case
The NHLs next five-year window has a handful of clubs with a real chance to keep the Stanley Cup conversation crowded, and Vegas is right in that mix. The Golden Knights have already shown what a modern contender can look like, with a roster built to compete immediately and an organization that has spent recent seasons establishing itself among the leagues most dangerous teams. For a team like Vegas, the standard is no longer just making noise in the West, but staying positioned to chase the Cup year after year.
Still, the broader argument around the league is shifting as Carolina gets framed as the team with the clearest dynasty-level case. The Hurricanes are being measured not only against recent champions, but against other heavyweight threats such as Dallas, Montreal, Colorado, and Vegas, each of them carrying their own combination of talent, coaching stability, and recent playoff relevance. For the Golden Knights, that means the pressure stays constant: the path is there, but so is the competition. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Craig Faces One Test Golden Knights Fans Will Care About
Ryan Craig enters the new season with the kind of job that can feel steady right up until it is not. The Golden Knights have been through coaching change before, and the bar in Vegas is never subtle: manage the room, steer through the rough patches that come with an 82-game season, and keep a team built to contend pointed toward another Stanley Cup run.
Craigs real test is bigger than any one night on the schedule. He has to avoid the sort of noise that can distract a contender, handle the hard stretches without letting them spiral, and keep a veteran group buying into the details when the season gets messy. In a market that expects results and remembers how quickly things can shift, the question is not whether the Golden Knights are watching closely, but how Craig handles the first serious challenge when it arrives. [Read more 🡒]