The Golden Knights look ready to get Parker Wotherspoon back in the mix.
According to The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, Wotherspoon skated on a pair with Dylan Coghlan at practice this morning, a strong sign Vegas will activate the defenseman from long-term injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Utah Mammoth.
Wotherspoon arrived in Vegas over the offseason in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Golden Knights sent Kaedan Korczak the other way to land the 29-year-old blue-liner, who had signed a two-year, $2MM deal with Pittsburgh a year earlier. Pittsburgh retained 50% of Wotherspoon’s salary, or $500K, which made the move an easy one for Vegas to make.
The appeal was clear. Wotherspoon had just finished a productive season in Pittsburgh, posting three goals and 30 points in 80 games while finishing at plus-17. He logged 20:10 per night, blocked 112 shots and added 162 hits, giving the Penguins steady minutes and a physical edge from the back end.
But an upper-body injury has kept that version of Wotherspoon out of sight for most of his first season with the Golden Knights. He has played only six games for Vegas, and the results haven’t been pretty: no points, a minus-6 rating and an 82.1% on-ice SV%.
If he can stay on the ice, though, Wotherspoon still has plenty of runway left. He has 65 regular-season games remaining to turn things around and put together a strong year before unrestricted free agency.
It remains unclear whether Vegas will need to make a corresponding roster move. The club has just $500K in cap space, the same amount as Wotherspoon’s salary this season.
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