Golden Knights’ Issues That Need Addressing at Trade Deadline

With March 3 still more than a month away, the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline can’t come soon enough for many hockey fans. But why wait? In the case of the Vegas Golden Knights and, very likely, some of their potential trade partners, there’s an underlying urgency that might make it prudent to explore deals well in advance of that date.

For non-contenders hoping to turn current contributors into future assets, unloading players now in order to get an early leg up on the Connor Bedard sweepstakes makes a lot of sense. For Vegas, anything that might break the club out of their current funk (they are 16-16-4 since Nov. 10 and have dropped seven of their last eight) and solidify a roster increasingly feeling the crunch of injuries makes a lot of sense. That doesn’t mean there won’t be the usual games being played amidst negotiations, but a mutual interest in getting something done could result in more purposeful trade talk.

Latest News & Highlights

Whenever a trade might occur for the Golden Knights, it seems clear now that one is needed. But what needs are to be addressed? To get some of our trade deadline coverage underway, let’s take a look at some of the key areas that general manager (GM) Kelly McCrimmon may look to shore up through some wheeling and dealing over the next month-plus:

Top-Six Forward

In a perfect world, the Golden Knights probably could use one more skilled offensive forward to either add some firepower to the third line or join the top-six and move someone like Chandler Stephenson down. Now, with Mark Stone sidelined with another back injury and facing an uncertain return date, the need for some added scoring up front grows that much more urgent. There was some hope that Phil Kessel could serve as a bargain bin top-six fill-in, but the 35-year-old simply hasn’t done enough to be relied upon in that type of role.

There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is that the rumor mill is already churning with a host of names that could fit what Vegas might be looking for. The mess in Vancouver means that Bo Horvat is likely to be traded and guys like Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller might even join him. Elsewhere around the league, trade talk has circled around the likes of Patrick Kane, Timo Meier, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko.

The bad news is that acquiring any of the aforementioned…