Golden Knights reportedly considering moving a defenseman this summer for cap-related reasons

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Mike Armenti
August 7, 2023 (11:35)

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You'd be hard-pressed to find a team where the "revolving door" of players has been busier than the Vegas Golden Knights. Roster turnover has been the theme in Vegas for a number of years, which is crazy when you think about the fact that they've only been around for 6 seasons. Hey - who can fault them? It's worked out pretty well for them.

A year or two back, former Golden Knight, Max Pacioretty made waves when he revealed that many players and agents that he knows are hesitant to do business with Vegas without an NTC or NMC, because seemingly nobody is safe there. Vegas has created this culture of constant change and players who want to sign long-term extensions often won't include Vegas in their future plans, especially if they want to plant roots somewhere, as they don't want to be shipped off and to have to uproot their families shortly after signing.

In a tight cap world it has become common practice in the NHL to move veteran players with high salaries to bring in younger talent or other free agents. Who knows if Vegas' business practices would have been the same without COVID coming in and flattening the cap for several years? At any rate, the Golden Knights are now rumoured to be considering moving another significant piece this summer to create some cap space. According to The Athletic's Jesse Granger, that player is Alec Martinez, who has one year remaining with a cap hit of $5.25M.

Martinez, 36, has had a tough time in recent seasons in relation to his health. Staying in the Golden Knights' lineup has been a challenge for him, due to various injuries. His 77 games played last season was the most he has played in a season since the 2017-2018 season when he was with the Los Angeles Kings.

When healthy, Martinez can provide a team with sold top four minutes. He averaged 19:13 in ice time last season while providing 3 goals and 14 points. He blocks a ton of shots and will play the body when he needs to.

Vegas is currently over the cap by ($4,1,48.317), but the team can become cap complaint. If it is deemed that Lehner is unfit for the season, then his $5M cap hit can be placed on long-term injury reserve and they likely don't need to move on from Martinez. However, it wouldn't be surprising to see them move Martinez anyhow, if they believe they can improve. Moving the veteran blueliner opens up a lot of cap space that the Golden Knights can weaponize if they so choose.