Daily Nuggets: Golden Knights Weekly Recap, What are the Blackhawks Thinking

The Vegas Golden Knights had a busy week. Reilly Smith was traded. Ivan Barbashev and Adin Hill got extensions. 4 players were selected by general manager Kelly McCrimmon in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL free agency starts Saturday morning. How much cap space does McCrimmon have to work with and who might he be targeting?

Chicago Hockey Now: Fans are happy about everything happening in Chicago right now, right? Maybe not. Corey Perry had a two-year, $2 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning that expired at the end of the 2022-23 season. Perry was traded to the Blackhawks, who signed him to a one-year contract for $4 million. The Blackhawks took a creative approach to getting to the floor of the salary cap.

Boston Hockey Now: Boston figures to be a shadow of itself in the 2023-24 season. Big names have been traded and they will look to make improvements to their roster when free agency starts.

Nashville Hockey Now: The Barry Trotz era is underway. Matt Duchene was bought out by the Predators. It will cost the Predators over $22 million in cap space over the next 6 seasons. What exactly is Trotz’s vision for the Predators?

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kyle Dubas is not wasting any time re-tooling the Penguins’ roster. The first big move was his acquisition of Smith from Vegas. What else might he be looking to do?

New Jersey Hockey Now: Did Timo Meier compromise money for the chance to win in New Jersey? He appears to think so. The Devils are building to be one of the strongest teams in the Metropolitan Division for years to come.