Is the 2023-24 Golden Knights Roster Complete?

The Vegas Golden Knights’ 2023-24 opening day roster is complete, barring a shocking trade or offseason injury. Per CapFriendly the Golden Knights are $4.15 million over the salary cap. Once Robin Lehner’s LTIR is added in, the Golden Knights are under the cap by $851,000. The roster size is maxed out at 23.

Could general manager Kelly McCrimmon shock us all with a big trade? Unlikely given the statement he made during the NHL Entry Draft.

“Our objective has been to try to keep as much as our roster together as we can. I think we will be able to almost return our team almost intact, which is pretty uncommon for a Stanley Cup winner,” Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said from Nashville.

The penalty for winning the Stanley Cup was losing Reilly Smith via trade to free up cap space to extend Ivan Barbashev. Phil Kessel remains an unrestricted free agent and it is doubtful the Golden Knights have a path to bring the ironman back.

Adin Hill received a two-year extension with a $4.9 million AAV. Hill and Logan Thompson will likely split starting duties for the Golden Knights. The biggest question in the net is the health of the young duo. Thompson was the starting goaltender entering the 2022-23 season but a series of health issues led him to appear in just 37 games. Hill did a great job in the absence of Thompson but only appeared in 27 regular-season games due to injuries of his own.

After an injury to Laurent Brossoit in the Edmonton series, Hill reclaimed the starter’s net and never looked back.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden, Jiri Patera, and Brayden Pachal received extensions. Howden filed for arbitration but settled about a week prior to his arbitration date.

Dorofeyev and Pachal have two-way contracts, however, neither player is exempt from waivers. If the Golden Knights wished to send Dorofeyev and Pachal to the Henderson Silver Knights, they would have to clear waivers. Howden has a one-way contract. Patera has a two-way contract and is waivers exempt, meaning he can be freely sent up and down without having to clear waivers.

The next wave: The Golden Knights have been on the wrong side of luck far as injuries. Here is a look at the next wave of reinforcements from the Henderson Silver Knights should Vegas need to call players up.

Brendan Brisson: How close is Brisson to becoming an NHL player? We may not know until he gets his chance. Brisson had 37 points in 58 games with the Silver Knights last season. If the Golden Knights need a winger on one of the top-two lines due to injury, Brisson could get his chance.

Jonas Rondbjerg: Although he may not have the upside Brisson has, Rondbjerg has proven he can be trusted to help with the bottom-six forwards. Rondbjerg appeared in 13 games for the Golden Knights last season.

Kaedan Korczak: There are a lot of teams in the NHL in which Korczak could possibly be an everyday player. Korczak appeared in 10 games with the Golden Knights last season and would be the first Silver Knights called up to help the defense.

Danill Miromanov: Miromanov might be the best scoring defenseman besides Shea Theodore in the Golden Knights’ organization. With six points in 14 games last season, Miromanov made the most of his short time at the NHL level.