Daily Nuggets: Former Golden Knights Assistant Donskov to Dallas; Bad Trade Makes Sharks Worse

The Vegas Golden Knights and assistant Misha Donskov mysteriously parted ways a few weeks ago. On Sunday evening, July 2, the Golden Knights’ Twitter account simply wished Donskov the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Monday, Donskov was hired by the Dallas Stars to join former Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer as an assistant. Donskov served as the director of hockey operations for the Golden Knights from 2016 to 2019 and moved to the bench as an assistant from 2019 to 2023.

The Arizona Coyotes signed defensemen Matt Dumba to a one-year contract worth $3.9 million on Monday. This is a good deal for both sides. The Coyotes get a former King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner. Dumba gets a year to work up his value for a long-term deal next season.

A deeper dive into the Erik Karlsson trade reveals that it may not have been a great deal for the San Jose Sharks. On the surface, the Sharks rid themselves of Karlsson and $10 million of his $11.5 million AAV for the next four seasons while getting a first-round draft pick in return.

However, the Sharks had to take on some bad contracts in return to make the deal happen. Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta for two years each and a combined $7.75 million AAV. Mike Hoffman for one year at $4.5 million AAV.

An argument can be made that the Sharks gave Karlsson away for next to nothing while retaining 13% of his salary for the next four seasons.

The Metro Division is as tough as they come and the Atlantic Division is stacked. Why will the New York Islanders make the playoffs? A full season of Bo Horvat for starters. Horvat and Matt Barzal had instant chemistry that was short-lived due to a Barzal season-ending injury in February. A healthy season of Horvat and Barzal can take the Islanders back to the playoffs.