The Captain & The Kid: 8 Best Trades in Golden Knights History

The NHL Trade Deadline is less than two weeks away. The Vegas Golden Knights have made one minor trade, but things have been quiet otherwise. There have been rumors, of course, but that’s all they are: rumors. 

The Golden Knights have traditionally been aggressive with their trades, at the deadline or otherwise. The results have been a mixed bag– they won the Stanley Cup in 2023 but mortgaged their future to do so.

Let’s take a look back at some of the best trades in team history.

Bye Bye, Expansion Draft Considerations 

On June 21, 2017, one day before the Expansion Draft, the NHL was buzzing with activity. Several teams forked over picks, prospects, and players so that the Golden Knights wouldn’t select players they considered more important. In a lopsided deal, the  Anaheim Ducks sent Shea Theodore to Vegas for Expansion Draft considerations. 

At the time, Theodore was 22 and showed signs of becoming a true top-four defenseman. Of course, no one could have anticipated just how good Theodore would become. In Vegas, he flourished into one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. Theodore has 337 points in 499 games with the Golden Knights. He’s in the middle of a career year that has been derailed by an injury sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

Two-For-One in Florida

A few teams sent the Golden Knights assets to select certain players in the Expansion Draft. The Pittsburgh Penguins, for example, gave the Golden Knights a 2020 second-round pick to select future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-André Fleury. Somehow, there were two worse trades than that; the first involved the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers sent Reilly Smith to Vegas for a 2018 fourth-round pick. This deal came under one condition: the Golden Knights would select Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft.

Marchessault was coming off a 30-goal campaign, and Smith was a 25-goalscorer. This deal went about as well as expected. Marchessault and Smith finished the inaugural season second and fourth in scoring on the team, respectively. When the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023, Marchessault won the Conn Smythe. To twist the knife, the team they beat in the Stanley Cup Finals was the Florida Panthers.

Wild Bill

The Columbus Blue Jackets sent the Golden Knights their 2017 first-rounder, a 2019 second-rounder, and David Clarkson. In return, the Golden Knights selected up-and-coming center William Karlsson in the Expansion Draft.

It was a good trade– for Vegas. Karlsson led them in scoring during their inaugural season with 43 goals and 78 points in 82 games. His production elevated them to the postseason and all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Karlsson has consistently been a playoff performer and has 28 goals and 65 points in 95 postseason games with the Golden Knights.

David Clarkson never played another NHL game, but Karlsson is at 540 in a Golden Knights sweater and counting.

Now, moving away from the Expansion Draft…

2023 Deadline Add

Just before the 2023 Trade Deadline, the Golden Knights made their big move. They traded Zach Dean, their 2021 first-round pick, to the St. Louis Blues for pending UFA Ivan Barbashev.

Barbashev was an immediate fit with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault. During the run to the Stanley Cup in 2023, he had seven goals and 18 points in 22 games. 

The Golden Knights signed Barbashev to a five-year, $25 million contract extension. Barbashev had a slight offensive regression last season. This year, he’s back on track and on pace for 27 goals and 60 points over an 82-game season.

Reclamation Project

In December 2019, the Golden Knights traded a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Washington Capitals for 25-year-old Chandler Stephenson. At the time, this looked like little more than a depth move– Stephenson was a bottom-six forward with just 33 points in 168 games. In Vegas, he became so much more than that.

Stephenson’s offensive production skyrocketed immediately. He scored in his debut and never looked back. He ended his Golden Knights career with 237 points in 327 games– not bad for just a fifth-round pick, eh?

One game, one goal

Hot start for @CStephenson22 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H2rTMkiXeP

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 4, 2019

During the 2023 Stanley Cup run, he was one of the team’s most defensively-responsible forwards. He also had ten goals and ten assists in 22 games, including six points in the Stanley Cup final.

King of the Hill

On August 29, 2022, the Golden Knights made another depth trade when they became one of their better moves as a franchise. They sent a 2024 fourth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for a backup goaltender named Adin Hill. At the time, this seemed like a nothing trade. The Golden Knights already had two goaltenders on their roster in Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit, as well as Jiří Patera in the minors. 

No one could have predicted that, come April, Hill would enter the playoffs as the third goaltender on the depth chart and propel the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup. Hill ended the postseason with a record of 11-4, an average save percentage of .932, and one memorable save.

The Adin Hill save heard around the world. 🌏 #StanleyCup

(via IG/nhleurope) pic.twitter.com/j4qYikKoTU

— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2023

Since then, Hill has become the starting goaltender. In 97 games with the Golden Knights, Hill has a record of 56-29-7 and an average save percentage of .909.

Golden Knights Win Stone Sweepstakes

The Ottawa Senators kickstarted their rebuild at the 2019 Trade Deadline, shipping out high-profile players like Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. The Golden Knights, of course, ended up landing Mark Stone– and it didn’t even cost them a first-round pick. In exchange for Stone, the Senators received Erik Brännström, Oscar Lindberg, and a 2020 second-round pick.

Despite some injury issues, Stone has thrived in Vegas. He produces offensively and was a finalist for the Selke in 2018-19 and 2020-21. On January 13, 2021, Stone was named the first captain in team history. 

Lucky Number 9

Could any other trade be so franchise-altering as when the Golden Knights acquired Jack Eichel? On November 4, 2021, the Buffalo Sabres dealt him to Vegas with a third-rounder in 2023 for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first, and a 2023 third.

Eichel finally got surgery for his herniated disc and didn’t play a game until February 16, 2022. Since then, he’s developed into one of the best two-way centers in the league. Without Eichel, the Golden Knights probably aren’t one of the best teams in the league today, and they certainly don’t win the Stanley Cup in 2023.