Team: 2023-24 Vegas Golden Knights

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 18, 2023

Published: Jun. 19, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This roster is being designed around keeping Ivan Barbashev.


Carolina is in on everyone, has the cap space, needs a top goaltender. Lehner really wasn't part of the Cup-winning team, so why keep him and his cap hit at the expense of losing Barbashev or trading someone like Roy to open cap space.


(The caveat here is that Lehner had three different surgeries over the past year, so no one knows for certain if he'll be ready to start the 23-24 season.)


My guess is that even though Barbashev could get in the $5.75-6M range, with Nevada having a good tax rate relative to other states and certainly Canada, along with the fit, the recent history, and the fact that players want to live and play in Vegas, that $5.5M will be enough to keep Barbashev.


Similar situation with Adin Hill. Could he get $4M or more on the UFA market? Sure, especially to teams who lose out on their top choices. That said, giving him a raise of nearly 2/3rds and keeping him on the Cup-winning team that plays a system which he can be a star in, and again the favourable tax rate, and that Vegas is now a destination team, should be enough to keep him.


It's interesting that moving Lehner and running a 20-man roster allows Vegas to bring back the players who dressed the most on their Cup-winning run and see if they can do it again.