4 questions surrounding the Golden Knights ahead of trade deadline

The Vegas Golden Knights are about to play 16 games in the month of March. It’s about to get busy, starting Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Oh, and sprinkled between all of that is Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

You’re fine in thinking if the deadline just snuck up on us. Blame the Winter Olympics and that long break.

It’s going to be a unique deadline this year. The league’s new salary cap rules won’t make it easy for contenders to add players.

Teams can’t just dip into long-term injured reserve (LTIR) anymore for cap relief. It can only be done through season-ending LTIR, which rules players out for the rest of the year and the playoffs.

That will play a significant role in how the Knights operate. The moves, or lack thereof, will determine what course of action they take between now and the end of the season.

Here are four questions to ponder between now and noon Friday.

1. What do the Knights need to add?

It wouldn’t be true Knights fashion if they weren’t involved in the deadline to some degree.

The last few years have been moves to set the team up for the future, like the deals to acquire Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin during the 2024 deadline.

Even acquiring Rasmus Andersson in January was done with the future in mind. An extension for the puck-moving defenseman is still in the cards.

The blue line is out of the cards. The Knights are set on defense. Goaltending might be solidified.

A top-nine forward is the logical choice, particularly one who can add goal-scoring punch in the middle of the lineup.

Adding another winger would suffice, but not with the Knights’ center situation decimated by injuries. William Karlsson (lower body) remains out without a clear timeline, and Brett Howden (lower body) is on LTIR but can be activated at any time.

But the Knights can’t do anything of significance unless Karlsson goes on season-ending LTIR.

2. Where in the world is William Karlsson?

There’s been no bigger question since Nov. 8, the last time Karlsson played.

He played the first period, did the intermission interview on TV and hasn’t been seen since.

For as much as there’s been a want for answers to this, there really isn’t one.

All we know: There have been different accounts, according to multiple sources, ranging from Karlsson being done for the rest of the year to the Knights holding out hope he can return for the playoffs.

Which is why he hasn’t been moved to season-ending LTIR yet. The Knights feel there is a chance, but how realistic that chance is won’t be answered until Friday.

Karlsson going on season-ending LTIR would give the Knights roughly $3.5 million in cap space to add a low-cost replacement.

That would require a greater conversation to have. There might finally be an answer this week.

3. Did the Rasmus Andersson trade take the Knights out of making another move?

Not necessarily, but it didn’t make it easier.

Draft capital is bare. The Knights sent their next two first-round picks to Calgary for Andersson and Hanifin. Three, if the Knights win the Stanley Cup this year.

They have this year’s second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh-round picks. If the Knights win two rounds in the playoffs this year, they lose their 2027 second to Nashville in the Nic Hague trade this summer.

The Knights can’t just use prospects as a bargaining chip. Top prospect Trevor Connelly isn’t in any trade conversations, unless the move was worth the Knights’ while.

It comes down to draft picks. The Knights, for now, have some, but not a lot for a big swing.

4. What about the goaltending situation?

Don’t rule out a possible shakeup in net between now and Friday.

The Knights still have three goalies on the NHL roster with Carter Hart on injured reserve. Adin Hill has spent most of the season hurt in the first year of his six-year contract extension he signed last March.

That leaves Akira Schmid, the Knights’ most reliable and consistent netminder this season who is a restricted free agent this summer.

Schmid’s future has been clouded since the Knights signed Hart in October, but it was prolonged when Hill went down with a lower-body injury that cost him three months.

Now that Hill’s back, and with Hart working his way back to a return, this is something to monitor.

File it under “unlikely,” but never say never.

Up next

Who: Golden Knights at Penguins

When: 10 a.m. Sunday

Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh

TV: TNT, HBO Max

Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM

Line: Knights -155; total 6 ½