Report: Golden Knights trade original forward to Detroit

The Vegas Golden Knights are trading Keegan Kolesar to the Detroit Red Wings for two draft picks, according to a report from TSN.

The Knights are getting a seventh-round pick in 2027 and a third-round pick in 2029 in return.

Detroit is absorbing Kolesar’s entire $2.5 million cap hit.

Kolesar isn’t technically an Original Misfit, but he’s been with the organization since the beginning. He was acquired during the 2017 NHL Draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 45th pick in the draft.

The Brandon, Manitoba, native was a third-round pick of Columbus in 2015.

Kolesar became a full-time NHL player during the shortened 56-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and has been one of the Knights’ more reliable and durable players since.

He played in 439 games as a primary fourth liner, scoring 120 points in six years.

Kolesar was a key enforcer during the Knights’ Stanley Cup championship run in 2023. He’s played in 207 consecutive regular season games.

His Knights tenure ended as a healthy scratch in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kolesar had two years remaining on a three-year, $7.5 million contract he signed in December 2024. That season, he scored a career-high 12 goals and 30 points.

The move gives the Knights $6.175 million in cap space. This doesn’t account for winger Victor Olofsson reportedly returning to the Knights.