The Vegas Golden Knights announced today they have re-signed F Keegan Kolesar to a three-year, $4.2 million ($1.4M AAV) contract extension:
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Keegan Kolesar was an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent before the signing. A third-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kolesar has managed 37 points in 122 NHL games, all with the Golden Knights.
Generally speaking, Kolesar is a replacement-level, bottom-six forward in sheltered role. He generates offense at a decent enough pace, but defensively he is a non-factor. Perhaps that changes under new head coach Bruce Cassidy, but the deal is pretty low risk here. Only 25, his new $1.4M cap-hit is manageable and unlikely to bite Vegas. If his finishing improves even a little, this could make GM Kelly McCrimmon look like a genius.
The signing leaves VGK with -$2.8 million in cap space, so unless they perform some LTIR magic, they will need to shed a contract or two. Lots of time for that though, the deadline for cap compliance usually isn't until October.
