Golden Knights may look to Anaheim to help with cap issues when Eichel returns
The Vegas Golden Knights are going to be in a bit of a cap dilemma once Jack Eichel is able to return. General manager Kelly McCrimmon is going to need to find a way to shed $10 million in salary in order to activate Eichel from injured reserve.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Vegas is potentially looking at acquiring Ryan Kesler's LTIR rights to help ease their cap issues.
"Enter Ryan Kesler. Well, Kesler's contractual rights, that is." Pagnotta said.
He added, "The Golden Knights are not afraid to spend money. They've got the pockets to do so. By acquiring Kesler's rights from the Anaheim Ducks, they'd still have to pay him the balance of his $6.675 million salary, but they'd be able to utilize his $6.875 million cap hit in LTIR overage space and exceed the cap by that amount – something teams have done and continue to do."
"One potential casualty of Vegas' tight cap situation is forward Reilly Smith, who is in the final year of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent in July. He's the guy everyone points to as an obvious suitor to be dealt. But he only clears $5 million off the cap and is one of the original misfits on the team," Pagnotta added.
He also mentions that with Alec Martinez on LTIR and Max Pacioretty out for a while, that Vegas' cap situation could get even trickier and suggests that the Golden Knights look at acquiring the contracts of Ben Bishop, Andrew Shaw and/or Johnny Boychuk.
A lot still needs to be worked out but Jack Eichel is expected to return to Vegas' lineup at some point in February.
Source: David Pagnotta - The Fourth Period.
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APRIL 25, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Mike Amadio | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Drake Batherson | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Thomas Chabot | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Nick Cousins | - | - | - | |
| Dylan Cozens | - | - | - | |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | - | - | - | |
| Lars Eller | - | - | - | |
| Warren Foegele | - | - | - | |
| Dennis Gilbert | - | - | - | |
| Claude Giroux | - | - | - | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | - | - | |
| Ridly Greig | - | - | - | |
| Taylor Hall | - | - | - | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | - | - | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||