2 Golden Knights trade candidates after Stanley Cup Final loss

It was all going the way the Vegas Golden Knights wanted it to. Until it wasn’t.

The Golden Knights played their best hockey of the year in the Western Conference Final when they inexplicably swept the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs had proved  to be the best team in the NHL during the regular season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The VGK disposed of the Avs without issue and that allowed Vegas to go into the Stanley Cup Final as the favorites over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Golden Knights played a dazzling opening game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit and registering a 5-4 victory. They had a 2-1 advantage after three games, and that’s when the magical run came to an end. Carolina won the last three games of the series and won the Stanley Cup at T-Mobile Arena. They skated the famed chalice around the VGK’s home ice and celebrated wildly.

The Golden Knights had gotten a huge lift from John Tortorella when he was hired with eight games to go in the regular season. The team had lost its way under Bruce Cassidy and there was an immediate refocus that paid off with a 7-0-1 closing stretch in the regular season that gave Vegas the Pacific Division title.

Wins over the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks followed in the first two rounds of the playoffs before they took apart the Avalanche. Now the team must decide who stays and who goes in the upcoming 2026-27 season.

It will begin with Tortorella, who may have been the ideal short-term fix for the team. That did not mean that he would be the best coach for them in the coming regular season. He would not be. Tortorella has been a disciplinarian and intractable throughout his long coaching career, and every one of his head coaching associations have ended badly.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon came to the correct conclusion in parting company with Tortorella two days after losing the Stanley Cup Final. That was the best decision for the team in the long run.

Golden Knights have a number of older players, including Tomas Hertl

As the Golden Knights go forward, superstars Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner will be in the prime of their careers. Eichel will be 30 in October while Marner still has a year to go before he reaches that age. However, Mark Stone is 34 and William Karlsson is 33. Tomas Hertl will reach that age in November. There are several older performers on the blue line as well.

The Golden Knights have to strongly consider trading Hertl at this point. Hertl went through a brutal slump in the second half of the regular season and into the playoffs. He went 29 games without scoring a goal.

After potting the winning goal in overtime against the Detroit Red Wings March 4, Hertl could not put the puck in the net for more than two months. He broke the dry spell in Game 4 of the second-round series against the Ducks and then scored again in Game 5. He ended the playoffs with 5 postseason goals and 9 assists, and this came after his 24-goal, 34-assist regular season.

Hertl spent 11-plus years with the San Jose Sharks before moving to the Golden Knights at the trade deadline in 2024. He scored 32 goals and 61 points in his first full season with the VGK, but he may be worth more in a trade than he is on the ice.

He has four more seasons remaining on an 8-year, $65.1 million deal. That is a fairly big ticket, although some teams may want to take a chance on Hertl considering the increase in the 2026-26 salary cap. The Golden Knights are getting collectively older and would be wise to consider any trade offer for Hertl.

Brayden McNabb has experience and value, but his age could work against him

The aging factor has to concern McCrimmon. While the back line is fairly solid for the VGK, Brayden McNabb took a brutal blow when he was struck in the face with a slap shot in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. He showed his guts and devotion to his teammates when he came back wearing a full cage mask on for Game 3.

McNabb, 35, absorbed an 87 MPH blast from Nikolaj Ehlers of the Hurricanes and endured severe facial injuries.

He was in pain and very uncomfortable, but he had two assists when he returned in Game 3 of the series, a 5-4 double overtime win for the VGK. Defenseman Shea Theodore scored the winning goal on a weird deflection and bounce.

Theodore was more impressed with his teammate than he was with his OT winner.

“The stuff he went through from last game and everything, I mean, it’s incredible for him to bounce back like that and be able to come into today, get ready to play. I thought he played unbelievable, given all the circumstances,” Theodore said, per NHL.com. “I don’t think it’s ever easy, especially to wear a cage like he did. That’s a change in the vision and all that but he’s just so impressive out there.”

McNabb scored 1 goal and 9 assists and was plus-13 in the playoffs. He is solid in the biggest games, and that could appeal to a trading partner. If the Golden Knights could get a pair of young players or prospects for McNabb, it is a trade worth making.

The post 2 Golden Knights trade candidates after Stanley Cup Final loss appeared first on ClutchPoints.