With the 2025 NHL Entry Draft just two weeks away, the Vegas Golden Knights find themselves in a familiar yet intriguing position. General Manager Kelly McCrimmon is known for making bold moves. This year, the Golden Knights do not have a first-round pick. Instead, they have six picks to use, with two picks in the sixth round.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the Golden Knights heading into the draft is what McCrimmon plans to do with defenseman Nic Hague. Hague, 26, is a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer and is due for a significant raise from his previous $2.294 million cap hit. With the Golden Knights projected to have just $9.6 million in cap space, re-signing Hague might prove difficult. Several teams have expressed interest in Hague, including the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings.
Trading Hague could free up much-needed cap space for the Golden Knights and potentially bring back a valuable asset in return, maybe even a higher draft pick. The team is reportedly looking for a top-six winger, and moving Hague could be a way to acquire one. This would help to address the team's lack of scoring depth that was exposed in the playoffs. The team had six players score over 50 points this past season, but scoring was inconsistent beyond the top two lines.
While the Golden Knights lack a first-round pick, they have a history of finding talent in the later rounds. In 2023, they drafted Mathieu Cataford in the third round, and he has since become one of their top prospects. McCrimmon and his scouting staff will be looking to identify similar hidden gems in this year's draft. Mock drafts have the Golden Knights focusing on defensemen and right-wingers. Some potential targets include Karl Annborn, a two-way defenseman from Sweden, and Gavin Cornforth, a right-winger from the USHL.
The Golden Knights have been linked to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. Marner is a highly skilled player. If the Golden Knights were to acquire Marner, they would need to shed salary to make it work. One way to do that would be to trade William Karlsson, though that would be a difficult decision given Karlsson's importance to the team.
The Golden Knights have been active in the trade market in recent years. At the 2025 trade deadline, they reacquired Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick. They also made a splash at the 2024 trade deadline by acquiring Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl.
The NHL's salary cap is set to increase to $95.5 million for the 2025-26 season, which will give the Golden Knights more financial flexibility. However, they still have several key players to re-sign in the coming years, including Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev.
