Vegas Golden Knights Face Five Big Free Agent Choices This Summer

The Vegas Golden Knights are getting ready for a very important offseason after being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs again by the Edmonton Oilers. The Knights expect more roster stability than they did last year. It should be noted, however, that they have some important decisions ahead. Among all the unrestricted free agents they have are forwards Reilly Smith, Brandon Saad, Victor Olofsson, Tanner Pearson, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov.

Smith, a franchise original, expressed a strong desire to stay: "If there's an opportunity to stay here, that would be great. I think the best hockey I've played in my career has been wearing this jersey. I would like to play 1000 games in my career, and to do it in this jersey would mean a lot."

In addition to those set to hit the open market, restricted free agent Nic Hague stands out as a key player whose offers the Golden Knights can match. The other remaining restricted free agents include forwards Alexander Holtz and Cole Schwindt. The team is already locked into important contract extensions with defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb, and forwards Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar. Goalie Adin Hill, who was instrumental in the Golden Knights' playoff run after a great regular season, is also locked into a contract for next season.

With such a core, and with not a ton of large interactions, it appears that the Golden Knights will continue to develop their chemistry off their strong postseason run.