Will Golden Knights make moves before Monday’s trade deadline?
The Golden Knights’ history at the trade deadline always has been to go with a pedal-down, full-speed-ahead approach.
In four previous seasons, they’ve added every time and haven’t flipped any of their potential rentals, preferring to let them go to free agency after the season.
But with the injury crisis the Knights face, it’s difficult to gauge whether general manager Kelly McCrimmon will implement the same aggressive strategy before Monday’s deadline at noon Pacific time.
The latest wrinkle came Sunday when left wing Max Pacioretty was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Now McCrimmon must decide whether there’s enough on the roster to reach the postseason or if he needs to acquire help to get across the finish line.
“It might be on some players’ (minds) individually, and there’s nothing you can do about that,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “They’re veteran guys, most of them. They’ve been through this before, and they get it.”
The Knights enter Monday’s game at Minnesota in unfamiliar territory fighting for a playoff spot this late in the season. They are one point ahead of Dallas for the second wild card, but out of the postseason based on points percentage with 18 games remaining.
It’s doubtful the Knights will make a splashy move like previous deadlines when they landed Mark Stone in 2019 or Alec Martinez and Robin Lehner the following year. The November trade that brought Jack Eichel from Buffalo already checked that box.
The past two weeks were filled with speculation the Knights were in the market for a goaltender.
Robin Lehner was sent home after a loss at Philadelphia on March 8 for further testing on a lower-body injury, and Daily Faceoff previously reported he was playing through a torn labrum in his shoulder.
But the recent play of Logan Thompson might have changed the Knights’ mind. The 25-year-old was handed his second consecutive start Saturday and turned aside 38 shots in a 5-1 victory over Los Angeles.
Thompson appears to have solidified the goaltending for now with Laurent Brossoit mired in a slump. That could buy the Knights enough time to allow Lehner to recover rather than trading for a stop-gap replacement.
Up front, the Knights are without Pacioretty, captain Mark Stone and right wing Reilly Smith, but haven’t been linked with any of the top offensive players available unlike in past seasons.
Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent and can sign elsewhere in the offseason. So far, the Knights haven’t shown an appetite to deal the alternate captain for a return, although his uncertain injury status might have cooled any potential trade talks.
Should the Knights look to add, a physical bottom-six forward might be on the list. In the meantime, the Knights recalled defenseman Brayden Pachal and forward Jake Leschyshyn from Henderson.
“We’ve gotten a lot of production from our fourth line this year that has helped us survive some of the things we’ve dealt with,” DeBoer said. “You never have the perfect team. As a coach, you’re always looking for a little more of something.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.