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Golden Knights sign Brandon Saad to 1-year deal

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The Vegas Golden Knights agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth a prorated $1.5 million with former St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad, the club announced Friday.

Saad and the Blues agreed to mutually terminate the remainder of his four-year contract after he was waived Wednesday. Saad, who was signed through 2025-26 with an AAV of $4.5 million, elected to forgo the remaining $5.4 million on his deal in order to have the chance to sign with a new team.

He chose Vegas.

The 32-year-old won the Stanley Cup twice with Chicago in 2013 and 2015 and brings 906 regular-season games and 103 playoff games of NHL experience to the table. He has 260 career goals and 515 points in the regular season as well as 27 goals and 55 points in the postseason.

Though Saad’s production has slowed considerably this season, the speedy veteran should add some much-needed offensive upside to Vegas’ bottom six.

The Pittsburgh native has just seven goals and 16 points in 43 games this year, but there’s some room for optimism considering his shooting percentage (9.3 percent) is the second-lowest of his career and lowest since 2017-18.

Plus, Saad ranks first on the Blues this year with 0.83 individual expected goals per 60 at 5-on-5, and he’s fourth in shots per 60 (7.87). Among regular Vegas forwards, those values would rank third and fourth, respectively. Saad also would be second on the Golden Knights in high-danger chances per 60 (3.99), trailing only Tomas Hertl.

With William Karlsson on the shelf and the bottom six failing to provide consistent offense, the relatively risk-free move is a solid one for the Golden Knights, particularly given Saad’s experience and his desire to play for a contender.

The Golden Knights may still look to acquire a few depth pieces ahead of the trade deadline, but this move will give Vegas time to evaluate what type of role Saad can fill.

The Golden Knights have used seven forwards in fewer than 10 games this season, including Jonas Rondbjerg (9), Brendan Brisson (9), Tanner Laczynski (8), Cal Burke (7), Raphael Lavoie (2), Grigori Denisenko (1) and Mason Morelli (1). Saad should offer some more stability to the roster.

In the immediate term, he’ll likely slot in on the left side of the third line with Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar, though Bruce Cassidy will have more options at his disposal.

In a related move, the Golden Knights reassigned Burke to Henderson on Friday. That means Lavoie will remain on the active roster ahead of the club’s four-game road trip, which kicks off Sunday against the New York Rangers.

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.