So much for the Golden Knights having a quiet day leading up to the NHL’s roster freeze ahead of the expansion draft.
The Golden Knights have acquired center Nolan Patrick from the Philadelphia Flyers in a three-team trade, which also sees Vegas sending Cody Glass to the Nashville Predators.
Sportsnet was first to report, and the deal was confirmed by a source.
Patrick was initially traded to Nashville, along with defenseman Philippe Myers, in exchange for veteran defenseman Ryan Ellis. Nashville traded Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, to Vegas for Glass, the No. 6 pick in 2017.
All other 30 teams, with Vegas being exempt, went into a roster freeze at noon PT ahead of the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft on Wednesday.
Patrick, who played junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings under general manager Kelly McCrimmon, has not materialized into the star Philadelphia hoped he’d be. The 22-year-old was a 30-point player in his first two seasons, but a migraine disorder forced him to miss the entire 2019-20 season. Patrick had nine points in 52 games last season.
Patrick is a restricted free agent.
But the crux of this trade is to close the books, officially, on the triplets.
Glass was the first draft pick in team history, the first of three Vegas made in the first round of their inaugural entry draft — Nick Suzuki was selected 13th overall, and defenseman Erik Brannstrom taken two picks later at No. 15.
The Golden Knights traded Suzuki to the Montreal Canadiens for Max Pacioretty in 2018, and Brannstrom to the Ottawa Senators for future captain Mark Stone five months later. Glass was discussed in potential trade discussions with Ottawa for Erik Karlsson at the 2018 trade deadline, but the Golden Knights felt of the three, that he was the most untouchable one.
Instead, Glass too never rounded out to NHL form. After 15 points in 22 playoff games with the Chicago Wolves in the team’s run to the Calder Cup Final in 2019, Glass was hampered by injuries and inconsistency during his first NHL season (12 points in 39 games) in 2020. He totaled 10 points in 27 games with Vegas last season before being sent down to AHL Henderson for the remainder of his Vegas run.
The Golden Knights were also involved in another three-team trade ahead of the roster freeze, acquiring forward Brett Howden from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Nick DeSimone and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft. The Rangers are acquiring the rights to forward Barclay Goodrow from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Grade the acquisition of Nolan Patrick.
| A | 69 |
| B | 143 |
| C | 139 |
| D | 39 |
| F | 33 |