After news broke yesterday of Reilly Smith’s extension, the Vegas Golden Knights reportedly have doubled down and will be resigning Brandon Saad as well according to Elliotte Friedman.
Awaiting the details and confirmation, but this a further signal that Vegas will be running it back next year in their chase for Lord Stanley. They originally acquired Brandon Saad from the St. Louis Blues after his contract with the club was terminated in the midseason of last year.
The 32 year old forward combined for 13 goals and 17 assists in 82 games last season (14 in 29 with Vegas) between the 2 organizations. Additionally, he registered 2 assists in 8 playoff games during Vegas’ playoff run.
Saad is a 2 time Stanley Cup Champion, having been a key part of the Chicago Blackhawks 2013 and 2015 runs. Since then he has had an up and down career bouncing around from one team to the next, including a second stint with the Blackhawks when he was involved in the infamous Artemi Panarin trade. Over the course of his long 14 year tenure, Saad has totaled 266 goals and 263 assists for 529 points in 935 games.
The grizzled veteran will likely continue to slot in to a middle 6 role with this stacked Vegas sqaud next season. His experience could come in handy come playoff time as the team expects to keep their contention window open. The Knights have only missed the playoffs once in their 8 year franchise history so far.
