NHL Latest: Vegas Golden Knights closing in on deal to sign 22-year-old Veteran American Forward.

Welcome to another round of NHL Rumours! The Vegas Golden Knights continue to generate a lot of attention. One that thankfully did not involve Mitch Marner! It has been suggested that disgruntled Toronto Maple Leaf LW Nick Robertson would benefit from a move to Vegas. It would be a “win-win” for both teams. Of course, Brad Treliving has no plans for a trade, as he hopes to work things out with the 22-year-old. However, the substance of Proteau’s argument comes in two parts.

Rumour: Julian Gaudio of The Hockey News talks the Golden Knights and Nick Robertson.

Nick Robertson is an excellent player with the potential to be a consistent 20+ goal scorer in the league. There was a valid argument to be made prior to the acquisition of Alexander Holtz by the squad. However, once that agreement was completed, it became much more difficult to make. At least not without completely discounting Pavel Dorofeyev’s potential as a top-six forward in this league. Given that his career stats are not dissimilar to Robertson’s, this could be a bad long-term decision.

Furthermore, if Victor Olofsson recaptures the high-level scoring touch he had in Buffalo three seasons ago, this alleged disparity becomes a low-key advantage. That alone is sufficient evidence to dismiss this rumor. Especially in conjunction with the second portion of Mr. Proteau’s argument.

On the surface, given what happened last week, this seems like a possible outcome in any potential trade for Robertson. The New York Rangers got Reilly Smith for a 2nd rounder. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals both gave up 3rd round picks to acquire Jake Guentzel and Jakob Chychrun, respectively. But going a little deeper brings out a small problem: Ivan Barbashev.

Barbashev going to the Maple Leafs solves a top-6 forward they have, particularly with Bobby McMann. He’s been dealing with a lower-body issue going back to the end of last season, one that hasn’t cleared up as of this writing. Given the choice between a solid player like McMann and a guy with 2 Stanley Cup rings and 200+ career points…Brad Treliving would be foolish not to see if there’s a way to get the Russian winger there.

Ultimately, this is one of those rumors that is unlikely to spread beyond the burning heat. But it provides some interesting fodder to chew on with 73 days till the Preseason opener against the San Jose Sharks. It also includes the two beauties that are typical of most NHL offseasons. Sometimes there is an unceasing stream of drama. Sometimes it’s chewing over hypotheticals while sitting under an air conditioner.