Let’s rewind back to the summer when the Vegas Golden Knights, mired in salary cap hell, were facing a plethora of tough and perhaps season-defining decisions.
They allowed Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, a real staple of the team that had reached the postseason in consecutive years, to walk in free agency along with forward Ryan Carpenter.
Top-four defenseman Colin Miller was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, productive forward Erik Haula was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes and the most significant departure was the trade that saw the New Jersey Devils acquire Nikita Gusev.