Paul Stastny Strikes it Rich in Vegas

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed center Paul Stastny.

Once it becomes official after 12 noon ET when it can be papered/signed, VGK deal with Paul Stastny is three years with an AAV of $6.5M.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2018

The Golden Knights get: A 32-year-old potential second-line center who at $6.5 million per season will be paid as the team’s first-line center. After a surprising deadline-day deal from the Blues to the Jets, Stastny was a solid addition to the Jets, posting 13 points (4g-9a) in 19 regular-season games and 15 points (6g-9a) in 17 playoff games.

This signing is also a bit of a surprise, as it was thought that by the Jets moving Steve Mason, they were clearing room to re-sign Stastny. The Jets, however, have numerous RFAs that will need to get paid soon.

Fantasy Players Impacted:

Stastny should center what should be a brand new second line for Vegas, as David Perron has returned to St. Louis and James Neal may leave as well. So it remains to be seen who his actual linemates could be. But it is worth mentioning that he may not benefit from having a sniper of the talent of Patrik Laine as he did in Winnipeg, since it seems unlikely that the top trio of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith would get broken up. So it would better to project Stastny based on his St. Louis numbers (40 points in 63 games in 2017-18, 40 points in 66 games in 2016-17) rather than his brief Winnipeg numbers.

With Stastny’s signing, Erik Haula could be bumped down to Vegas’ third line, unless he is moved over to the wing.

Over in Winnipeg, Stastny’s departure could open the door for Bryan Little to return to the plum job of centering Laine. Little scored just seven points (3g-4a) in the 20 regular-season games following Stastny’s addition, and just six points (1g-5a) in 17 playoff games. So he could be in for at least a slight rebound. Jack Roslovic, Andrew Copp, and Adam Lowry could also be in line for more minutes now that Stastny and Matt Hendricks (Minnesota) have departed.

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Fantasy players this helps, in order:

Fantasy players this hurts, in order:

Paul Stastny

Erik Haula

Fantasy owners are discussion this signing in the Forum. Give your take here!