According to Frank Seravalli, the Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly interested in forward Brandon Saad.
The 32-year-old winger recently mutually terminated his contract with the St. Louis Blues, becoming a free agent. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was having a down-year with the Blues after scoring 26 goals in the previous season.
Saad was placed on waivers by the Blues on Tuesday and if he cleared, which he did, he’d be sent down to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ AHL affiliate. However, Saad wasn’t willing to play in the AHL.
With just seven goals and 16 points in 43 games, he and the Blues were in need of change. The Blues currently sit six points out of a playoff spot and have lost three in a row.
Before terminating his contract, Saad was earning $4.5M and had an additional year on his contract. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that the market for Saad is large and that he won’t be cheap to sign.
“But he’s going to have options and what the cost is will be the determining factor for some of these teams because, obviously, Saad did walk away from that money. He’s not going to come cheap necessarily,” Johnston said.
The market for Saad consists of the Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Devils have long looked for a left winger to play in their top six and the Lightning are always in talks for available forwards. The Maple Leafs have a slight advantage in the Saad sweepstakes.
Saad played under the Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube throughout his Blues career and had great seasons with him. The Maple Leafs like most teams, don’t have much cap space but remain interested in finding a way to fit him on the roster.
The Pittsburgh, PA native has a plethora of playoff experience, size and Stanley Cup pedigree that any team would be lucky to have.
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