The Vegas Golden Knights have reshaped their bottom-six forward group ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, headlined by the acquisition of veteran center Nic Dowd from the Washington Capitals. The deal, finalized Thursday, sends goaltending prospect Jesper Vikman, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2029 second-round pick to Washington.
Dowd, 35, brings a defensive mindset and penalty-killing expertise to Vegas. He has 16 points in 55 games this season, averaging 15:33 of ice time, and led Capitals forwards in short-handed ice time at 2:40 per game, ranking 10th in the league. His contract carries a $3 million cap hit through next season.
“It’s a tough day. He’s meant a lot to this team. He’s meant a lot to this community, him and his family. He’s done so much,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “He’s such a valuable player in so many different ways.”
Dowd, a former seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, has 192 points in 637 career games and had been with Washington since 2018-19. He joins winger Cole Smith, acquired from the Nashville Predators on Tuesday for a third-round pick and defenseman prospect Christoffer Sedoff.
Stone placed on injured reserve
To make room for Dowd, the Knights placed captain Mark Stone on injured reserve Thursday. Stone suffered an upper-body injury Sunday in Pittsburgh after a check from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang late in the first period and hasn’t played since. He missed Vegas’ last two games against Buffalo and Detroit.
Stone must sit out at least seven days from the injury, ruling him out for home games against the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. This is his second IR stint this season; he missed 16 games from Oct. 18 to Nov. 26 with a broken finger.
The Knights cannot gain cap relief from Stone’s $9.5 million hit unless he is placed on season-ending long-term injured reserve, which would require him to miss the rest of the season and playoffs. Stone has been the team’s most important player with 60 points in 43 games, a 114-point pace over 82 games.
Waiver moves
Vegas also placed forwards Alexander Holtz and Cole Reinhardt on waivers Thursday. Holtz, 24, had nine points in 28 games this season and signed a two-year, $1.675 million contract in October. Reinhardt, 26, signed a two-year deal worth $1.625 million on July 1 and has three goals and seven points in 44 games. Both will report to Henderson of the American Hockey League if unclaimed by 11 a.m. Friday.
Cap space and deadline possibilities
The Knights have roughly $1.5 million in cap space remaining, according to PuckPedia. While that limits options, the team has made surprising last-minute moves before, such as the 2024 trade for Tomas Hertl. Speculation persists that Vegas could address goaltending, with St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky mentioned as potential targets. Any such deal would likely involve moving Adin Hill and the five years left on his contract at a $6.25 million cap hit.
