The Vegas Golden Knights may still be trying to improve their defense before the beginning of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season. The reasons are because Alex Pietrangelo is having bilateral femur reconstruction surgery and the franchise traded Nicolas Hague, so they had enough money to sign Mitch Marner. Here are five unrestricted free agents on the blueline that the Golden Knights might target before training camp begins in September.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Vlasic is a veteran blueliner who won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The 38-year-old from Montreal, Quebec had his contract bought out by San Jose in late June prior to the NHL’s Free Agent Frenzy. Vlasic only played 27 games last year after having back surgery in last year’s offseason. In Vlasic’s prime, he was a +31 for a single season, and had a career-high 39 points.
TJ Brodie
The native of Chatham, Ontario has played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks. Like Vlasic, Brodie’s final season of his contract was bought out. However, even though Brodie is 35 years of age, he feels he still has more to give even though he was a career worst -18 this past season. In the right environment, Brodie could be an asset for Vegas in a third pairing role.
Matt Grzelcyk
After eight seasons with the Boston Bruins to begin his NHL career, Matt Grzelcyk of Boston, Massachusetts signed a one-year deal worth $2.75 million with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2024-25 season. In 82 games, Grzelcyk had career highs in assists (39), points (40), power-play points (15), blocked shots (101), and takeaways (32). It should be noted that the Golden Knights already have a defenseman from Massachusetts as Noah Hanifin is also from Boston.
Tyson Barrie
Barrie is one of the most underrated defensemen in the entire NHL. One of his best attributes is being able to keep the puck in the opponents’s zone. The 14-year journeyman from Victoria, British Columbia, has played with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames. Last year in southern Alberta, Barrie had three points in 13 games.
Jan Ruuta
The native of Pisek, Czech Republic has previously played with the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. Last season with the Sharks, Ruuta had nine points in 54 games. While with the Lightning, Ruuta won Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
