Tampa Bay Lightning

Killorn Headed to Vegas?
June 5, 2017, 4:41 PM ET [44 Comments]
John Gove
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In 16 days time the newest NHL franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, will create their roster through the expansion draft. The uniqueness of this event has filled those of us in the world of hockey with mass amounts of curiosity and uncertainty.

In recent mock drafts completed by TSN's Frank Seravalli and Craig Button, the odd man out for Tampa Bay will be Alex Killorn. This would be welcoming news for Steve Yzerman and the front office of the Lightning due to that giant mistake of a contract Killorn has. However, could Killorn really be the player the Golden Knights choose to take from Tampa Bay?

Personally, I have a hard time convincing myself of this happening. Killorn could be a solid acquisition for a team just trying to get settled into the league, but not with his contract. He is on the books until the summer of 2023, making $4.45M annually. In addition, he has a no-trade-clause that kicks in next season, which converts into a modified NTC for the 2020-21 season and beyond. With the modified NTC, Killorn will submit a list of 16 teams he can be traded to.

The salary could be tolerated by Vegas if the term of the contract wasn't so long. Two, three, maybe even four years could be livable. However, six seasons of a forward without much of an offensive upside would be tough to commit to. Killorn is already 27 and shows no signs of turning into someone who you can count on to give you 20-plus goals a season. Yes, points are not everything in hockey but I find it hard to convince myself that the Golden Knights are going to want to bring in and pay someone $4.45M for six years whose skillset does not involve putting the puck in the back of the net.

Now I do think that Killorn will be left unprotected by Yzerman and the Lightning. They would definitely love to get his paycheck off the books and use the extra cash to lock down their key three RFA's. Unfortunately, I do see Vegas intrigued by what Killorn brings to the table unless they can work out some sort of side deal with the Lightning. Maybe if the Bolts throw in a draft pick they can change the minds of the Golden Knights.

We have seen Steve Yzerman pull off some pretty amazing and unthinkable things over the years so I won't completely shut down the idea of Vegas taking Killorn. Still, it is pretty unlikely in my book.