Salary cap forces Golden Knights to rotate younger players

The Golden Knights outchanced the Anaheim Ducks 8-3 when center Cody Glass was on the ice at five-on-five in the second game of the season. His reward? He was sent to the taxi squad before the next game.

In the Knights’ fourth game Wednesday, defenseman Nic Hague and rookie forward Keegan Kolesar stood out. Hague started a scoring play by creating a neutral-zone turnover, and Kolesar had a hand in each of the team’s first two goals in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

Neither was rewarded in terms of playing time the next game. Hague was sent to the taxi squad before the Knights’ 5-2 loss to the Coyotes on Friday, and Kolesar saw his role reduced to being the team’s 13th forward.

The three younger players are in a tricky spot. The Knights can only play two at a time because of their salary cap situation, so their ice time isn’t necessarily tied to their performance.

“It’s frustrating sitting out, but you kind of have to take it as a positive and work on the areas that you’re not so good at,” Glass said Friday. “You want to play every night. But with the situation we’re in, that’s not the case.”

Glass and Hague are two of the most important young players in the organization. Glass was the team’s first-ever draft pick in 2017, and Hague was taken 28 spots later at 34th overall.

Both need games to develop. But Kolesar, whom the Knights traded a second-round pick to acquire in 2017, also is getting a look because the other 30 teams would have an opportunity to claim him if he were sent to the taxi squad or American Hockey League.

That leaves the Knights in a bind with the salary cap. Because of the offseason acquisition of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and the decision to retain goaltenders Robin Lehner and Marc-Andre Fleury for a combined $12 million, the team can afford to have only two of Glass, Hague and Kolesar on the roster.

That means Glass and Hague, who both are waiver exempt, probably will continue rotating.

“It is tricky,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Thankfully we’ve got two really good kids that have a lot of character and understand they’re both going to be a big part of what we’re doing here going forward.”

Games moved

DeBoer’s San Jose homecoming will be delayed.

The Sharks announced Saturday that their first two games against the Knights on Feb. 1 and 3 will be played in Arizona because of the ban on contact sports in California’s Santa Clara County. The games will be in the Coyotes’ home rink, Gila River Arena in Glendale.

DeBoer coached the Sharks from 2015 to 2019. He led them to four straight playoff berths and an appearance in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

“My selfish side says I obviously wish we were playing those games in San Jose,” DeBoer said. “But the common sense side recognizes that it’s probably a smart decision by the people doing it.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.