Fansided

5 current NHL playoff teams poised to miss out in 2018-19

By C.L. Kohuss

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 18: Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks shakes hands with John Gibson #36 of the Anaheim Ducks in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Joe Pavelski; John Gibson
SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 18: Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks shakes hands with John Gibson #36 of the Anaheim Ducks in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Joe Pavelski; John Gibson /
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WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 12: Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets makes a save as William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights sends a spray of ice in the air during second period action in Game One of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 12, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – MAY 12: Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets makes a save as William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights sends a spray of ice in the air during second period action in Game One of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 12, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2. Vegas Golden Knights

We’ve touched on this a bit in other articles, but the Vegas Golden Knights could look a lot different next season than they do now. They, like Anaheim, have critical choices looming come July 1. With a projected $30 million in cap space, they still can’t resign everyone they want to. William Karlsson scored 43 goals with 78 points. He’s in line for a huge contract.

James Neal scored 25 goals and isn’t likely to take less than $5 million. David Perron scored 66 points and probably won’t take less than that either. So already we’re looking at close to $20 million gone. Defenseman Luca Sbisa is a free agent making $3.6 million. Shea Theodore and Colin Miller are also in line for raises. Miller, another defenseman, scored 41 points.

Vegas could keep the band mostly intact. Yet it’s going to cost them at the expense of improving through free agency. Or it could let guys like Neal and Perron walk while holding on to the belief that Jonathan Marchessault and Karlsson will carry this team through next season to the playoffs. Both are excellent players, but Karlsson is still a risk. In 162 games with the Blue Jackets, he scored 15 goals.

This year he also put up an absurd plus/minus of plus-49. It’s lunacy to believe he’ll repeat that type of success. It’s also crazy to think he’ll go out and score another 40 goals having done it once in three full seasons. But hey, we doubted everything about the Golden Knights this year and they continue to prove us wrong. Keep doing it, we won’t mind.

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