Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (36) warms up before Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars at T-Mobile arena Friday, May 3, 2024.
Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 11:38 a.m.
The Vegas Golden Knights today traded goalie Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals in exchange for third-round draft picks this year and next, and promptly selected goalie Pavel Moysevich from St. Petersburg SKA of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with the 83rd overall pick in the third round of the NHL draft.
Vegas Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said that Thompson had asked to be a traded.
Moysevich, a 6-foot-5-inch, 176-pound goalie from Minsk, Belarus, had a .942 save percentage over 13 games, posting a 3-2-2 record this past season. He had a 1.25 goals against average.
It’s the first time the Golden Knights have selected a goalie since the 2022 NHL draft when they picked Canadian Cameron Whitehead in the fourth round. Whitehead spent this past season at Northeastern University (NCAA).
It’s the first time ever that Vegas has drafted a Belarusian player and the first time since 2022 that they’ve drafted a Slavic player, when they selected Czech center Matyas Sapovaliv in the second round. He has spent the past two seasons with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.
Before the trade, the Golden Knights, who selected Tri-Cities Storm (USHL) forward Trevor Connelly with their No. 19 first-round pick Friday, were not scheduled to pick again until today’s sixth round with two more picks in the seventh round.
Meanwhile, they said goodbye to Thompson, who posted a .908 save percentage over 46 games this past season, finishing with a 25-14-5 record and one shutout. He also played a critical role in helping Vegas get into the playoffs after starting goalie Adin Hill suffered a lower-body injury and didn’t return until the postseason.
“I’m excited,” Thompson said on getting traded to the Capitals. “I think I got a lot more that I can prove in this league and I’m hoping that I get that opportunity in Washington.”
Thompson played in Games 1 through 4 in the Golden Knights’ first-round Stanley Cup series against the Dallas Stars. He went 2-2 before Hill played the rest of the series. Vegas lost the series in seven games.
Thompson said he was woken up by a phone call from McCrimmon saying that he had been traded. Nevertheless, Thompson still showed up to the draft at Sphere to participate in previously arranged autograph-signing session for fans.
“I wasn’t necessarily surprised,” Thompson said. “I’m happy to come back to Washington. That’s kind of where my pro career started and I have a lot of good relationships out there. I’m excited to come back.”
There was no awkwardness for Thompson having to sign autographs, mostly for fans of the team he had just been traded from. The trade was announced live in the Sphere during Thompson’s autograph signing. He said it was a good opportunity to say goodbye to Golden Knight fans and hello to Washington Capital fans.
“I’ve never been traded before, in juniors or pros,” Thompson said. “There’s lot of emotions still running through me and it’s going to take a couple days a process. The only thing I’ve ever known in the NHL is the Golden Knights so it’s gonna be different.”
Fans did not hold back in sharing parting words with Thompson. One fan even yelled to Thompson while he was signing autographs, “you’re a Golden Knight for life!”
“The fans here are amazing. I’m definitely gonna miss them,” Thompson said. “I’m thankful for everything during my time here in Vegas.”
Thompson had one more year left on his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He had a yearly salary cap hit of $766,667.
Today’s trade frees up some space for Vegas to potentially sign unrestricted free agent Jonathan Marchessault before he becomes available on the open market Monday when the NHL’s free agency period begins.
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