All-Star defenseman Shea Weber is on the move again. The Vegas Golden Knights have traded the veteran to Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Dysin Mayo.
As part of the deal, the Golden Knights will also send a 2023 fifth-round pick to Arizona.
Considering that Weber hasn’t played an NHL game since 2021 and is on the long-term injury reserve, the move was essentially motivated by Las Vegas’ desire to offload his contract. The 37-year-old has a deal that runs through the 2025-26 NHL season and is set to earn $3 million annually. His cap hit, however, is actually a lot bigger and comes at $7.85 million.
The Golden Knights will now enter the offseason with a clearer salary cap situation that will allow them to make more moves in an attempt to challenge for the Stanley Cup again. They are not expected to have Mayo, who had zero points in 15 games with the Coyotes this season, on their roster. Instead, the 25-year-old is heading to AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.
Weber missed the entire 2021-22 season dealing with multiple serious injuries. It is unclear whether he will play hockey again, but that didn’t stop the Coyotes from taking on his contract. They picked up draft assets while also staying above the NHL salary cap floor of $61 million.
