Golden Knights re-sign goaltender to two-year contract

Hill, 27, was a pending unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his two-year deal with a $2.175 million cap hit, one he signed with the San Jose Sharks. He receives a pay raise of $2.725 million per year, which is more than double any of his previous cap hits. He becomes the 19th highest-paid goaltender in the league, with his closest comparables being Jack Campbell, Robin Lehner, Linus Ullmark, Juuse Saros, Thatcher Demko and Cal Petersen.

Hill had a solid regular season for the Golden Knights, playing 27 games with a 16-7-1 record, a .915 save percentage and 7.54 goals saved above expected at 5v5. However, it was his playoff performance that gave him a pay raise, stepping in among the injuries to Lehner, Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit in the second round to backstop the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup with a .932 save percentage, two shutouts and 13.13 goals saved above expected.

Hill was a third-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, and spent parts of six seasons in the Coyotes organization before he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks. After a season there, too many goalies in San Jose and too many goalie injuries in Vegas resulted in Hill getting dealt to the Golden Knights to be the backup.

The Golden Knights have been working away to keep most of the team together after winning the Stanley Cup, as along with Hill, they re-signed Ivan Barbashev to a five-year contract with a $5 million AAV. That did come at a price, as they had to trade one of the original Golden Knights in Reilly Smith, sending him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2024 third-round pick. The Golden Knights are currently $2.2 million above the salary cap right now, but that does include Robin Lehner, who’s playing career is up in the air at this moment.