Golden Knights acquire Dowd from Capitals for Vikman, picks
The Vegas Golden Knights continue to solidify the depth, acquiring center Nic Dowd from the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Jesper Vikman, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2029 second-round pick.
The deal was first reported by The Fourth Period insider David Pagnotta.
This is a move that comes as a bit of a surprise, as Dowd was not featured on Daily Faceoff’s trade board. The Capitals weren’t expected to be sellers, considering they’re still in the heat of the playoff race, sitting four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Wild Card spot in the standings. Dowd also isn’t a pending unrestricted free agent, as he has one year remaining on his two-year contract with a $3 million cap hit.
In Dowd, the Golden Knights get a center who can play in their bottom six, excels defensively, and kills penalties. Not only has Vegas been looking for a center who can play in that role since they dealt Nicolas Roy to the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer to make room for Mitch Marner’s $12 million cap hit, but they needed an additional center on their depth chart, as William Karlsson has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury.
Dowd has produced at his usual rate, with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 55 games.
Dowd’s defensive game has slipped a bit this season from the higher-end level it’s usually been, as he has just a -0.033 5v5 regularized adjusted plus-minus expected goals against per 60 minutes. But he’s normally been one of the game’s best, with his -0.163 rate in the previous four seasons ranking 18th among forwards.
Vikman has primarily spent the past three seasons with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He has an 8-7-4 record with a .866 save percentage and is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. Vikman is expected to join the AHL’s Hershey Bears, who are currently home to Clay Stevenson, Mitch Gibson and Garin Bjorklund.