Even after all the details of the Derick Brassard trade were done, even after the NHL finally granted its approval, one question lingers: Why would Vegas come riding to the Penguins' rescue?
Because that's exactly what happened.
Jim Rutherford's original deal with Ottawa, reached early Friday afternoon, was rejected by the league because it was deemed to circumvent the salary cap. And that's almost surely where it would have died if the expansion Golden Knights hadn't surprisingly agreed to pick up nearly half of Brassard's pay in what became a three-team trade.
To refresh the memory, these were the Vegas-Pittsburgh components of the trade:
To continue reading, log into your account:
