Vegas Golden Knights sign Noah Hanifin to eight year contract

The Golden Knights are clearly going all out to keep Hanifin past his free agency that was set to begin this offseason. It's a massive contract for a defenceman who's not the biggest offensive producer. His annual salary of $7.35M will make Hanifin the 25th highest paid defenceman in the NHL. There's also significant signing bonuses involved, and a heavily front-loaded structure to the deal. The Golden Knights acquired Hanifin from the Flames in a three-way deal, in which they parted with a first round draft pick, a conditional third round pick, and defenceman Danill Miromanov.

It really makes Vegas' cap structure interesting past next season as well. They're clearly following the trend of many other teams paying up for their higher-end talent, and filling out their depth with near league minimum contracts.

Hanifin has been off to a great start with the Golden Knights. In his first 16 games with the club, Hanifin's offensive production has ticked up with 2 goals and 9 points - perhaps the Golden Knights are betting this production will continue. Now along with an eight year contract extension, Vegas' trade for Hanifin is shaping up to look real good for the team.