Elliotte Friedman Reveals Four Teams Who Almost Landed Top Free Agent Target

In the National Hockey League, the trade deadline doesn't only mark the last day that organizations can make deals with other teams, but also the deadline to which they can add players on the free agents market ahead of the playoffs.

A week ago, the Vegas Golden Knights managed to land Brandon Saad, after the St. Louis Blues decided to terminate his contract.

As soon as he became available, Saad became the most coveted player on the market, with teams seeing his acquisition as a real possibility to add depth in their forward groups at a reasonable price.

The Golden Knights were among the teams interested, and Saad opted to sign a one-year, $1,5M deal with them.

Considered to be among the top contenders to win a Stanley Cup this season, the Golden Knights were an interesting option for Saad.

A new development suggested that other teams made offers to the veteran forward, but Saad decided to join the Golden Knights nonetheless, rejecting offers from four other teams: the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Here's what Friedman wrote:

Saad, 32, scored one point, a goal, in his first three games as a member of the Golden Knights organization, playing on a line with Brett Howden and the team captain Mark Stone.

Before joining Vegas, Saad tallied 16 points, including seven goals, in 43 games with the Blues.