Golden Knights trade for longtime Capitals C Nic Dowd - ESPN

The Vegas Golden Knights added veteran center Nic Dowd in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Dowd, 35, heads to the Golden Knights with the Capitals receiving prospect goaltender Jesper Vikman, a 2027 third-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick.

Landing Dowd, who has four goals and 12 assists in 55 games, accomplishes a few things for the Golden Knights. It gives them a bottom-six center and an anchor for their fourth line.

Dowd also provides the Golden Knights with a sense of certainty. He is in the first of a two-year contract worth $3 million annually for a team that has four active forwards who are slated to be unrestricted free agents.

That list includes winger Cole Smith, whom the Golden Knights acquired Tuesday in a trade with the Nashville Predators.

Strengthening their forward depth has become a priority for the Golden Knights given the state of their roster. The club moved captain Mark Stone to injured reserve Thursday with Brett Howden and William Karlsson already on long-term injured reserve.

Vegas (29-19-14) entered Thursday leading the tightly contested Pacific Division. The Golden Knights have a one-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks and are separated by five points from the Seattle Kraken, who are in the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot.

PuckPedia projects the Golden Knights to have $1.503 million in deadline cap space should they elect to make another move before the 3 p.m. ET Friday cutoff.

As for the Capitals (31-25-7), they are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot but have played three more games than the Bruins.