- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,266,134
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
May 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) waits for a face off during the third period against the Colorado Avalanche in game one of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Brett Howden is having the kind of playoff run that makes people do the math on his contract and lose their minds.
The 28-year-old Golden Knights centre is leading all players in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with three game-winning goals. He has nine goals and two assists in 13 games. Three of those goals came shorthanded, tying him with a list of players that includes Wayne Gretzky for the most in a single postseason.
Jason Demers Calls Out Brett Howden’s Agent as Golden Knights Forward Turns Into Playoff Superstar
Howden scored the game-winner in a 4-2 VGK victory over Colorado in WCF Game 1 on Wednesday. And he is doing all of this at a cap hit of $2.5 million per year. Former NHL defenceman Jason Demers has had enough.
“Brett Howden at 2.5 million for the next five years is absolutely diabolical,” Demers posted on X. “I want to fight his agent for him.”
Demers, who played 11 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets, knows what it looks like when a player gets paid below their value.
Howden signed the five-year, $12.5 million extension back on November 22, 2024, after posting eight goals in his first 20 games of that season. At the time, it looked like a fair deal for a depth forward trending upward. It now looks like the contract heist of the decade.
Howden was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, 27th overall, but spent three largely unremarkable seasons with the New York Rangers before Vegas acquired him for defenceman Nick DeSimone and a 2022 fourth-round pick on July 17, 2021.
He was part of the 2023 Stanley Cup championship team, contributing five goals and five assists across 23 postseason games. Useful. Reliable. Not the guy anyone was circling on a playoff preview sheet.
This spring is different. Howden has goals in six straight road games, giving him the second most road goals in a single postseason in Golden Knights franchise history behind Jonathan Marchessault’s nine in 2023.
Vegas is 5-2 away from T-Mobile Arena this postseason, and Howden is a central reason why. Head coach John Tortorella has leaned on him in the penalty kill role where the stakes are highest, and Howden has responded with three shorthanded goals that have repeatedly swung momentum and kept the series alive.
His double-overtime shorthanded winner against Utah in Game 5 of the first round was the moment that turned a tense series into a comfortable 4-2 series win. Howden has become the most important player Vegas has on the road and, through 13 games, arguably its most dependable postseason performer.
KEEP READING:Wayne Gretzky Reveals What He’s Hearing on Auston Matthews’ Future With Toronto Maple Leafs
Howden’s agent, J.P. Barry, appears to have negotiated a deal that made sense for both sides in November 2024. What no one could have projected is that Howden would become a genuine playoff star, earning power-forward production at depth-forward money.
The salary cap ceiling for 2025-26 is $92.5 million. Howden is taking up less than three percent of it while leading all skaters in game-winning goals.
Continue reading...
