Elliotte Friedman highlights key factor that motivated Brandon Saad to pick Golden Knights over 3x Stanley Cup champions

Brandon Saad has signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. He and the St. Louis Blues agreed to terminate his contract, allowing him to become a free agent. Instead of reporting to the minors, he gave up about $5.4 million to join a team of his choice.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed Brandon Saad’s decision on Monday's episode of the "32 Thoughts podcast." He said Saad only wanted to join a strong Stanley Cup contender.

Tampa Bay Lightning made a serious offer, but they are not currently in a playoff spot. The Lightning, with a 27-20-4 record, are sitting right outside of a playoff spot. Whereas, the Knights have a strong chance of making it to the playoffs with a record of 31-16-6.

"He made it very clear. I heard two teams and he was only going somewhere to where he thought he could win a Stanley Cup this year," Friedman said. "They told me that they thought Tampa Bay made a really hard pitch. But if you were to rank all those teams that were interested in him, like Tampa Bay, as we wake up on Monday morning, they're not in the playoff spots." [58:10]

The Lightning have won three Stanley Cups (2004, 2020, 2021) and reached the Finals twice more (2015, 2022). However, Saad chose Vegas because he believed they had a better chance of winning.

Vegas is a Stanley Cup contender," Friedman said, "Like, Vegas isn't playing really well right now, and you can tell Bruce Cassidy is getting pretty close to blowing a stack, if he hasn't done already. But they're a really good team...if you're picking a team to go to win a cup, Vegas is going to be on your list."

The Golden Knights have won the Stanley Cup in 2023 and they can do it again.

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Elliotte Friedman mentioned other teams who were interested in signing Brandon Saad

Brandon Saad, 32, has had a tough season with only 16 points in 44 games, including seven goals. He hopes to regain his form from last year when he scored 26 goals.

Talking about other teams that were interested in Saad, Friedman said:

"I think Toronto was there. I think Edmonton was there. I think the Devils were there... I can't argue with him for making that decision. And if he finds his form ... That's a great get for the Vegas"

Brandon Saad is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015.