The Vegas Golden Knights are about to hit that wall that all expansion teams do. However, Vegas never experienced what it was like to be a bad team in the expansion era. In their brief eight years in the NHL, they have missed the playoffs as one team. The Golden Knights have made two trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
Once in 2018, in their first season, they lost to the Washington Capitals. Then again, in 2023, the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Florida Panthers in five games. Expansion teams are not supposed to be this successful earlier on, but Vegas bucked the trend, making the standard pretty high for the Seattle Kraken.
NHL Rumors: The Vegas Golden Knights Will Look for a Winger, and to Extend Jack Eichel
They have done things their way under management led by George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon, and the Vegas Golden Knights are not a team that will sit by and be satisfied with a second-round playoff exit. Owner Bill Foley will want more. He wants another championship after tasting it a couple of years ago.
Remember, McCrimmon stated, he was in the “winning business, not the hockey business.” Vegas is not afraid to move on from players that were there from the start or draft picks to keep the window open to win now. However, the Golden Knights were missing that offensive output they had in previous runs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They missed Jonathan Marchessault, especially against the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs. He was an X-factor against the Oilers two years ago in the playoffs when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in the Golden Knights run to the Stanley Cup in 2023.
McCrimmon stood firm on his decision not to sign Marchessault to a new extension that exceeded three years. But that meant a 40-goal scorer was gone from the lineup. It is hard to replace that kind of production even when a player is getting older and up in age. Marchessault was still a very productive player for the Vegas Golden Knights. Plus, he was one of the original Golden Misfits.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored 52 points this season, including 35 goals, but he had a rough post-season, scoring one goal in nine games. He will need to replicate that type of production next season. However, adding a goal scorer is a priority for this aggressive front office, as it is for so many teams, to help out a player like Jack Eichel.
NHL Rumors: All Eyes on What Nikolaj Ehlers Decides To Do
Elliotte Friedman said on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday morning that when Gord Stellick asked about their offseason, he said, “I think Gordy, they’re going to look for scoring on the wings. I wouldn’t be surprised if they find it. And I think people write off Vegas at their own peril.”
Where the Golden Knights find it is another question. Could it be a player like Mitch Marner? How about a player like Brock Boeser? Do they sign a player like Nikolaj Ehlers? They will have options because Nevada is a no-tax state, and players want to play there because the Golden Knights are consistent winners.
Expect changes to come with the Vegas Golden Knights this season. As one source said, “So expect nothing to change. They will be super aggressive. They like their players, but they don’t fall in love with their players. And they’ll make changes and they’ll be right there again next season because of that.”
But the biggest priority is adding a scoring winger to provide more offense and help the team advance even further in the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s new, and we’re just getting started. Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league.
