Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2023-24 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2023-24 Vegas Golden Knights.
2023-24 Vegas Golden Knights
2022-23 Season
The Vegas Golden Knights ended last season on the highest of highs, finishing out the 2022-23 season as Stanley Cup Champions. Vegas started out the season with something to prove after missing the playoffs for the first time in the 2021-22 season. The team was desperate to return to the high standards they had set for themselves over the first years of the franchise. They started off strong, jumping out to a nine-game win streak in the first quarter of the season. Captain Mark Stone was leading the team, the “Original Misfits” of Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, and William Karlsson were clicking, and centre Jack Eichel seemed like he had finally found his footing.
However, the injury bug bit about halfway through the season. Stone had back surgery in January, and starting goaltender Logan Thompson was injured in March, leading to a goalie carousel of Adin Hill, Laurent Brossoit, and Jiri Patera. Vegas played their worst stretch of games throughout January, winning just four games the entire month. However, the Golden Knights were able to add Ivan Barbashev at the trade deadline, and began to turn things around. By the playoffs, they looked dominant, finishing in first place in the Western Conference with 111 points. They continued that success throughout the playoffs, systematically putting away every team they faced on their way to hoisting the Cup.
2023 Offseason
Perhaps the scariest thing about Vegas’ off-season is the moves that they didn’t have to make. The Golden Knights are retaining almost everyone from their Cup-winning roster, and will want to expand upon the team chemistry they found throughout last season. Forward Reilly Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vegas signed Ivan Barbashev to a five-year, $5 million dollar contract with his cap space.
The other major signing in the offseason was in the blue paint. Adin Hill signed a 2-year, $9.8 million contract after he had an exceptional showing in the playoffs, winning 11 of his 14 starts. Forwards Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden also signed extensions. This means that Vegas returns 92 percent of their playoff points, as well as 93 percent of their playoff goals, which should make them a scary opponent against anyone in the league.
Lineup Projections
Forwards
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Jonathan Marchessault
Brett Howden – Mark Stone – Chandler Stephenson
Paul Cotter – William Karlsson – Michael Amadio
Willliam Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar
Top Six
If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t have to do much to figure out the combinations for Vegas’ top six this season. Much of Vegas’ success last season hinged on the depth of the team, but that doesn’t mean that the top six aren’t some of the best in the league.
It took a minute for Jack Eichel to click with this Vegas team, but he’s found his place with Marchessault and Barbashev. The three were deadly during the playoffs, contributing about 18 percent of Vegas’ goals during the playoffs. Eichel’s elite playmaking ability and Marchessault’s finishing power are an exceptionally dangerous combination, and Barbashev’s more physical presence is a great complement. Expect this line also to be great defensively – Eichel showed a surprising defensive prowess and is skilled at creating plays off of takeaways.
The second line also won’t be changing much. They could switch with the projected third line in terms of minutes, depending on management for Mark Stone. But Stephenson and Stone are too good together to break up, so expect them to be attached at the hip throughout the season. The biggest question for this line with be health. Stone has had a tough few seasons in terms of injuries, but he’s a game-changer when he can stay on the ice. Howden and Stephenson are both fast, strong players who can benefit immensely from Stone’s ability to break up pucks and jumpstart plays. A full season of playing together could make them very dangerous.
Bottom Six
The third line holds the biggest question for this Vegas squad. Centre William Karlsson will be without his right-hand man Reilly Smith for the first time in six years. Karlsson and Smith had incredible chemistry together, and it will be a big challenge to replace Smith’s offensive firepower. The spot isn’t finalized, but Paul Cotter seems to be the best fit with Karlsson and Amadio. Cotter had 13 goals and five assists last season and could benefit from playing with a player like Karlsson. He’s fighting with Pavel Dorofeyev and Max Comtois for the spot, but Cotter’s physical presence and grit have been the most evident throughout the preseason so far.
Vegas’ fourth line is another case of not overthinking what works. William Carrier had an excellent season last year, finally finding the back of the net on a more consistent basis, and Nicolas Roy remains one of the most underrated centres in the league. This fourth line contributes a physical pop for the Knights, but they’ve backed it up with offensive contributions. Vegas’ depth was a massive piece of their Stanley Cup victory, and Kolesar, Carrier, and Roy are the best examples of it.
Defence
Alex Pietrangelo – Alec Martinez
Shea Theodore – Brayden McNabb
Zach Whitecloud – Nicholas Hague
Top Four
There may be small changes on the forward side of things, but Vegas will want to keep their blue line the same. The defensive core has stayed the same since Alex Pietrangelo was brought over in 2020 and is Vegas’ biggest strength. They have an elite top four in Pietrangelo, Theodore, Martinez, and McNabb, who are not only great defensively but contribute to the offence of the team as well. Vegas’ defence is also incredibly important to their goaltenders. The system that Bruce Cassidy implemented works to push shots to the walls, meaning that goaltenders have a longer time to watch the puck come into the net, as well as limiting the scoring angle. It’s a system that worked very well for Vegas last season and one that they’ll continue to refine throughout this season.
Bottom Pair
It’s almost unfair to call Hague and Whitecloud the bottom pair. During the playoffs, Hague and Whitecloud were on the ice for only nine goals against, and played big minutes against some of the top offensive players in the league. With a few veterans further up the lineup, Vegas doesn’t have to tire out their older defenders and can keep everyone fresher throughout the game. Hague and Whitecloud proved themselves against top opposition in tough playoff serieses, limiting the panic if there’s a mismatch on the ice.
Goalies
Adin Hill
Logan Thompson
The blue paint has been Vegas’ biggest source of upheaval over the past few seasons. They faced an absurd carousel last season, with five different goaltenders taking starts at different points throughout the season. However, they’re hoping that they’ve settled into a rotation that could set a precedent across the league.
Logan Thompson started last season as the number-one goalie. A true product of the Vegas system, Thompson was playing spectacularly, even getting selected as an All-Star for the West. However, injuries derailed his season, and Thompson didn’t play after March. Adin Hill faced similar injuries and was in and out of the lineup all year. He stepped up when Laurent Brossoit was injured against Edmonton during the playoffs, and had an incredible run in the playoffs, earning himself an extension and a raise in the off-season.
Hill is the projected starter, but Vegas will be looking to use their tandem to their advantage. With two great players in net, they can afford to rotate them, especially with the confidence that both displayed over the course of last season. It could also help keep both goaltenders healthy, something that will be a vital piece of Vegas’ back-to-back campaign. Both Brossoit and veteran Jonathan Quick left the team during free agency, meaning that Vegas is not quite as deep in net as they were last year. Handerson Silver Knights goalie Jiri Patera is in the number three spot, but relying on the talents of Hill and Thompson will be the preferred first choice.
Players to Watch
William Karlsson
Karlsson is the biggest question mark. Undeniably a gifted defensive player, his offence has slowed down since his remarkable 43-goal season in 2018. Without Smith, his offensive production is in question even more. Depth is one of this team’s biggest strengths, but only if all four lines are actually producing. Karlsson will need to prove himself as his own player, without Smith and Marchessault around him.
Ivan Barbashev
All eyes will be on Eichel and Marchessault on Vegas’ first line, but it may be Barbashev who can end up having the biggest impact. Barbashev has been a career third-liner stepping into top-line minutes for the first time. It will be interesting to see if Barbashev’s success during the playoffs was a fluke, or if he can continue to capitalize and contribute to offence.
Barbashev also provides a bit of a buffer for Eichel and Marchessault. Top defenders will naturally drift to cover those two, so Barbashev will have a bit more space to work with. If he can make himself a finishing threat, the first line becomes even more dangerous and difficult to defend.
Prediction for the 2023-24 Vegas Golden Knights
Repeating as Stanley Cup Champions is an almost impossible task. However, it very well may be the expectation for this Golden Knights team. With so much of their roster intact, along with the individual talent of the players and the success of the systems in place, Vegas seems poised to go on another deep run. It won’t be easy, but as Vegas just found out: it hurts to win.
Main Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
