With the NHL’s training camps completed and the preseason getting underway, it’s time to look at some of the biggest storylines for the Vegas Golden Knights heading into the 2023-24 season.
The Golden Knights have played two divisional matchups in the preseason so far against the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche, both resulting in losses for the Stanley Cup champions. They will play five more exhibition games over the next two weeks and will make any final roster decisions heading into the regular season before taking on the Seattle Kraken in their home opener on Oct. 10th.
With every season comes new expectations, opportunities, and uncertainties for each team. The Golden Knights missed the playoffs in 2021-22 and entered last season with some questionable goaltending, injuries, and fans doubting that the fast-paced expansion was going to result in any further success. While they overcame all of those issues and accomplished their ultimate goal, this next season will test to see if they are more than just a one-hit-wonder.
Is the Goaltending Sustainable?
Logan Thompson led the Golden Knights’ goaltending carousel with 37 games played in the 2022-23 season, followed by Adin Hill with 27. While they were fortunate enough to get some solid performances from Jonathan Quick and Jiri Patera, this team doesn’t have the depth in net that they did last season. The goal should be 75 games played between Hill and Thompson, in whatever split it may end up being.
Coming off of an incredible Stanley Cup run which earned him a two-year, $9.8 million deal, Hill will have every opportunity to take on the bulk of the starts throughout the 2023-24 season. However, he still only managed to play 43 combined games between the regular season and playoffs, which was the most that he’s ever played over his six seasons in the NHL. While it was undeniably the right decision to re-sign Hill, there should still be a significant level of skepticism when it comes to his ability to maintain his role as a starter.
As for Thompson, he proved that he was capable of sustaining the workload of a starting goaltender prior to his injuries. The 26-year-old rookie went 21-13-3 with a .915 save percentage (SV%) and was named as an All-Star before suffering a lower-body injury against the Minnesota Wild in his first start back from the festivities. He re-aggravated the injury just a few weeks before the playoffs, and that was the end of his season.
The Golden Knights are defensively structured in a way that makes it easy for goaltenders to thrive, and the team in front of Hill and Thompson will be the biggest factor in their ability to find success this season. However, if neither of them can stay healthy it’s going to be difficult for the Golden Knights to keep up with the rest of the Pacific Division.
Can Jack Eichel Become a Superstar?
Despite the fact that Jonathan Marchessault took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Jack Eichel made a much bigger statement in his first career postseason appearance. Eichel led the NHL in assists with 20 and in points with 26 in 22 games played, which is the third-highest point total for any player in their playoff debut.
Entering the 2023-24 season as a 27-year-old on one of the deepest offensive teams in the NHL, Eichel is in a position to be considered among the NHL’s best centermen if he can continue the level of offensive output we saw in the playoffs. ESPN has Eichel projected to score 37 goals and 92 points in 78 games played, which was the exact type of production that the Golden Knights envisioned from their number-one center when they acquired him in 2021.
While these projections are well above what Eichel has done in the past, he closed off the 2022-23 season with his skill and chemistry with his linemates at an all-time high. If he can hit over a point-per-game average without compromising the improved defensive game that he has built, this season will be an overwhelming success. However, similarly to the goaltending, staying healthy needs to be the number one priority.
What Will the Third Line Look Like?
If you’ve followed the Golden Knights coverage here on The Hockey Writers, you’ll know that we’ve extensively looked into how this team will be able to maintain their offensive depth without Reilly Smith in their lineup. With the regular season beginning in just two weeks, it looks like head coach Bruce Cassidy is confident that one of their internal candidates will be able to fill his role just fine.
Related: Golden Knights Have 4 Good Options to Replace Reilly Smith
There are a few different directions that they could go in when constructing their third line, with William Karlsson being the center as well as the focal point of the offensive and defensive responsibilities on that unit. His wingers will likely be some combination of Mike Amadio, Paul Cotter, and Pavel Dorofeyev, who have all earned their right to have the opportunity.
It really comes down to how the rest of the lineup is structured. A line of Dorofeyev-Karlsson-Amadio would add some great offensive potential to their bottom-six, but would lack the defensive strengths that a line like Cotter-Karlsson-Amadio would have. I’ve liked Cotter’s two-way, physical game for a while now and I don’t think you’ll unlock the offensive potential from Dorofeyev unless he plays in the top-six, so Cotter would get my vote for now.
This is a problem that a lot of teams wish that they could have. While most are struggling to find options to replace lost players, the Golden Knights have a ton of directions they could go in, and will likely experiment with a few combinations throughout the season until something sticks.
Final Thoughts
While all of these questions could make or break their season, the Golden Knights are fortunate enough to be in a position where they have to worry about how they will respond after a Stanley Cup win rather than missing the playoffs or just coming up short.
With the Smith trade being the only significant roster move occurring throughout the offseason, there’s no question that this team has the talent to make another deep playoff run and potentially repeat as champions. However, it’s tough to believe that they’ll find the same success if they continue to deal with injuries like they have in the past.
It’s become a trend that fans are all too familiar with. Only three skaters managed to play in 82 games last season, and nobody did in 2021-22. With the competition in the Pacific Division being as good as it’s been in a long time, the Golden Knights need to be able to put out their best lineup every night in order to defend their title and enter the conversation as a dynasty in the NHL.
