Golden Knights Didn't Do Enough This Offseason

The Vegas Golden Knights lost more faces than they gained over the course of the offseason.

May 5, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; The Vegas Golden Knights wait to shake hands with the Dallas Stars after the Stars defeat the Golden Knights in game seven of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Since entering the league as an expansion franchise in 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the strongest teams in the NHL. In their first seven years of existence, the Golden Knights have reached the postseason six times and reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, winning it in 2023.

The Golden Knights have experienced nothing but success since becoming an NHL franchise. At some point, struggles and regression are sure to arise, and that might start this year.

Following a first-round exit in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Golden Knights lost eight NHL-caliber players to free agency or trades. The replacements are likely to be promotions within the organization, as free agency was mostly quiet for them.

Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau says the Golden Knight’s biggest offseason signings came during the last trade deadline when they acquired Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin and quickly signed them to extensions.

"A lot of their offseason signings were done at the trade deadline last year," Boudreau said on NHL Network. "They signed them to long-term deals right away."

While Boudreau brings an outside-the-box way of looking at Vegas, that doesn’t mean they’ve gotten noticeably better over the offseason. Hertl and Hanifin played all seven games of the opening-round loss to the Dallas Stars.

Hertl, meanwhile, was a minus-6 in the series with just one goal.

You also need to consider the names that the Golden Knights subtracted over the offseason. Six of the eight names were part of the Stanley Cup champion squad from 2023, including franchise stalwart Jonathan Marchessault.

Along with Marchessault, the Golden Knights lost Alec Martinez, William Carrier, Chandler Stephenson, and Logan Thompson. They didn’t do much to replace those names with goalie Ilya Samsonov and forward Victor Olofsson arguably being the highlights.

The Golden Knights have a chance to still be one of the toughest teams in the Western Conference, and everyone could be lined up for a bounce-back season. However, the amount they lost over the offseason and their inability to do much to plug the holes leave plenty to be desired.

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