The Vegas Golden Knights have one area of concern heading into the 2024-25 season. Is it the goaltending? Might it be the power play? Or is it another area?
The Vegas Golden Knights are set to look look drastically different from last season. Gone are notable players such as Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, leaving a mass offensive exodus from the team. It’ll be tougher for the team to score goals overall, considering the two stars were a chunk of their production.
Last season, Marchessault scored 42 goals, marking a career-high for the former Conn Smythe winner. He was also one goal shy of tying the franchise record for single-season goals with his fellow “Original Misfit,” William Karlsson. Losing your main sniper score from the slot will hurt the Golden Knights in the short term.
As for Stephenson, his speed and flexibility will be sorely missed. The center could play on any line, working well with every offensive makeup. He could also fly down the ice and break free for a scoring opportunity or two. That’s how he scored 75 goals and 162 assists during his Vegas tenure.
Other elements such as losing a quality shot blocker in Alec Martinez (677 blocked shots in five seasons with Vegas) and lower-line scoring with Michael Amadio hurt. Yes, Vegas did add players like Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz to the mix. However, some losses are particularly heavier than others, leaving the team vulnerable in a particular area.
Could it be the goaltender room, where Logan Thompson was traded to the Washington Capitals? Suddenly, Vegas will rely on an injury-prone Adin Hill and shaky Ilya Samsonov to carry the workload. That isn’t the most ideal situation for any hockey team. However, Bruce Cassidy has shown any goaltender can succeed in a forecheck-heavy system that generates turnovers and clogs shooting lanes. So what’s the one problematic area for Vegas heading into the 2024-25 season?
The Vegas Golden Knights have a scoring depth problem now
Last season, the Vegas Golden Knights built a superteam consisting of numerous players. While the team fell short in the first round, there was hope they’d bring back key members of their production. That included Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, major parts of the top six.
But that production picked up a guitar and cowboy boots and is heading to meet Brad Paisley in Nashville. He wasn’t the only one, for another productive piece went to Seattle to sip Starbucks coffee and rock out to Nirvana. Meanwhile, Michael Amadio is heading to Ottawa to freeze his butt off while other players like William Carrier have left town.
Overall, the depth could be a problem. There are reliable forwards in specific spots such as Keegan Kolesar, who’s done well on the fourth line. But a multitude of factors have hurt Vegas offensively. For example, injuries have exposed Vegas’s scoring and depth issues before. Just look at Mark Stone, who’s played 136 games in the past three seasons.
So what should the Golden Knights do?
The Vegas Golden Knights did make some offseason moves to remedy the situation. First, they traded Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid. The Swedish winger is 22 years old and scored 16 goals in a full 82-game season in 2023-24.
There’s some belief from the Devils organization that Holtz was underwhelming and played poorly away from the puck. That also coincided with the franchise leaning toward other stars such as Dawson Mercer. Whether that’s the case with the Golden Knights remains to be seen. However, he could provide a cure for the ailing wing depth.
As for Victor Olofsson, he fell off a cliff in his last season with the Buffalo Sabres. The winger scored seven goals and eight assists in 51 games. The Golden Knights are banking on another Swedish winger to put up respectable numbers and Olofsson could be that guy. He might look nice on the lower lines, especially with players like Keegan Kolesar.
That might work for Vegas this season with the tremendous upside of both acquisitions. After all, the upside from these moves would launch them to the front of the Stanley Cup contention line. However, they might stall and leave the production to a standstill. That would be bad news for a Golden Knights team looking to win another Stanley Cup.
