Vegas Golden Knights 2023-24 NHL Season Preview
The NHL is so back. We’re starting our 2023-24 NHL Season Previews by examining the world champion, Vegas Golden Knights. Bill Foley said Cup in six when he first acquired the club. That’s exactly what happened. I was at T-Mobile Arena the night the Knights won the Cup. It was worth every penny and was one of the greatest days of my life.
Can the VGK repeat? That’s the question now. Of course, easier said than done. It almost never happens. I mean, just go look at Colorado from a year ago. With that said, let’s break down everything you need to know about the Vegas Golden Knights entering the 2023-24 NHL Season!
Line Combination (Combinations Obtained via DailyFaceoff.com)
Adin Hill and Logan Thompson are not pictured but enter the season as the goalie tandem.
The team is virtually identical to the one that won the Stanley Cup from a season ago. The lone exception is Reilly Smith who fell victim to the flat salary cap. The same rules apply to this team. The best D core in the game and extremely strong down the middle. Still need the timely goal from Jonathan Marchessault. Mark Stone is Mark Stone. Let’s keep it moving.
New Faces
There really aren’t any new faces. Vegas hasn’t acquired a single new player for the roster as of right now. Instead, I’ll focus on the names you need to know about who could replace Reilly Smith in the lineup.
Two young names are going to be asked to fill one spot. Paul Cotter put 18 points in 55 games for Vegas last season and even saw some run on the top line with Jack Eichel. The former 4th round pick in 2018 plays with more of a power-forward type of style. His competition is more skilled but doesn’t have the same edge as Cotter. Pavel Dorofeyev scored seven goals in 18 games and most of them came at the end of last season.
There is still a chance that neither impresses during camp and someone like Tomas Tatar is brought in late similar to what happened with Phil Kessel a season ago. Tatar played for Vegas during the 2017-18 NHL Season and could be a depth winger to replace Smith. Tatar is still available on the free agent market.
Three Players To Watch
- Jack Eichel
I decided to focus on three players that probably have the most impact in swaying the season. Eichel clearly established himself as one of the great two-way centers in the sport after the Cup win. The smart people already knew that but Eichel took his defensive prowess to a different level under Bruce Cassidy.
Eichel was very good last year but he realistically still has another level to climb. The former Sabre posted 66 points in 67 games a season ago. However, last year there were times when Eichel was too passive with the puck. He drives the play well but often times forced the pass instead of trying to score his own goals. Not that there is anything wrong with being a playmaker, but Eichel could use to shoot more.
Realistically we’re heading into year two post neck surgery. If anything, this is the time when Eichel should really start feeling like his old self. If Eichel ups his goal number, he could become a 100-point franchise icon to lead this team into the future so that Vegas remains a Cup contender for a long time. That was the whole point of the trade, right?
If you’re looking for ways the Knights can improve next year, it probably starts by getting more production out of Shea Theodore. The VGK defenseman watched his point total drop from 52 points to 41 a season ago. However, Theodore only played in 55 games dealing with an injury.
We know the story with this Vegas team. When those top six D are locked in, this team is really hard to beat. There is no reason why Theodore can’t get back to the player he was a couple of years ago. Plus, Theo provides a much-needed spark offensively. He’s one of the best puck-carrier defensemen in the league and is the perfect partner for brick-wall Brayden McNabb.
Can we get a Chandler Stephenson extension done? Casuals don’t understand how important this guy is to the team. He’s on the PK, PP and provides the necessary speed five-on-five to let Stone be Stone. Stephenson won over 58 percent of his faceoffs and posted 65 points a season ago. Stephenson continues to just improve every single year and everything he does in 2023-24 just raises his market value for the offseason.
Biggest Riser
Has anybody’s stock risen more than Ivan Barbashev? Barby went from a pesky fourth liner in St. Louis to an irreplaceable meat grinder on the top line in Vegas. Barby posted 16 points in 23 games with Vegas and provided the physicality that totally unlocked the magical chemistry between Eichel and Marchessault.
Barby has since been rewarded and paid for his efforts. I think we have only seen the surface of what Barby can provide for this team. He’s the perfect fit and was the most important part of the offseason.
Biggest Faller
Alec Martinez is a shot-blocking machine but he’s clearly lost a step. Martinez posted 14 points in 77 games a season ago and will now enter his age-36 season. Can Vegas squeeze one more good season out of Martinez? If not, is it really out of the question that Vegas tries to use his $5.25 million cap hit at the deadline to improve the club?
The Biggest Question Is…
Which version of Adin Hill are the Golden Knights getting this year? That’s what I want to know. Well, other than the question of whether or not Mark Stone is healthy, but I don’t think we can really predict injuries. Hopefully, the back has been taken care of now that he has Jack Eichel’s guy.
Is Hill really a No. 1 caliber goalie? They’re paying him to be that guy. I very much disagreed with the call to bring Hill back, mostly because it cost them Smith.
You could tell me 500 different outcomes and I would believe all of them. Hill was so good during the Cup run that maybe Hill has reached a new level. We are talking about a 6-foot-6 goalie while playing for the goalie whisperer coach. When Hill first joined Vegas, he was a panic machine and got himself out of position too often. Once he dialed it in and let the game come to him, the guy was a brick wall.
There is also a chance that this was a total overpay. Hill was a mediocre goalie with Arizona and San Jose. Especially given how well Logan Thompson played a season ago, was it really necessary to give Hill a raise when Thompson made the All-Star team? How quickly we forget about that. Oh, and Robin Lehner is still there if that matters.
Verdict
The Vegas Golden Knights are well-positioned to possibly repeat in 2023-24. It’s virtually the same team that was the No. 1 seed in the West a season ago. Bruce Cassidy has also proven he’s one of the best coaches in the NHL and has turned this team into a defensive juggernaut. There is no reason to think that this team won’t be back in the mix again heading into this season.
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