The Vegas Golden Knights came within two wins of their second Stanley Cup win in franchise history last season. But what will they do for an encore this coming year? And could we see the Golden Knights take a major step backward next season?
For most, if not all, of their brief history as an NHL team, the Vegas Golden Knights have made a habit of exceeding expectations.
Whether it’s earning a Stanley Cup Final berth right out of the gate following their expansion into the league, or consistently winning playoff series and acquiring difference-making star players, the Golden Knights almost always find a way to have more success than many franchises who’ve been in the NHL for decades.
However, it’s going to be extremely difficult for Vegas to top what they did this past season. The Knights won their fifth divisional title in their nine-year existence by posting the best record in the Pacific Division last season.
In the playoffs, the Golden Knights won three series and a Western Conference championship before falling two wins short of their second Cup victory in franchise history.
So, the real question for the Golden Knights is whether they have what it takes to get back to the Cup final next season and this time close the deal for another Cup win.
It took Vegas spending all of its salary cap space this coming year to have the same semblance of last season’s Golden Knights team. But an honest evaluation of the 2026-27 Vegas team shows that their bottom-six forwards look considerably weaker. And outside of 20-year-old left winger Trevor Connelly, Vegas don’t have any high-end prospects who can be difference-makers this coming season.
In addition, the Golden Knights don’t have their first-round pick in the 2027 NHL draft, and they don’t have a single second-round pick in the next three drafts. Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has spent many of his bullets building this team, but he’s got less trade capital than ever, and he can’t wave a magic wand and come up with assets other teams won’t be able to compete with on the trade market.
Meanwhile, although the Golden Knights did well to retain defenseman Rasmus Andersson by signing him to a lucrative contract extension, giving Vegas a solid defense corps, there are serious questions about the Golden Knights’ goaltending situation.
Returning goalies Carter Hart and Adin Hill may prove to be an above-average tandem. Still, Hart’s regular-season save percentage was .891 in 18 appearances last season, and Hill’s numbers (including a 3.04 goals-against average and .871 SP) were even worse. What happens if neither netminder can cobble together a strong 2026-27 campaign?
Finally, the Golden Knights have a rookie NHL coach in Ryan Craig, who is saddled with an aging roster that has legit concerns about its competitive ceiling. In the weak Pacific, you have to think Vegas will almost assuredly be a post-season team, but there’s a big difference between getting into the playoffs and thriving once you get there.
There will be excellent Western Conference teams that have vastly improved this summer. So there’s a real likelihood that the Golden Knights take a step backward this season.
It’s great for Knights fans that the competitive bar has been set so high for this Vegas team. Compare the Golden Knights to a struggling expansion franchise like the Seattle Kraken, and you’ll see why Knights fans are fortunate their team does its utmost every season to win a championship.
Unfortunately, in the salary cap era, even the most well-managed teams inevitably have to deal with talent redistribution to other teams, and that’s what we’ve seen from Vegas this summer.
The Golden Knights may yet demonstrate again that you count out this team at your peril, but nobody should be shocked to see them wobble and come up short of getting to the place they got to last season.
The Knights don’t have a Vegas-style magic act that allows them to win it all year in and year out. It’s looking like it’s time to pay the piper in Nevada, and while McCrimmon may show he has some tricks up his sleeve, it’s much more likely that the best this Knights team can do is maintain the status quo until further notice.
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