The Vegas Golden Knights face questions about their goaltending and whether their top players can stay healthy to power their offense after not re-signing Jonathan Marchessault.
William Karlsson, Mark Stone and Jonathan MarchessaultThis is the latest file in THN.com’s series looking at major issues facing each NHL team.
In today’s edition, we examine three burning questions facing the Vegas Golden Knights.
1. Will the Golden Knights regret not re-signing star forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson?
The Golden Knights dealt with a salary cap crunch this off-season. The biggest departures were forwards Marchessault (who signed with Nashville) and Chandler Stephenson (who joined Seattle).
Marchessault was Vegas’ leading scorer in 2023-24, with 42 goals and 69 points in 82 games. Stephenson added 35 assists and 51 points in 75 games.
Former Sharks star Tomas Hertl will help replace the offense Marchessault and Stephenson generated, but those two have been key figures in the Golden Knights’ blueprint for success for quite some time.
Marchessault didn’t seem happy with how things transpired this summer, but Vegas still has enough firepower to at least get into a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
The Golden Knights finished last year tied for 13th in goals-scoring with 3.21 per game. Getting good luck in the health department should increase the totals of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and William Karlsson, who missed a combined 57 games last year.
It’s not out of the question for Vegas to replace Marchessault and Stephenson’s offense, but it will take excellent years from many Golden Knights players to do so.
As for Marchessault's unhappy comments questioning the team's loyalty, Michael Traikos and Jacob Stoller discussed that on Friday:
2. What's Vegas’ degree of confidence in their goaltending?
The Golden Knights’ biggest question mark in 2024-25 is their netminding, with veteran Adin Hill and former Maple Leafs and Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov as the tandem.
Hill’s individual numbers, including a .909 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average, were solid last year. But the 28-year-old has dealt with injuries, and his 35 appearances last season were a career high for him.
Meanwhile, Samsonov has been a Jeykll-and-Hyde performer in his NHL career. Last season, he struggled mightily at times, which is why his GAA of 3.13 and his SP of .890 were well below average.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has both goalies under contract only for this coming season. He’s shown a willingness to move on from his goalies in recent years – just ask Marc-Andre Fleury, Logan Thompson and Jonathan Quick, among others. So if Hill or Samsonov struggle, it wouldn’t shock us to see Vegas make a deal for a veteran netminder this season.
The Golden Knights tied for the 11th-best goals-against average last season at 2.96, and they now have Noah Hanifin in the mix for the full season. Vegas’ defense corps will make life easier on their goalies, but McCrimmon doesn’t mess around with the expectations he has for his players, and the pressure on Hill and Samsonov will be considerable.
3. Can captain Mark Stone stay healthy for the full season?
The 32-year-old Stone told Gary Lawless of the team's website he is confident he’ll be healthy this year, but it’s easy to understand the skepticism in regard to his health.
He’s been limited to a combined 136 games in the last three seasons out of a possible 246 games. Stone posted 16 goals and 53 points in 56 games before missing the rest of the regular season with a lacerated spleen.
Stone did return for the playoffs, putting up three goals in seven games against Dallas. He can give Vegas about 19 minutes per game when he’s healthy, but there’s the rub. If Stone is out of the lineup for a long period this year, Vegas could have a more difficult time making the playoffs, even if it means they can put him on LTIR again to acquire another player.
As he moves toward his mid-thirties, Stone’s mileage could make it considerably tougher to play in all of the Golden Knights’ games. The odds of a full 82-game season are not good for him, but stranger things have happened, so we’re not discounting the possibility entirely.
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