Former Golden Knights Forward Is On A Historic Tear After Leaving Vegas

Paul Cotter is off to the best start of his NHL career.

The former Vegas Golden Knights forward scored against his old team Sunday night, giving the Vancouver Canucks an early lead. It didn't last, though, as Vegas came back for a 3-2 win at Rogers Arena.

Cotter's goal came on the power play late in the first period. With Jake DeBrusk out with an illness, Cotter moved onto Vancouver's top power-play unit and tipped a Filip Hronek pass past Adin Hill.

It was Cotter's third goal of the season. He also has two assists, giving him five points through Vancouver's first three games.

That's new territory for him.

In six NHL seasons, Cotter has never had five points through his first three games of a season. He scored twice in Vancouver's opener against Edmonton, including the overtime winner, then added an assist in the Canucks' second game before finding the net against Vegas.

The 26-year-old has clearly found something early on.

Vegas, however, had the better answer Sunday.

Mitch Marner tied the game in the second period, and Victor Olofsson gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the night on the power play. Jonathan Lekkerimaki tied it again late in the period, but Marc Gatcomb put Vegas right back in front only 34 seconds later.

That goal stood up.

Hill stopped 18 shots in his first start of the season, and Vegas managed to keep Vancouver off the board in the third period. It was a nice bounce-back win for the Golden Knights after Friday's 4-3 loss to Anaheim.

Cotter's night was still a memorable one, especially considering his history with Vegas.

He spent three seasons with the Golden Knights, from 2021-22 through 2023-24, and played 138 games for the club. He had 22 goals and 23 assists during that stretch before Vegas traded him to the New Jersey Devils in June 2024 for Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid.

Cotter spent two seasons in New Jersey and had his most productive NHL season in 2024-25, scoring 16 goals in 79 games.

He signed a one-year, $2.15 million deal with Vancouver this summer.

So far, it's looking like a pretty good decision.

Cotter is producing at a level we've never seen from him before. He just couldn't quite finish off his old team when he had the chance.