Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy watches his team take on the Arizona Coyotes during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022.
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Golden Knights' offseason leads to tonight
For the first time, the unknowns are staring back at the Vegas Golden Knights.
Are they a playoff team? Talent-wise, yes. Could they miss the playoffs again? Goaltending questions pending, also yes. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, there’s an argument to be had, as this season could be considered the most unpredictable of the franchise’s six-year history.
One thing is certain: After missing the playoffs in 2021-22, this is the most pressure-packed season yet.
“We’re changing how we play a little bit, but they know what it takes to win in April and May,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You have to play the right way if you want to give yourself a chance to win.”
Here are 10 predictions as another season starts at 7 p.m. tonight in Los Angeles:
Jack Eichel will have, at least, 90 points
The star center had his first normal offseason in three years and should be healthy for the entire season after neck surgery in November 2021. More important: He’s motivated to make the playoffs for the first time in his career and is the type of player who could single-handedly lead Vegas there.
Preseason results should be taken with a grain of salt, but Eichel is going to be a force in Cassidy’s new system, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play. He will be almost unstoppable in the transition game, especially if Phil Kessel and Reilly Smith remain as his wingers, as they have been throughout training camp.
It should be noted that Eichel hasn’t played a full season, and his career-high is 82 points in 77 games back in 2019.
But of Eichel’s desire to get to the postseason should not be overlooked. He will have a monster year and produce the best offensive season in Vegas history.
Chandler Stephenson will reach 50 assists
Last year was the season Stephenson had to prove he could be a top-six player. He passed that test with flying colors.
Stephenson is coming off a career-high 64 points with 21 goals and 43 assists. Perhaps more astounding than that, he put up those numbers without Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone on his line due to injuries. Stephenson should have been an All-Star last year. Say what you will about the format and the game itself: He should’ve been recognized for his play.
Stephenson will still have Stone on his wing. Jonathan Marchessault, coming off a 30-goal season, looked to be on that line as well, but young forward Brett Howden has played his way up the lineup during camp. Stone’s health will go a long way toward this prediction coming to fruition, but Stephenson won’t be limited in his set-up ability.
Zach Whitecloud will have the best offensive season of his career
For all their salary cap issues, the Golden Knights have defenseman Zach Whitecloud as one of the best bargain deals in the league. The six-year extension he signed last October starts this year at an average annual value of $2.75 million.
Defensively, Whitecloud has been consistent. As a younger player, he wanted to be sure he stayed responsible in the defensive zone. After a career-best 19-point season last year, he’s ready to show a more evolved version of his offensive game.
“I first came in and I tended to be on the defensive side of things. I think a lot of guys do,” Whitecloud said. “That’s part of my game where I trust the most, is the defensive part of it. Over the years, I’ve been able to work on my offensive game. Now I have confidence with my feet, the way I can move the puck.”
Whitecloud’s steadiness makes it easy for whomever is next to him — whether it be Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak or Nic Hague — to succeed on the third pair. That will allow Whitecloud to take more risks in Cassidy’s system, which is tailored for defensemen to be more aggressive in the offensive zone.
He builds off last season and hits 30 points in 2023.
Logan Thompson finishes top-5 in the Calder Trophy voting
It worked for Jeremy Swayman in Boston last year. Why not the new No. 1 goalie in Vegas?
Despite the injury drama surrounding Robin Lehner, Thompson nearly dragged Vegas into the playoffs before running out of gas.
With Lehner out for the year and Laurent Brossoit (hip surgery) up in the air, Thompson gets the chance to be the guy. He will have a decent backup behind him in Adin Hill through, at least, the first few weeks of the season.
It’s nearly the same situation Cassidy faced in Boston with Swayman, a rookie in his first full pro season, going 23-14-3 and helping the Bruins make the playoffs. Swayman finished fifth last season in the Calder voting as the league’s top rookie goalie.
If the Golden Knights get back to the postseason, a large portion of the credit will go to Thompson and he should be recognized in what will be a stacked rookie class.
Reilly Smith will score 30 goals
Smith, freshly minted with a three-year extension, might be primed for a career year. That’s one of the benefits of skating with Eichel.
Smith would’ve hit the 30-goal mark had the 2020 season not paused due to the pandemic — he finished with 27 that season. He’s going to get his opportunity as a top-line forward with two dynamic playmakers.
Something to watch: Keep an eye on how Smith is deployed on the power play. He’s taken reps at the right circle where Pacioretty used to be. The puck has found him there aplenty and his shot looks good.
Nic Roy will eventually move up to the top nine, but as a winger
Getting $3 million for the next five years to play fourth-line center isn’t something Roy envisioned when he re-signed this summer.
Roy showed he can be more than the center of a checking/physical line. He’s better suited as a center because of his defensive face-off ability, but his scoring touch leaves him space to move up the lineup.
If the third line centered by William Karlsson doesn’t reach desired production, Roy should be the first one moved up to play with Karlsson in a more important scoring role. But it will be on the wing, where he should show his versatility. Though he’s struggled on the wing because he’s a more natural center, Roy will get a look at a promotion.
Team will not trade its first-round pick
The fact that this is bold is weird in the world we live in. But unless something earth-shattering comes along, there’s no desirable deal the Golden Knights should pursue that requires moving a draft pick.
Their first-round selection last year was traded to Buffalo to acquire Eichel.
It would have to take a player Vegas couldn’t resist to move on from a chance to replenish the prospect pool. Teams like Tampa Bay and Colorado can willingly move those picks to ensure a chance at a championship.
The Golden Knights might not be there yet, hence why such risks shouldn’t be had.
The power play will finish in the top 15
Cassidy’s hire addressed two things: Getting the most out of this current group, and most important, improving the power play.
The Golden Knights had the sixth-fewest power play goals last season, which surely didn’t help their push to make the playoffs. And, of course, in the season before they went 0 for 15 with the man advantage in a Stanley Cup semifinal loss to Montreal.
Cassidy in Boston guided a power play unit that ranked in the top five in the league three times in five seasons.
Gone are the days of rotating the puck around the perimeter and looking for the extra pass, as Cassidy has stressed being quicker with the puck. And he is also stressing shooting the puck instead of waiting for the best scoring chance.
Mark Stone will be a Selke Trophy finalist once again
Fresh off back surgery, Stone should return to Selke status. The Selke is awarded to the forward who excels defensively.
In just 37 games last season, Stone led all Vegas forwards with 56 takeaways. That was one more than he had in the COVID-shortened year in 2021, when he was an award finalist for the second time in three years.
“I think it’s the hardest part, convincing yourself you’re healthy again,” Stone said. “There’s no timetable with it. You break a finger, you’re out six to eight weeks and you see the healing process. This one, you get the MRI and it shows some things, but it wasn’t definitive until the end of the year.”
Again, health pending. But an efficient Stone can put up 65 points, 120 takeaways and 65 blocked shots with no problem. He’ll be in the race again should everything pan out in his favor.
The Golden Knights will win a playoff series
Cassidy has not missed the playoffs in any of his full seasons as a coach. The talent on this roster should not permit a second straight year without the postseason. They should win a series. After that? Anyone’s guess.
