The Golden Knights will be one of the most interesting teams in the upcoming season being an unknown factor built from the expansion draft. The Knights seemed to have screwed up their expansion draft as they passed on a lot of great young defencemen for draft picks who may not pan out. The team will struggle to score goals and will have a hard time shutting down opponents with an extremely slow defence. Even if Marc-Andre Fleury performs well in net, they will be one of the worst teams.
Arrivals/Departures
Arrivals: N/A
Departures: N/A
Forwards:
Coming off a Stanley Cup finals berth, James Neal will be asked to provide the Knights with elite goal scoring as he is their pure sniper who has shown the ability to score. Cody Eakin is the number-one center but he had a terrible season last year putting up 12 points with Jamie Benn as his primary line mate. One of last year's breakout stars was Jonathan Marchessault as he managed to score 30 goals; it was a surprise he was left unprotected but he will have to prove that he was not a one-year wonder. Reilly Smith was acquired in a trade with the Panthers so they could clear salary cap space and in return the Knights got themselves a player who can score 20 goals playing in the top six. One of the KHL's stars was Vadim Shipachyov and he has decided to come and test his talents in the NHL choosing Vegas as his team; he has the skills to be a number-one center on a weak Knights team. Pesky David Perron will cap off the top six with his goal-scoring ability along with the playing style of getting under opponent's skin. Erik Haula is going to be the third-line center after a few successful years playing in the Wild's bottom-six forward group. Oscar Lindberg is a relatively underrated player who has shown flashes with the Rangers; he will get a chance to shine in Sin City. Brenden Leipsic was one of the Leafs' prospects who could not crack the roster because of the amount of young talent Toronto had but he is now out of the crowded forward core there so he should get top-nine minutes. One of the best penalty killers last year was William Karlsson so he will be the fourth-line center who specializes in penalty killing. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has been a good fourth-line grinder for the Flyers the past three seasons bringing his leadership which should be vital for the Knights in their first season. Teemu Pulkkinen has bounced around teams as Vegas will be his fourth since 2016 but he should finally get a regular role with his new team. The depth forwards will likely be Tomas Nosek and William Carrier but they could also compete for a spot in the regular lineup. Alex Tuch is close to being ready for the NHL but not quite yet; another year in the minors would suit him good.
Defencemen:
The defence is by far the worst in the NHL as the team passed on many good young defencemen to acquire draft picks, selecting old slow defenders instead. Nate Schmidt is the team's best defenceman and he has never even played a full season with the Capitals as he was the seventh defenceman on a very stacked team most of his career. Jason Garrison will help the power play but he is not a top-pair defenceman as he would be better suited to be fourth or fifth on a depth chart. Shea Theodore is the bright spot of the defence as he is young and has playoff experience after last season's playoff run with the Ducks. Colin Miller has been a reliable defenceman with the Bruins in the top four so he should be comfortable with the role he will get in Vegas. Deryk Engelland is a prime candidate to wear a letter on his jersey as he has veteran leadership and played in Vegas during his ECHL days. Engelland is one of the toughest players in the NHL and he will stick up for all the young guys on his team if he has to. Jon Merrill and Brayden McNabb will be the last two defencemen on the roster but it will be a question of who gets the opening day start. McNabb is a proven defensive-minded player while Merrill is young and has the potential to be a top-four defenceman some day. Luca Sbisa, Clayton Stoner and Griffin Reinhart may also get time on the back end at some point during the season.
Goaltending:
Goaltending is the Golden Knights biggest strength as they already have a solid goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury who is coming off of two Stanley Cups. Fleury has split time with Matt Murray the past two seasons but now he will get another chance to be the full-time starter as he tries to bring his winning experience to his new team. The Knights also got Calvin Pickard who is a good backup goalie even though his numbers were bad last year.
Projected Lineup:
Jonathan Marchessault
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Cody Eakin
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James Neal
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David Perron
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Vadim Shipachyov
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Reilly Smith
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Oscar Lindberg
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Erik Haula
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Brendan Leipsic
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Teemu Pulkkinen
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William Karlsson
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Pierre Edouard-Bellemare
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William Carrier
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Tomas Nosek
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Alex Tuch
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Nate Schmidt
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Jason Garrison
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Shea Theodore
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Colin Miller
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Jon Merrill
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Deryk Engelland
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Brayden McNabb
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Luca Sbisa
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Marc-Andre Fleury
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Calvin Pickard
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Oscar Dansk
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Top 10 Players:
10. Nate Schmidt
9. Calvin Pickard
8. Jason Garrison
7. David Perron
6. Vadim Shipachyov
5. Cody Eakin
4. Reilly Smith
3. Jonathan Marchessault
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
1. James Neal
Projected Finish: 64 Points (8th in Pacific)
Last Year: N/A
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