Last Season: 51-24-7 109 pts (1st in Pacific Division; Western Conference Champions)
Key Additions: D Nick Holden, F Paul Stastny, and F Daniel Carr
Key Departures: D Luca Sbisa, D Jason Garrison, D Clayton Stoner, F James Neal, and F David Perron
Top Questions Facing the Golden Knights:
- Can Vegas continue playing the way they did last season?
Last season was record breaking for any expansion franchise, which saw an entire team of “misfits” bond together and took the NHL by storm and set all time of new records and made an eventful run to the Stanley Cup Finals, but can they duplicate it this season? With the loss of veteran leaders James Neal and David Perron to Free Agency and top defenseman Nate Schmidt suspended the first 20 games of the regular season due to a failure of the wellness policy (which was questionable at best) will bring some challenges to the Golden Knights.
2. Can Vegas overcome adversity?
Last season it can be said that Vegas had a lot of doubters and as a result used that doubt as motivation as they took part in their first season as every game was an opportunity to silence the critics. This season however everyone knows what this team is capable of doing and will bring stronger challenges when they face the Golden Knights. Will the Golden Knights also play with that same chip on their shoulder that they had last season, or will we see a more “relaxed” group knowing what they can accomplish when the spotlight is on them? It will be very interesting to see how Vegas performs this season.
