A year after missing the playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. Their gamble to give up a first-round pick, a solid forward, Alex Tuch, and a top prospect, Peyton Krebs, to get Jack Eichel paid off.
Eichel, whose leadership and defensive play were questioned in Buffalo, relaunched his career in Vegas after serious neck surgery, and he was a vital part of that conquest with 26 points in 22 games and a time usage of 19 minutes per encounter.
The return to play of Mark Stone, absent around forty games during the season, came at just the right time. We probably waited for the series in order to comply with the ceiling.
Despite their success and their salary constraints, the Golden Knights did not suffer any heavy losses during the off-season, except for Reilly Smith, traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick in 2024. He had still amassed 56 points in the season, but his annual salary of 5 million this season and next was too much for Vegas.
We were thus able to keep Ivan Barbashev, one of the revelations in the series, at the same price. Barbashev is five years younger than Smith and is more productive offensively.
Goaltender Adin Hill, the unlikely playoff hero, agreed to a two-year contract for $4.9 million per season.
For a player ignored in the draft, Jonathan Marchessault delivered the ultimate performance: 25 points, including 13 goals, in 22 playoff games.
2020 late first-round pick Brendan Brisson, son of famed player agent Pat, is arguably the closest to the NHL of the club’s few prospects, but he will begin the season in the American League.
Defenseman Alec Martinez has three career 30+ point seasons and six 20+ point seasons, but had just 14 in 77 games last year. He still remains an important player, but it was necessary to identify one within a champion team.
51-22-9, 111Â points
1st in the division
Stanley Cup
Reilly Smith, Laurent Brossoit, Jonathan Quick, Phil Kessel
Nothing notable