The Golden Knights are back at it, and training camp arrives with more questions than clean answers.
After a long summer, Vegas is finally on the doorstep of the 2026-27 season. The calendar says September 29th, and for the Golden Knights, that means the first real chance to start sorting out what this team looks like after a year that stretched all the way to June 14th, when they had to watch the Carolina Hurricanes lift the Stanley Cup.
That finish made the offseason feel even longer, but now the wait is almost over. The camp battles are about to begin, and three issues stand above the rest.
The first is simple enough to ask and hard enough to solve: where do the goals come from now?
Vegas will open camp without Pavel Dorofeyev, who was dealt to the New York Rangers at the NHL Entry Draft. Dorofeyev led the team in goals for the past two years, and losing that kind of finishing touch changes the math in a hurry.
The Golden Knights have always leaned on depth and shared responsibility, but 35-goal scorers are not exactly hanging around on every corner. If they’re going to replace that production, they’ll likely need one of their two superstars to shoot more, plus a healthy season from William Karlsson and a bounce-back year from Tomáš Hertl.
Then there’s the power play, which carried far more weight than it probably should have for most of the season.
The Golden Knights had a regular season full of problems. They rarely scored first, spent too much time chasing games, and had stretches where the defensive breakdowns piled up fast.
But through all of that, their power play kept them afloat. It was the one part of the team that looked truly dangerous on a consistent basis, and it helped Mark Stone post a career year at 34.
That top unit was built around a five-forward setup with Stone at the goal line, Jack Eichel at the half wall, Hertl in the bumper, Dorofeyev as the one-time threat, and Mitch Marner running the show from the quarterback spot. Now Dorofeyev is gone, and Vegas has to figure out how to replace his team-leading 20 power-play goals without losing the edge that made that group so effective.
The third question is in net, where the Golden Knights have a different kind of problem than most teams.
They are not searching for a starter so much as trying to decide which of two capable options should take the job. Carter Hart and Adin Hill both have a case, and both enter camp with something to prove.
Hart had a rough regular season, then found another gear under latecomer head coach John Tortorella and looked nearly impossible to beat until the Stanley Cup Final. After that, his game slipped, and fatigue showed up in the numbers in ugly fashion. Still, he was a major reason the Golden Knights swept the Avalanche, and he’ll be trying to convince new head coach Ryan Craig that he deserves the crease.
Hill’s situation is just as interesting. He helped backstop Vegas to the Stanley Cup in 2023, but last season was one he’d rather put behind him.
Injuries limited him to 27 starts, and his .871 average save percentage was a career worst. He also lost the net to Hart after Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy, but with a new coach in place, Hill gets a fresh shot to reclaim the role.
And with the new CBA increasing the regular season from 82 to 84 games, there should be plenty of chances for both goalies to make their argument. The only question is which one separates himself first.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Linked To An All-In Goalie Gamble
The idea of Vegas making an all-in push for another elite goalie has surfaced again, and this one carries the kind of appetite for risk that has long defined Kelly McCrimmons approach. A Bleacher Report trade proposal would send Connor Hellebuyck from Winnipeg to the Golden Knights in a package built around Adin Hill, a 2028 first-round pick and Braeden Bowman, a framework that at least reflects how badly teams have had to work to even start talking about Hellebuyck.
The challenge, of course, is that Hellebuyck has been notoriously hard to move because of the steep price attached to him, and any serious deal could require Vegas to add even more. Still, the fit is obvious enough to keep the speculation alive: if the Golden Knights want to swing big, this is the kind of move that would fit McCrimmons aggressive history, even if getting it across the finish line would not be simple. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Stone Just Made His Commitment To Vegas Crystal Clear
Mark Stones future in Vegas is settled for a while longer, and the details say plenty about how both sides view the relationship. The Golden Knights captain signed a two-year extension worth $9 million annually, a deal that also includes a full no-move clause, underscoring just how central he remains to the franchise after eight seasons of being one of its defining players.
Stone also made his feelings clear in a recent interview, framing his commitment not just around the team but around the Las Vegas community as well. For a player who has helped shape the Golden Knights rise and has long been one of their most important pieces, the only real question now is how this extended run in Vegas adds to an already significant legacy. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Fans Just Got A Tough Ryan Reaves Goodbye
Ryan Reaves is hanging up his skates after 16 NHL seasons, closing the book on a career that still carries real meaning in Vegas. For Golden Knights fans, he was more than just a physical presence. He spent four seasons with the franchise, showed up in 209 games, and became part of the teams early identity while piling up 18 goals and 24 assists along the way.
Reaves ends his career with 66 goals, 74 assists and 3,225 hits, a line that tells you exactly what kind of player he was for a long time. He also spent part of last season with the San Jose Sharks, but in Vegas he was one of the more recognizable names from the clubs first chapter, and his retirement leaves another reminder of how quickly those original Golden Knights pieces are drifting into the past. [Read more 🡒]