Brayden McNabb has spent years building his reputation the hard way in Vegas: by showing up, taking the punishment, and doing the dirty work that keeps everything else moving. That’s why last season stood out as such a strange stretch for the Golden Knights defenseman. A brutal hit from Nashville Predators winger Michael Bunting on December 31 kept him out for multiple weeks, and then in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, a puck to the nose sent him to the hospital and out of the game.
For a player who has been so dependable, the timing was rough. McNabb is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 647, and he had three straight 82-game seasons from 2022 to 2025.
For a team that has dealt with its share of injuries over the years, that kind of durability has mattered plenty. Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and Mark Stone have all had their own issues along the way, too.
Now the focus shifts to what McNabb can do in 2026-27 if he gets back to being himself. The hope is simple: the “People’s Bro” stays on the ice and gives Vegas the steady presence it needs after an injury-filled 2025-26 campaign.
McNabb’s path to this role started in a very different place. He was once more of an offense-minded player, putting up 17 goals and 40 assists for the WHL’s Kootenay Ice in 2009-10, then following that with 21 goals and 51 assists in 2010-11. He was the captain that season, too.
That version of McNabb is long gone, but the defensive version has aged very well. Over his 14-year career, he has piled up 1,663 blocked shots and 2,034 hits, becoming one of the most important defense-first blueliners in Golden Knights history.
That’s the lane Vegas needs him to own again. The job is to lean into the defense, be the 1D presence the team leans on, and offer a little more in the puck-moving game if he can. McNabb has only had more than one offensive point share once in his career, when he posted 1.5 with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014-15, but even a modest bump in offense would help offset production from players who have moved on.
It all comes back to health, though. If McNabb can avoid the bad luck that followed him last season and get back to his Iron Man routine, that would mean a lot for both him and the Golden Knights.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Still Feel The Fallout From One Costly Tortorella Stretch
John Tortorellas brief run behind the Vegas bench in late March of 2026 still carries a longer shadow than anyone in the organization likely wanted. What looked at the time like a jolt of veteran edge quickly became part of the bigger story around a season that unraveled in the spotlight, with the club left to absorb criticism for decisions made during the Stanley Cup Final and the way the coaching change reverberated far beyond the bench.
The fallout has not been limited to one series, either. Vegas is still dealing with the leagues punishment tied to Tortorellas handling of a postgame obligation, a penalty that cost the Golden Knights a valuable draft asset and turned a short coaching stint into something much more expensive. For a team trying to move on, it is the kind of baggage that lingers long after the games themselves are forgotten. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Face Real Doubt After Quiet Offseason
The Golden Knights went into the offseason with a familiar challenge: keep the core intact without losing ground to the rest of the Western Conference. Instead, their summer was defined more by restraint than splash. Vegas re-signed Victor Olofsson and moved Pavel Dorofeyev rather than committing to a pricey extension, but beyond those decisions there was not much to point to as a major shift, which is part of why The Hockey News slotted the team 24th in its 2026 offseason rankings.
For a team that has built a reputation on staying aggressive, that quiet approach has created some unease, especially with divisional rivals trying to get better and a new head coach taking over without previous NHL head coaching experience. Still, the Pacific Division is viewed as a soft landing spot compared with the leagues tougher pockets, and that alone may keep Vegas in the mix even if the offseason felt more cautious than convincing. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Still Have A Fleury Standard No Goalie Has Touched
Marc-Andre Fleurys time in Vegas may be long over, but his imprint on the Golden Knights still shows up every time the franchise looks back at its goalie ledger. He remains the standard for saves, save percentage, goals against average, shutouts, and games played, a reminder of just how quickly he became the defining netminder of the teams early years and how hard it has been for anyone else to match that run.
Adin Hill is the closest active goalie to threatening some of those marks, but injuries and uneven stretches have made the climb harder than it once looked. Carter Hart is another name worth watching in the bigger picture, and the Golden Knights will keep weighing how to build the position next, whether that means developing a young goalie internally or going after a proven starter through trade. [Read more 🡒]