The Golden Knights are heading into the 2026-27 season with a different kind of pressure on their power play, and it lands squarely on Tomas Hertl.
There was a time when Hertl owned the franchise’s single-season power-play goals mark with 14, giving Vegas the kind of heavy presence that made the unit work. Then Pavel Dorofeyev arrived and pushed that number to 20 the following season. But with Dorofeyev traded to the New York Rangers this summer and landing a new seven-year, $11 million AAV deal, Vegas suddenly has a hole to fill.
That leaves the Golden Knights searching for a reliable finisher, and the options are not exactly overflowing. Jack Eichel is one possibility, though he could use more than one power-play goal in a season.
Mitch Marner is another name in the mix, with plenty to prove. Even so, the biggest burden falls on Hertl, who scored 13 power-play goals last season and remains the most natural fit to keep the unit humming.
Hertl’s value comes from the area where he does his best work: the slot. The Czech Olympian is the kind of body in front that can turn rebounds and deflections into goals, and that role figures to matter even more now. Vegas has leaned on him for that kind of production before, and the expectation is that he’ll have to keep doing it.
The question is who can help lighten the load. Eichel is one answer, but the Golden Knights may also need more from Victor Olofsson.
He’s a less obvious name, but he fits the profile of the player who can fill some of the void left by Dorofeyev. Olofsson scored six power-play goals in his first stint with Vegas, and the team could use him near the point or in the corners to create the kind of traffic Hertl thrives on.
If Hertl can do more at even strength, that would ease some of the pressure around him. Last season, 13 of his 24 goals came on the power play, which is part of why the trade chatter has followed him. But if he keeps controlling the slot and leaning into the size advantage that has always made him dangerous, the Golden Knights have a chance to get more out of him and keep the power play moving.
In Other News...
Sharks Just Handed Golden Knights Fans A Reason To Feel Better
San Joses latest move is the kind of deal that makes the rest of the Pacific Division sit up and take notice, even if not for the reasons the Sharks intended. Locking up Macklin Celebrini on a long-term extension gives them a franchise centerpiece, but it also comes with a price tag that immediately changes the way the team has to think about its roster building. For a club trying to climb back into relevance, the commitment is bold. For everyone else in the division, it is a reminder that one of the teams trying to catch up just tied a major piece of its future to a very expensive contract.
For Vegas, the bigger takeaway is less about Celebrini himself and more about the cap landscape around him. The Golden Knights have built their championship model around flexibility and balance, not letting one player consume the kind of space that can squeeze out the rest of the roster. With several Pacific teams still not positioned to challenge that approach on the financial side, Kelly McCrimmon has a little more room to keep shaping the roster the way he wants. The Sharks may have made a splash, but they may also have made life a bit easier for the team they are trying to chase. [Read more 🡒]
Which Original Six Team Has Really Gotten Under Vegas' Skin
The Golden Knights have built a surprisingly layered set of grudges and connections with the NHLs Original Six, and the list goes well beyond the usual playoff flashpoints. Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, Chicago and Detroit all bring a different kind of edge, whether it is old postseason history, coaching ties, player movement or the kind of one-time crossover that makes a matchup feel bigger than a regular-season date on the calendar.
Montreal still stands out because it is the only Original Six club Vegas has seen in the playoffs, which gives that matchup a different kind of weight in the franchises short history. The rest of the field is more about proximity and personnel than scars, but that can change fast in the NHL, especially when former faces keep showing up on the other bench and the Golden Knights keep running into familiar names from their own past. [Read more 🡒]
Fleury Hill And Thompson Define A Heated Golden Knights Legacy Debate
The Golden Knights have not been around long enough to build a deep goaltending archive, but they already have a debate that can stir up plenty of opinions. Any discussion of the franchises most important netminders has to start with Marc-Andre Fleury, whose Vezina Trophy and strong numbers made him the face of the position in Vegas for a long stretch, with Logan Thompson and Adin Hill also earning their place in the conversation for very different reasons.
Robin Lehner is part of the backdrop too, even if he did not make the final cut, and that alone says something about how tightly packed the franchises crease history has become. Thompson brought steadiness and an All-Star nod, while Hills value came into sharp focus during the 2023 Stanley Cup run, when Vegas needed answers in goal and found them, leaving the order of this list as much a reflection of timing as talent. [Read more 🡒]