The Vegas Golden Knights have spent their first decade doing things plenty of franchises never manage: reaching the Stanley Cup Final in Year 1, then winning the Cup in 2023. That kind of run doesn’t happen without smart roster moves, and it also means a lot of familiar names eventually wind up elsewhere.
As the 2026-27 season approaches, a handful of former Golden Knights are set to keep their careers going in new uniforms. Some were there from the beginning.
Some helped win the whole thing. Others were part of the next wave.
All of them left a mark in Vegas before moving on.
Jonathan Marchessault is still one of the faces of the Golden Knights’ early story, even now that he’s with the Nashville Predators. He arrived as one of the original “Misfits” from the expansion roster and quickly became a core piece of what Vegas was building.
Marchessault brought offense, edge, and a relentless competitive streak, and his biggest moment came in the 2023 Stanley Cup run, when he led the playoffs in scoring and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. After seven seasons with the Golden Knights, he hit free agency following the 2023-24 season and signed with Nashville.
Chandler Stephenson was another major part of that championship group before leaving for the Seattle Kraken. Vegas acquired him from the Washington Capitals during the 2019-20 season, and he settled in fast as one of the most dependable players on the roster.
His speed, versatility, and two-way game made him a natural fit. During the 2022-23 season, he played a crucial role in the Golden Knights’ first Stanley Cup title.
He left after the 2023-24 season and joined Seattle for 2024-25.
Logan Thompson’s path was different, but it mattered just as much in its own way. He came into the organization as an undrafted goaltender and worked his way up through the professional ranks before earning NHL minutes and proving he could handle starter duties.
That made him a valuable piece of Vegas’ recent rise. The Golden Knights traded him to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2024, and he now heads into another season there with a chance to keep building on that breakthrough.
Keegan Kolesar carved out a role that every contender needs. He wasn’t there to light up the scoreboard, but he brought physicality, forechecking, and a willingness to battle in the hard areas of the ice.
In a depth-driven system like Vegas’, that kind of player matters. Kolesar developed into a reliable bottom-six forward and now moves on to the Detroit Red Wings for the 2026-27 season.
Pavel Dorofeyev represents a different stage of the Golden Knights’ roster churn. He was part of the younger wave, not the original foundation, and he flashed enough offensive upside to look like a real scoring option for the future. His shooting touch and offensive instincts made him an interesting piece during his time in Vegas, but the trade that sent him to the New York Rangers gives him a new place to grow.
The Golden Knights’ story has always been about more than one roster. It’s about constant change, difficult decisions, and enough talent to keep winning even as familiar faces move on. Marchessault, Thompson, Stephenson, Kolesar, and Dorofeyev all played different roles in that rise, and they remain part of what Vegas has built.
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