LAS VEGAS — With the first couple days of free agency behind us, the Golden Knights 2023-24 roster is taking shape. There haven’t been a lot of changes this offseason, which is to be expected after winning it all.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon entered the summer with a plan to bring back as close to the same lineup as he ended last season with. There was still one cap casualty in franchise winger Reilly Smith, who was dealt to Pittsburgh to open up $5 million in space. That money was used to resign pending free agents who would’ve otherwise hit the open market on Saturday.
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Vegas locked up its Cup-winning goalie, Adin Hill, for two more years at $4.9 million per season, and deadline acquisition Ivan Barbashev for five more seasons with a $5 million cap hit. It also extended qualifying offers to the restricted free agents, Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, although long-term deals have yet to be reached with them.
There won’t be many new faces in the building come the fall. The only outside free agents signed were depth pieces who will start the season with the Henderson Silver Knights. With that, let’s look at the organizational depth chart position-by-position, starting with center.
Center
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
26 | $10 million | |
29 | $2.75 million | |
30 | $5.9 million | |
26 | $3 million | |
32 | $762,500 | |
27 | $775,000 | |
23 | $925,000 | |
21 | $825,000 |
Losses: Teddy Blueger, Sakari Manninen
One of the Golden Knights’ biggest assets is their strength up the middle, and that should continue next season. They will bring back all four centers who played essentially every night in the playoffs, led by Conn Smythe Trophy runner-up Jack Eichel.
Eichel was good in the regular season, leading Vegas with 66 points in 67 games, but took his game to another level in the playoffs. Away from the puck, he was stellar, and with it he made plays all over the ice. If he can maintain even close to that level for the regular season, he’ll have a career season.
Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson are strong second and third options, giving the Golden Knights three legitimate scoring lines. They’re both trustworthy in their own zone and skate really well up the ice.
The fourth line has consistently been at its best with Nicolas Roy centering it, but Bruce Cassidy has shown many times he’d like to elevate Roy to a line with more offense. He could use this summer — and Smith’s departure — as the best chance to make that move permanently. If he does that could mean a move to 4C for one of the wingers who are comfortable in the middle (likely Brett Howden or Michael Amadio).
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The fact that several of the players listed at wing in this depth chart can also play center should help, considering that the loss of Blueger and Manninen hurts the depth. Beyond that Vegas also has Byron Froese, who played nine NHL games last season, all at center. AHL veteran Gage Quinney, who played three NHL games in 2019-20, returns. As does 2018 second-round pick Ivan Morozov, who has yet to make his NHL debut at 23 but was one of the Silver Knights’ top centers last year. He didn’t have the best camp last fall, but will be looking to impress the staff this year to elevate himself on the potential call-up order.
Right Wing
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
31 | $9.5 million | |
32 | $5 million | |
27 | $762,500 | |
26 | $1.4 million | |
22 | RFA | |
27 | $762,500 |
Losses: Phil Kessel (potentially)
Vegas has always been very strong up the right side as well, as long as captain Mark Stone is healthy. He headlines a group that returns nearly every player from last season. The only potential loss is Kessel, who is an unrestricted free agent but has yet to sign a deal. Last season, it took until late August for Kessel to find a team, so he could wait until late in the summer again. If that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if Vegas finds a way to bring him back with a small hit to bolster the depth at wing.
Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault will be back. He’s been the most consistent scoring threat for this team year after year, and the chemistry he’s developed with Eichel on the top line should lead to plenty more of that. He’s now entering the final year of his contract, so he’ll be playing with plenty of motivation and looking for an extension as soon as possible.
Michael Amadio played all over the lineup last season, but spent most of his time on the right wing. He played 21 games at left wing and 41 on the right. If Roy is elevated, as mentioned above, it would likely be to fill Amadio’s spot, so it will be interesting to see what Cassidy does there.
Keegan Kolesar played all 74 regular season games and all 22 playoff games at right wing. He’s developed into a pillar of Vegas’ physical fourth line, and will be right back there when the 2023-24 season rolls around.
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Beyond that, the Golden Knights have Pavel Dorofeyev, who impressed with seven goals in only 18 games as a rookie. He will be fighting for a spot in the opening-night lineup in camp. He showed he can play the style Cassidy looks for in his complementary winger role, crashing the net with the hands to finish in tight.
Vegas also has Sheldon Rempal, who played only one NHL game last season but was the top winger for the Silver Knights and tied for the team lead with 25 goals.
Left Wing
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
27 | $5 million | |
25 | RFA | |
28 | $1.4 million | |
23 | $775,000 | |
24 | $766,667 | |
21 | $925,000 |
Losses: Reilly Smith
On paper, this group isn’t the strongest offensively, and losing Smith hurts, but the left wingers played key roles in the Stanley Cup win. Cassidy designed each of his top three forward lines with a similar makeup, using one of the wingers to crash the net while the other two made plays with the puck. Two of the players who played that role to a tee were Barbashev and Howden, who combined to score 12 goals in the postseason.
Extending Barbashev with a five-year, $25 million deal means he’ll rejoin Eichel and Marchessault on the top line. Howden is still a RFA with rights to arbitration, but considering he had only 13 points in 54 regular-season games last season, Vegas shouldn’t have an issue bringing him back at a reasonable cap hit. Like Kolesar, William Carrier is an anchor on the fourth line and will slot there once again.
Paul Cotter had a breakout rookie season with 13 goals in 55 games. He forced his way into the lineup with a strong camp and preseason, then took advantage of the opportunity by showing he can score in the NHL. The details of his game were too inconsistent for Cassidy, which is why he didn’t play in the postseason, but with another offseason under his belt – and Smith’s departure – Cotter will be competing for a more regular spot in the nightly lineup in 2023-24.
Jonas Røndbjerg has been a consistent call-up option for the Golden Knights for the last two seasons, playing 43 NHL games over that span. He’s only registered seven points, but he’s a strong forechecker who’s good enough defensively to eat minutes on a bottom-six line when needed.
One of the most intriguing players entering this season is 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson. He scored 18 goals in his first season of professional hockey for the Henderson Silver Knights, and will be hoping to make his NHL debut as a 21-year-old this season. The bad news for Brisson is that his offensive-leaning game doesn’t really lend itself to a bottom-six role, which makes breaking into the lineup difficult. The good news is, if you look at this group of left wingers, there’s not a ton of scoring pedigree. That could afford Brisson a chance at some point in the season. If he gets the opportunity, it would likely be with two talented linemates, so it will be up to him to seize the moment.
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Right Defense
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
33 | $8.8 million | |
27 | $5.2 million | |
26 | $2.75 million | |
25 | $762,500 | |
23 | $775,000 | |
22 | $789,167 |
Losses: None
Vegas’ blue line is set on the right side, with the top three defensemen from last season all returning. As long as all three are healthy, Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud will be the opening night starters.
After that is where things get interesting. One of the most heated battles in September’s camp and preseason will be between the three young defensemen fighting to be fourth on this depth chart. I listed them in the order of how many NHL games they played last season, but that order can easily change based on how they perform.
Daniil Miromanov, Brayden Pachal and Kaedan Korczak will all be vying to be the first call-up option on the right side. Part of it could come down to what style of defender is needed. If it’s someone who can pitch in offensively and play on the power play, it will obviously be Miromanov. If a more defensive player is needed it will come down to Pachal and Korczak.
Each brings something different to the table, but it will be fun to see how things shake out as these three should see plenty of ice time in the preseason as Cassidy evaluates.
Left Defense
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
35 | $5.25 million | |
32 | $2.85 million | |
24 | $2.29 million | |
30 | $850,000 | |
21 | $793,333 | |
20 | $825,000 |
Losses: None
The left side of the blue line is also set, with the top four defenders all returning from last season. Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb and Nicolas Hague will be the opening night starters, and Ben Hutton has cemented himself as the clear seventh defenseman.
Behind those four are two young defensive prospects who have yet to make their NHL debut, but could this year. Lukas Cormier played on both sides for the Silver Knights last season. He’s undersized at only 5-foot-10, but skates well and led all Henderson defensemen with 35 points as a rookie. Cassidy has brought his name up multiple times unprompted, so Cormier is clearly on his radar. If Vegas needs an infusion of offense on the left side, Cormier could get the call.
Daniil Chayka — a second-round pick in 2021 — is a year younger than Cormier and wasn’t as impactful in his first season of pro hockey, but has developed nicely. Not sure how likely it is he gets into a game this season for the Golden Knights, but he has a future in the NHL.
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Goaltender
| Player | Age | 2023-24 Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|
27 | $4.9 million | |
26 | $766,667 | |
24 | $775,000 | |
22 | $849,667 | |
21 | $858,000 | |
20 | $840,000 |
Losses: Laurent Brossoit, Jonathan Quick
Adin Hill is back after signing a two-year extension with an average annual value of $4.9 million. Logan Thompson should be fully healthy in time for camp, and is the likely backup, carrying a very team-friendly cap hit of only $766,667. It’s expected those two will form Vegas’ goalie rotation next year, with neither taking on too heavy of a load in terms of starts.
I opted not to include Robin Lehner here because it seems like the most likely outcome at this point is him remaining on long-term injured reserve. We’re still a long way from camp and a lot can change, but based on McCrimmon’s vague, less-than-optimistic updates on Lehner’s rehab process and the fact that he signed Hill for nearly $5 million per season, all signs point to that.
Jiri Patera is likely the third goalie. He served as the Silver Knights’ top goalie for much of last year and showed really well in his two NHL opportunities, with two victories and a .929 save percentage.
Isaiah Saville played the vast majority of last year in the ECHL, and posted an impressive .920 save percentage playing behind the last-place Savannah Ghost Pirates. He also played 10 games with the Silver Knights, and could be graduating to full time in the AHL this season.
Jesper Vikman finished his junior career with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants and got his first taste of the AHL with one start late last season, while Carl Lindbom recently signed his entry-level contract with Vegas after being named the rookie of the year and goalie of the year in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league.
(Photo: Lucas Peltier / USA Today)
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