A little over 14 months ago, the Vegas Golden Knights reached the pinnacle of the hockey world as the team raised the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Fast forward to the 2024-2025 season and the roster is a shell of what was a championship team a short time ago.
After suffering a first-round loss to the Dallas Stars in April, the Golden Knights front office had major decisions ahead of them going into the offseason. The team had six unrestricted free agents including William Carrier, Alec Martinez, Michael Amadio, Chandler Stephenson and Conn Smythe winner, Jonathan Marchessault.
When free agency opened up on July 1st, the Knights were unable to retain any of its unrestricted free agents. This left many in Vegas confused about how the front office could let any of these players walk, especially Marchessault.
The franchise leader in points and games played signed a five-year deal with the Nashville Predators worth $5.5 million a year.
Shortly after signing with the Predators, Marchessault told reporters that he felt Vegas didn’t “try hard enough” to retain one of the franchise’s original players.
For the other five unrestricted free agents who took offers from elsewhere, general manager Kelly McCrimmon explained that these players outplayed their contracts when they won the Stanley Cup.
“Part of the reason we won the Stanley Cup is we had so many players out-perform their contract. Well, when their contracts come due, they go and find market value. That’s the nature of the business. It hurts,” McCrimmon said.
The Golden Knights not only lost players in free agency but to trades as well.
After spending most of the season as the backup goaltender to Adin Hill, Logan Thompson and the Knights’ front office decided to move the 27-year-old to the Washington Capitals, where he will get more playing time.
The team also sent Paul Cotter to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Akira Schmid, who will compete for the backup goalie spot, and Alexander Holtz, who will most likely fill in on the third or fourth line.
With so much loss on the team, the Golden Knights hit the market to find some replacements.
New Faces in Vegas
With minimal cap space to work with, the Knights had to make offers to players who were willing to play for cheap contracts.
The first move the Golen Knights made at the start of free agency was signing 30-year-old Zach Aston-Reese. The former Pittsburgh Penguin signed a one-year contract worth the league minimum.
Next, the team landed Victor Olofsson. The front office hopes that Olofsson will be able to match Marchessault’s production as he has shown that he can be a consistent 30-goal scorer in the past.
Finally, the team brought in goaltender Ilya Samsonov to backup for Hill this upcoming season. Last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Samsonov went 23-7 with a .890 save percentage and a 3.13 goal allowed average.
With so much roster turnover, the Golden Knights hope to once again make the playoffs in the 2024-2025 season. As Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and William Karlsson all return, there is still plenty to be excited about in Vegas.
