Top 3 moves the Vegas Golden Knights must make to win a Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights are very close to winning a Stanley Cup, but need a little bit of help.
The Vegas Golden Knights are the greatest expansion team in NHL history. No expansion team has had the success they’ve had in their first three seasons, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs each season by a comfortable margin. However, close enough doesn’t count. While the Golden Knights have a great chance of winning a Stanley Cup, they need to make some changes.
Let’s be clear. No, the Golden Knights shouldn’t blow up their roster. There’s no reason for them to subtract from their core. If you want proof of this, look at the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were tempted to do it after being swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, but instead, they tinkered with their roster and now they’re a win away from making it to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights have a terrific roster. Mark Stone is one of the best all-around players in the NHL. He’s a treasure to watch in the neutral zone and his hockey sense is off the charts. William Karlsson is a legitimate top-line center. Reilly Smith is a true leader. Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore are outstanding defensemen.
What the Golden Knights need to do this offseason is tinker with their roster. Surround their stars with a stronger supporting cast. Heck, maybe the Golden Knights should try to add a star. But they sure as heck shouldn’t subtract any of their best players.
It may sound weird to say this about a team that’s only three seasons old, but the Golden Knights Stanley Cup window is starting to close a bit. They need some new blood and some changes to optimize their chances of having the best party Vegas has ever seen – a Stanley Cup parade straight down The Strip.
What changes should they make? Let’s take a look.
Move On From Marc-Andre Fleury
Marc-Andre Fleury has done a lot of great things for the Vegas Golden Knights. He was outstanding for them in their first season. Fleury nearly led the Knights to the Stanley Cup in his first season. Vegas needed to fall in love with hockey and Fleury helped. He gave the Knights a marketable face of the franchise.
But that was back in 2017 and 2018. It’s 2020 and the Golden Knights need to do the right thing and part ways with Fleury. Vegas must choose between keeping Robin Lehner or Fleury. Keeping both isn’t impossible, but considering they’d cost at least $12 million combined and the Golden Knights are already close to the $81.5 million cap ceiling for next season, it’s probably not plausible to keep both.
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Lehner’s the right guy to keep. He’s younger and he’s better. Sure, the Vegas Golden Knights would miss Fleury’s lovable personality. He’s a terrific guy in the locker room even if his agent likes to tweet photoshops of his client being stabbed by a sword with his coach’s name on the sword.
But guess what? Lehner’s got a lovable personality too. Who couldn’t love someone who refers to himself as a panda? He’s also a better goalie. Fleury has struggled at times in the net. Lehner’s better suited for the Golden Knights’ style of play. He uses his huge frame to take away angles and give teams very little net to aim at.
Now, Fleury’s $7 million cap hit won’t be easy to trade. Heck, it might not even be possible to trade without retaining salary. Maybe not even if they retain salary. A buyout might be necessary. No matter how the Golden Knights do it, Fleury deserves the chance to move on and try to extend his career. All good things must come to an end, and Fleury’s tenure in Vegas isn’t exempt.
Find An Upgrade Over Paul Stastny
Paul Stastny is a pretty solid center. But he’s not cutting it as the second line center for the Golden Knights. Stastny had a down year for the Golden Knights, both during the regular season and postseason.
The regular season saw Stastny put up 38 points in 71 games. 22 of those points came at 5v5 despite getting regular minutes with guys like Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Reilly Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault. In 41 games with Vegas, Chandler Stephenson had 17 5v5 points.
During the postseason, Stastny was their least used center at 5v5 according to Natural Stat Trick. Not ideal for someone has a $6.5 million cap hit for next season.
Trading Stastny won’t be easy, especially during these troubling times. A lot of teams are bleeding money at this point. His $6.5 million cap hit isn’t going to be attractive for many teams. But maybe they can find a hockey trade.
That said, Stastny’s still a pretty good player. Teams are always looking to add to their top-six forwards. Stastny might be coming off a down year, but his resume is pretty consistent. With retained salary, the Golden Knights could probably get a mid-round pick for him. And some much needed cap space.
As far as replacing him, Vegas has some options. They could internally replace him with Chandler Stephenson or they could see what’s out there in free agency and the trade market.
Tinker With The Forwards
The Vegas Golden Knights have a pretty strong core of forwards. Led by Stone, Karlsson, and Smith, the Golden Knights, when healthy, have a brutally efficient top-six forward group.
Yes, they struggled to score this postseason. But as stated earlier, the Golden Knights need to learn from the Lightning and trust their core. Also, this has been the weirdest postseason ever. It’s probably not smart to make huge moves based on this postseason (except for Stastny).
The Lightning tinkered with their roster and the Golden Knights need to do the same. With their top-six defensemen pretty much set in stone, Vegas should look to tinker with their forwards after deciding how to replace Stastny.
Their third line is looking pretty good. Alex Tuch isn’t going anywhere. Even if he’s a third line forward for the Golden Knights, he’s an extremely good one. Plus, Tuch has proven he’s a good fit in their top-six forward group as well. He’s also signed to a pretty good contract, making just $4.75 million a year through the 2025-26 season.
Chandler Stephenson was a great fit in Vegas. He’ll need a raise, but assuming the Knights trade Fleury, they should have the money to bring him back. Stephenson’s speed is something Vegas loves and when he’s played with good linemates, he’s put up surprisingly solid numbers.
The Knights should look at Cody Glass as an internal option to add to the third line to give it a bit more of a scoring punch, but if a cheap option becomes available, they should explore it. Glass could also be an option to be their third-line center should the Knights elect to promote Stephenson to the second line.
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As far as their fourth line, Tomas Nosek will be a UFA and the Golden Knights likely won’t be able to afford him. Nicolas Roy would be a nice fit on their fourth line. Vegas should entertain calls for guys like William Carrier and Ryan Reaves. They’re expendable players and the Golden Knights could find better options.