Golden Knights Offseason
Free Agency & Trades: Golden Knights’ 3 Biggest Offseason Needs

This offseason is a critical one for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Western Conference currently runs through the Edmonton Oilers, and as demonstrated this year, the Golden Knights just don’t measure up.
With the right offseason moves, the Golden Knights can take significant steps to change that.
The Golden Knights aren’t one player away from returning Lord Stanley’s Cup to Las Vegas. However, they’re not as far off as you might think.
They have Jack Eichel in his prime and exceptional puck-moving defensemen in Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin. Starting goaltender Adin Hill backstopped the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup in 2023, and despite posting slightly below-average numbers in the playoffs this year, there’s no indication that the Cup run was a fluke.
Three areas of the Golden Knights’ roster need to be addressed: the speed on the wing, the right side of their defense, and the backup goaltender.
They’re all important in their own way, but some should be a higher priority than others. Let’s discuss.
Most Important: Speedy Scoring Wingers
The Golden Knights desperately need an upgrade on the wing.
It’s not 2023 anymore– these Golden Knights are old and slow, and that showed against the Edmonton Oilers. During the regular season, the Golden Knights scored the fifth-most goals in the league. But when it mattered most, their offense evaporated.
Only Jack Eichel could consistently generate offense, and no one could keep up with him. If the Golden Knights want to seriously contend for the Stanley Cup in the near future, this is the most pressing issue for them to address.
Mitch Marner, a pending Free Agent reportedly interested in the Golden Knights, is the cream of the crop.
Even if the Golden Knights fail to land Marner, speed on the wing needs to remain their top priority. Nikolaj Ehlers, a pending UFA, is exceptionally talented with a high hockey IQ. Ehlers is exactly what the Golden Knights need— his foot speed is significantly above the league average, and he’s a Swiss Army knife offensively.
There are other capable, speedy wingers, of course. Last offseason, general manager Kelly McCrimmon signed Victor Olofsson for $1.075 million— another low-risk, high-reward bargain bin signing isn’t out of the question.
Anthony Beauvillier comes to mind. He’s fast, defensively responsible, and a real pain on the forecheck. He’s bounced around between five teams over the past two seasons; the term of his next contract will likely matter more than AAV.
The Golden Knights must try their hardest to sign a top-six winger in Free Agency. They have tradable assets, but those are better spent elsewhere.
For example:
Important: Right-Shot Defenseman
On last Saturday’s episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman shocked the hockey world by reporting that Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo might not be healthy for the start of the 2025-26 season. For a team already expected to lose pending RFA Nic Hague, this is concerning news.
For one thing, they don’t exactly have Pietrangelo’s replacement waiting in the wings. Their prospect pool isn’t much to write home about– and if you look deeper than Trevor Connelly, it’s even less impressive. And Zach Whitecloud is a very solid third-pairing defenseman, but I don’t know that he’s the long-term solution.
The Golden Knights don’t have much salary cap space. So, they can’t afford to make a run at a true top-four defenseman like Aaron Ekblad in Free Agency. And beyond Ekblad, this year’s crop of free agent defensemen isn’t very deep.
So, they will probably have to trade for Pietrangelo’s replacement.
Even if Friedman’s report turns out to be false, it only delays the inevitable. If not this year, the Golden Knights will need a second-pairing RD in the semi-near future.
I know in-division trades aren’t very common, and even less so between playoff teams. But a trade between the Golden Knights and the— bear with me here— Los Angeles Kings might make sense.
Jordan Spence, 24 years old, has one year remaining on a $1.5 million contract. At 5’11”, Spence is smaller than the rest of the Golden Knights’ defensive corps, but he’s in no way weak. He’s sound defensively and is a smart and capable puck mover.
With the Kings trying to keep pending Free Agent Vladislav Gavrikov, Spence could be a casualty. And even if Gavrikov leaves in Free Agency, Spence had a combined 37:35 ice time through five playoff games.
Less Important: Backup Goaltender
This positional need might not be a need. The Golden Knights could decide to enter the 2025-26 season with Akira Schmid as their number two goaltender.
I just don’t think that’s a good idea.
Now, that’s not to say that I dislike Schmid’s game. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s a talented goaltender capable of stealing a game— or even a playoff series, as demonstrated in 2023 when the New Jersey Devils upset the New York Rangers.
However, he hasn’t spent consistent time in the NHL since. He spent most of the 2023-24 season with the Utica Comets, the Devils’ AHL affiliate, and the past season in Henderson with the Silver Knights. He recorded average save percentages of .894 and .886, respectively.
I do think the Golden Knights should give Schmid every opportunity to win the job. I also believe that they should give him competition– real competition.
Now, this year’s crop of Free Agent goaltenders isn’t particularly impressive, but two stand out: Alex Lyon and Dan Vladař.
Vladař has struggled the past few seasons behind defensively poor Calgary Flames teams. However, in 2022– the last season the Flames made the playoffs– he had a record of 13-6-2 and an average save percentage of .906 as the backup to Jacob Markström. Behind Bruce Cassidy’s Golden Knights, he’d likely return to– or surpass– his 2022 form.
Similarly, Lyon is looking to bounce back from an off-year behind a Detroit Red Wings team that was one of the worst in the league defensively. He, too, would benefit from a change of scenery– especially one with such a significant upgrade from a systematic perspective.
Going into training camp with only Schmid behind Adin Hill is ‘Old Time Rock & Roll’ risky. Because if the starting goaltender goes down, all eyes turn to the backup.