Golden Knights fan survey results: Big expectations for Eichel, but optimism is waning

Golden Knights fans are only one year removed from watching their team parade the Stanley Cup down the Las Vegas Strip, but following a first-round playoff exit in 2024 and an offseason in which Vegas lost more than 35 percent of its goal production from last year, optimism is waning.

One reader who took our fan survey last week may have put it best: “This is the first season that feels like a reset and not a strong advancement.”

The results from the survey are in, and while expectations are down across the board heading into 2024-25, there is still excitement around this year’s revamped roster. Let’s dive right in, with our quick thoughts plus your comments from the survey in bullet-point format (some responses have been lightly edited for style).

How do you expect the 2024-25 season to end for the Golden Knights?

Nearly half of the respondents are predicting a repeat of last season, when Vegas fell to the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the playoffs. Not many believe in the Golden Knights’ chances to win it all, but 27.1 percent still think they’ll reach at least the conference finals. It’s easy to see why many view that as this team’s floor. Vegas has made it to the conference finals four times in seven seasons of existence.

• “I think if the team stays healthy, they could easily make it to the playoffs, if not the conference finals. Hopefully, with good health, skill and a little puck luck, they can get back to the Cup Final.”

• “The team seems to be at a crossroads right now, where they could continue to contend or fall back into a rebuild. Given the amount of turnover and number of forwards needing to step up for the team to succeed, I could easily see VGK missing the playoffs due to a lack of scoring.”

• “I think we will remain a solid five-on-five team in the playoff hunt. If we can get back to a strong penalty kill and ever figure out the power play, then we will be Cup contenders again.”

How would you grade general manager Kelly McCrimmon’s offseason moves?

The most commonly expressed opinion among fans in this survey was disappointment over losing Jonathan Marchessault to Nashville in free agency. That’s not surprising, considering he’s the franchise’s all-time leader in most offensive metrics and is a fan favorite. That, along with losing Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, Paul Cotter and Logan Thompson, while making only minor additions, led to a relatively low score on this year’s offseason moves. There were a few fans who liked the moves, mostly pointing to the past trade deadline, when McCrimmon added Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin as part of the overall “offseason.”

• “I gave a ‘C’ grade for the offseason due to making all the moves for this year’s team at the trade deadline last season. There was no money to give to free agents. This is the first year where we are relying on our players that the Knights developed themselves. Let’s see how this goes. I expect Pavel Dorofeyev, Brendan Brisson, Kaedan Korczak and Jonas Rondbjerg to play into everyday roles for this team.”

• “Most of the offseason moves took place at the trade deadline last season. Still have a lot of confidence in management. Goaltending and staying healthy are the major concerns.”

• “I still cannot comprehend the decision to let Marchessault, and every other unrestricted free agent, go without a clear plan and direction of how to replace them. Banking on unproven/journeyman guys to replace key contributors/goal scorers seems like a bad plan.”

How confident are you in the front office? (1 being the least confident, 5 being the most)

Despite expressing disappointment in this summer’s roster moves, nearly 70 percent of respondents still have a lot of confidence in McCrimmon and president of hockey operations George McPhee at the helm. The two have made plenty of moves in the past that were unpopular with the fans, and many worked out for the team in the end.

• “Vegas isn’t out of it as long as (owner Bill) Foley, (McPhee) and (McCrimmon) are running the ship. They are perennial contenders and the management is highly focused on winning and always making moves to improve the roster. Vegas fans are spoiled because many don’t realize this is our ‘Golden Era’ with nearly appearing in the playoffs every season and a Stanley Cup within our first decade of existence.”

• “The front office, despite having to make decisions that aren’t always popular, has done a fantastic job of keeping the team a contender and has made good business decisions, as opposed to making emotional/sentimental decisions where long-term contracts are concerned.”

How confident are you in coach Bruce Cassidy? (1 being the least confident, 5 being the most)

If there’s one thing Golden Knights fans are confident in, it’s coach Bruce Cassidy. More than 93.5 percent of respondents gave Cassidy a score of four or five. Vegas has the eighth-best record in the NHL since Cassidy took over, and won the Cup in his first season. He did an excellent job last season keeping the team afloat despite suffering several key injuries in the second half of the regular season.

• “Bruce Cassidy is a master. If his team executes the plan and nails the system, wins will follow. Make the playoffs, then the real season is where the real work begins. If the key players stay healthy, look out!”

Which offseason addition are you most excited about?

There isn’t a ton of excitement around any of this summer’s additions, but the Golden Knights have found diamonds in the rough before. Think William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson. Will any of these players reach those heights? Probably not, but there’s a chance the fan base feels differently about these players in a few months.

• “I am not excited about any of the offseason acquisitions. I think they will not be all that impactful. The real question is whether Hertl can fill (Marchessault’s) shoes, and I think that is doubtful.”

• “‘Excited’ about Holtz is an overstatement, but he’s the most interesting of the three choices.”

Over the summer, Vegas lost 78 goals from last season. Which of these forwards do you expect to step up most in the goal-scoring department?

After losing two major offensive contributors in Marchessault and Stephenson, Vegas will be counting on its forwards to make that production up by committee. The most popular pick by a long shot is Pavel Dorofeyev, who scored 13 goals in 47 games last season in his first full year of NHL action. He has a nose for the front of the net, good hands to finish when the puck finds him and should get more opportunities to play up the lineup in 2024-25.

• “For all the concern about the players we lost, I’m excited to see some of the kids (Brendan Brisson, Kaedan Korczak, Alexander Holtz, Pavel Dorofeyev) get a chance to step up.”

• “I feel confident in the addition of Victor Olofsson as a linemate for Eichel, given their history in Buffalo. Holtz is a good young player that has potential to flourish. However, I am worried about the depth if we see Stone or Hertl seriously injured again.”

Which position group do you feel most confident about heading into 2024-25?

Vegas fans are still very confident in the defense, as they should be. The Golden Knights lost veteran leadership when Martinez left in free agency this summer, but return one of the strongest blue lines in all of hockey. It’s hard to find a better top three than Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore, plus Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague are all back, and Korczak should spend the whole season with the big club after two seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights.

• “No one likes to see fan favorites walk out the door, myself included (owner of a No. 81 sweater). But we need to pump the brakes a bit. We won the Cup a year ago and need to give the front office the benefit of the doubt. If we miss the playoffs, that’s a different story, but I expect we will be back. We need at least one of the free agents to score 20-plus goals and get some improved contributions from Pavel Dorofeyev and Brendan Brisson. Strong defensive core will get us to the playoffs!”

Which position group are you most concerned with heading into 2024-25?

These results continue the overwhelming theme of this survey: concern about the forward depth entering this season.

•“The forward group just is not deep enough. Defense is still amazing and among league leaders, I just struggle to see the forwards holding their own.”

• “I am not delusional. I understand scoring might be at a premium early, I expect the defense and the goaltending to help us get through until around Thanksgiving, when I expect the offense to gel and start producing at a very high level.”

• “The recent focus on defense is good, but without an equally formidable offense, the team won’t make a deep playoff run. Jack Eichel and Mark Stone can’t carry an entire team even when healthy; if either of them or William Karlsson gets hurt, things will fall apart rapidly. The younger skaters will develop, but I’m not expecting a breakout season from anyone. Prove me wrong, boys!”

Vegas has seven players whose contracts currently expire at the end of the 2024-25 season. Which would you prioritize signing to an extension?

Theodore topping this list is probably the least-surprising result of the entire survey, but I do find it interesting that McNabb – not 2024 Cup hero Adin Hill – was in second place. I’m not sure if that’s due to appreciation for McNabb’s often-overlooked game, which has been vital to Vegas’ team defense for years, or a waning confidence in Hill after an injury-plagued 2023-24. Even though fans said they’d prioritize signing Theodore to an extension, they admit that making it work with the salary cap may not be easy.

• “I don’t see any way that Hanifin, Pietrangelo and Theodore are part of the long-term plan. You just can’t pay three defensemen that much money, unless there’s a significant savings elsewhere. With Eichel’s likely extension looming and the lack of high-end firepower from his current running mates, the only place they could realistically recoup expenses would be in net.”

“I picked Shea Theodore for the extension, but I think he makes too much and probably is gone. Maybe I should have gone with Adin Hill but I don’t know about that either.”

How long do you expect Vegas’ championship window to remain open?

Despite the pessimism, nearly 60 percent of respondents still feel the Golden Knights window to win another Cup will remain open for the next two or three years. Looking at the contracts for the core players, Theodore’s deal expires next summer and Eichel’s the following year, but outside of that, Vegas has Stone, Pietrangelo, Karlsson, Hertl, Barbashev, Pietrangelo and Hanifin all locked up for at least three more seasons.

• “Tough call on the championship window. Plausible that it’s already closed but just as likely that there may be another two or three years remaining. The health/play of Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo will primarily dictate that, in my opinion. Still, you never know what this organization will pull off in trades/free agency. Regardless, I have faith in management and their decision-making process, which is all you can ask for.”

• “I think, all things considered, this is still an exceptionally well-run franchise, but at some point the boulder is always gonna run downhill, and this summer was definitely a step back. There’s too much talent on this team for them to truly wilt, but the loss of depth up front is concerning with the injury history of this team. I think there’s at least two more years of contention, including this one, but whenever the rebuild does finally come, I can live with it for quite a while with the Cup ring they earned.”

Who will lead Vegas in goals in 2024-25?

Eichel is the overwhelming favorite to lead the team in goals this season. It makes sense, given that he finished second in goals behind Marchessault in each of his two full seasons in Vegas.

• “I don’t think anyone will fill the shoes completely of those who left the team. This team is weaker now than they have been for a couple of seasons.”

Who is the most important player on the Golden Knights?

I posed this question because I wanted to see if the majority of fans agreed with my opinion, that Stone is the most important player on the team despite the fact that Eichel is clearly the most talented.  It turns out 34.6 percent did agree with me, but the majority went with Eichel. I just think this team looks completely different when Stone is on the ice and healthy. In my opinion, his availability will play the largest factor on how this upcoming season goes for Vegas.

How many goals do you expect from Tomas Hertl in his first full season as a Golden Knight?

Hertl clearly wasn’t up to speed coming off a knee surgery and joining a new team for the first time in his NHL career, but fans are expecting a big bounce-back after a full offseason in Vegas. More than 40 percent of respondents project him to score between 25 to 30 goals, which he’s done only once in the last five seasons. However, there is still some trepidation.

• “Of all the moves made last season, Hertl was the most dubious. He is a good player but is overpaid, and they need more speed, which Hertl won’t bring. The team needs an influx of speed and talent among the forwards, more moves like the (trade for Alexander) Holtz.”

• “The biggest question mark surrounding the Golden Knights has to be Tomas Hertl. Everyone knows what he is capable of. He used to slaughter the Golden Knights in the postseason. Key words: Used to. He has multiple knee surgeries under his belt, and looks significantly slower than he did when he helped beat Vegas in 2019. We all know and love the person, but will Tomas Hertl be the best version of himself? Or will Vegas look back in five years regretting that trade?”

How many points do you expect from Noah Hanifin in his first full season in Vegas?

There is much more optimism surrounding Vegas’ other deadline acquisition. Hanifin was brilliant in his short stint with Vegas last season, and the majority of respondents expect a massive 2024-25 for the 27-year-old blueliner. Projecting between 50 and 60 points is a lofty expectation, considering Hanifin’s career-high is only 48 (2021-22 in Calgary), but his play thus far in Vegas points to it being a real possibility. He produced at an 82-game pace of 52 points in his 24 games with the Golden Knights in 2023-24.

In your eyes, who is the Golden Knights’ biggest rival?

There was a time when the Golden Knights-Sharks rivalry was one of the more heated in the NHL, but those days are long gone. After several seasons of San Jose finishing in the basement of the Pacific, only 14 percent of fans consider the Sharks the biggest rival. Playoff matchups against Dallas in back-to-back seasons wasn’t enough to push the Stars ahead of the Oilers, but many respondents felt the Golden Knights don’t have a true rival at this point.

• “None. Sharks were fun for a few years, but have been so bad recently.”

• “Don’t think they have a true rival at the moment.”

And then there was the fan who looked outside the box, stating the Golden Knights’ biggest rival at the moment is “the salary cap.”

(Photo of Jack Eichel and teammates: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)