2022-23 Golden Knights May Not Be Franchise’s Best Team

After all, not all seasons are created equal. No matter how many Cups Vegas wins in the coming years, their expansion season trip to the Final will remain uniquely special. Furthermore, the seasons in between their inaugural year and the Cup win have been plagued by the pandemic and have featured seasons of varying lengths. Could any other campaign match last year, even if they didn’t measure up to the franchise-record 111 points?

Here’s a look at some of these questions as we look at the franchise – still in its relative infancy, mind you – to determine the most successful season to date.

2017-18 Season (109 Points, Reached Stanley Cup Final)

The Seattle Kraken have Vegas to thank for the fact that a historically remarkable sophomore NHL campaign (100 points, one win away from the Western Conference Final) doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. While that kind of success in year two is almost unprecedented for an expansion team, the Golden Knights achieved even more impressive feats in their first season.

The 2017-18 Golden Knights were the team that no one saw coming, jumping out to a 15-8-1 start in front of goaltender Marc-André Fleury and a cast of unknowns. It seemed like beginner’s luck until an 11-1-1 record in December made it clear that they were for real. Even when it seemed like the postseason would snuff out their Cinderella story, series wins over the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets took things to another level before the Washington Capitals ended their magical run.

To be clear, this wasn’t a perfect team. Mainly comprised of players selected in the 2017 Expansion Draft, much of the roster was cast out to make room for more established veteran talent who came aboard once the organization’s early success enhanced their stats as an appealing destination. Deryk Engelland might be a franchise legend, but he never had any business averaging 20 minutes a night in a top-four defensive role.

This season may foster as many warm memories for Golden Knights fans as their Cup triumph. Recalling William Karlsson’s 43 goals and plus-49 rating, Fleury’s post-Pittsburgh Penguin brilliance, and Engelland’s emotional “Vegas Strong” speech already bring back a ton of nostalgic memories. Plus, 109 points and a trip to the Cup Final represent a level of achievement that most teams haven’t reached in recent NHL history.

2020-21 Season (82 Points, Reached Stanley Cup Semifinals)

The 2020-21 season seems like a fever dream in hindsight, with a 56-game campaign, restricted attendance, and a realigned postseason format. The Golden Knights accumulated the same 82 points as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche but fell on regulation wins in the tiebreaker.

Still, Vegas’ 40-win effort in the shortened season was remarkable – over the course of a regular 82-game slate, they were on pace to earn 120 points, well ahead of their franchise-best 111-point season last year.

That season saw Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty lead the way offensively, while Fleury offered solid play between the pipes in what would be his final year with the Golden Knights. In the playoffs, the team survived a tough seven-game series with the Minnesota Wild and then rallied from an 0-2 hole to beat the Avs in six games. Their run ultimately came to an end at the hands of the underdog Montreal Canadiens, who finished the regular season with 23 fewer points than their opponent.

Playoff disappointment aside, the team was dominant – even if there weren’t many fans there to see it.

2022-23 Season (111 Points, Won Stanley Cup)

Coming off the worst season in franchise history, and their only playoff absence ever, the Golden Knights answered their critics emphatically. The arrival of Bruce Cassidy behind the bench helped restore Vegas’ tough, defensively sound reputation, while the emergence of Logan Thompson and, later, Adin Hill provided some stability in net.

In the regular season, the Golden Knights took hold of the Pacific Division early and never really wavered, using an undefeated 5-0-2 April to hold off the surging Edmonton Oilers and claim the top seed in the Western Conference. Had the Oilers overtaken them, Vegas would have had to face the Kings in round one rather than the Jets and lose home-ice advantage in a potential second-round series vs. Edmonton.

While the Golden Knights’ regular season was impressive, it didn’t compare to a postseason that saw them thrive behind Hill’s breakout performance and the dangerous first line of Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev. The club only lost six games en route to their first Cup championship. Although the triumph came a mere six years into their existence, it felt long-awaited given how many times they came close.

2023-24 Season (TBD)

We aren’t even a quarter into the new season, so we don’t know how things will play out. That being said, you couldn’t have asked for a better start. They made history as the first reigning Cup champion to start the next season 6-0 and didn’t lose in regulation through 12 games. Even after dropping their last two games, they remain on pace for a ludicrous 135 points, matching the Boston Bruins’ record-setting total from last season.

While sustaining this torrid pace isn’t realistic, the team has to feel good about their early positioning in their defense of the Cup. Questions about scoring depth after the departure of Reilly Smith have been answered emphatically, while Hill and Thompson have carried their exceptional play into the new season.

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The goal of every NHL club is to raise hockey’s holy grail, so Vegas’ Cup triumph probably stands as the high point for the franchise. Still, it speaks to their incredible sustained level of success that the organization can also make arguments for their historic expansion year and the ‘what could have been’ 2020-21 season. As for 2023-24, who knows what new heights may be achieved.