I can't wait for the 2025-26 season to start. It means the Vegas Golden Knights are returning to T-Mobile Arena and everyone's winters will be booked. Sure, October baseball is also upon us and some announcers would rather watch that than hockey. But that ends no later than the start of November.
Plus, there's no question that the Golden Knights will be good this season. You've already seen who's joining the team this season and bringing the excitement with them. With that comes expectations of winning the Stanley Cup.
This is nothing new for Golden Knights fans, who've grown accustomed to having these expectations heaved upon them. It's a luxury of having an incredible front office that does whatever it takes to win. It could also be worse: You could be living near the Great Lakes, with no hopes of winning the Stanley Cup or the Super Bowl, even with a superstar quarterback.
You know what Mel Brooks used to say:
"It's good to be the king."
But not everything is a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end of it. You see, some questions remain with the Golden Knights, specifically with certain groups and players.
"How good can this team actually be?"
"Who's on the burner for the upcoming season?"
What, did you expect everything to be hunky-dorry over here? Well, almost everything is. However, these questions are on everyone's minds as the 2025-26 season looms and preseason ends.
1.) Will Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel be enough to win the Stanley Cup?
This past offseason, the Vegas Golden Knights needed a rapid response to the dominant duo known as Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The pair's Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Golden Knights in five games in May, leaving fans distraught.
So, what do you do? Why, you get Mitch Marner.
27 goals and 102 points with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2024-25 is always enough to push a team over the top. But will that be enough to counterattack the Oilers in Vegas's pursuit of another Stanley Cup?
2.) Are there concerns for the Vegas Golden Knights at goaltender?
The Golden Knights haven't been shy about getting a veteran for the goaltender position. That puts the burners on Akira Schmid for the backup position, leaving fans wondering if Kelly McCrimmon trusts the Swiss netminder.
Wednesday's performance should be inspiring enough to secure the job. Schmid stopped 21 of 22 shots, en route to a 2-1 victory. Will that be enough to quell the concerns of an eager front office ready for a veteran addition?
3.) How will the blue line adjust?
The Golden Knights lost plenty of size regarding the blue line during the offseason. Alex Pietrangelo stepped away from hockey due to health reasons and Nicolas Hague was traded to the Nashville Predators. That puts the pressure on Jeremy Lauzon and Kaedan Korczak to carry the load in the back end.
Will they handle the heightened (no pun intended) pressure to make up for that lost size? Or will they lose the ability to take away open space? Time will tell on whether the Golden Knights need an upgrade at the defenseman position.