The Vegas Golden Knights will have a short offseason after playing in the Stanley Cup Final in June. Considering the bumps players take over a deep, grueling playoff run, there’s not much time to recover, which adds a little more pressure for everyone to stay healthy and sharp. Since the Golden Knights came up short in winning their second championship, their expectations heading into 2026-27 will be to bring another title home or bust.
That’s next-level pressure for the team’s core, who were just at the top of the mountain three seasons ago. As we turn the page and look ahead to the new season, there will be a shift toward more players performing better or having breakthrough campaigns.
3 Vegas Golden Knights players under pressure in 2026-27
Carter Hart
Without sounding like Captain Obvious, it goes without saying that the Golden Knights player under the most pressure to have an outstanding season is goalie Carter Hart. After debuting late in the season, he went on a tear to help Vegas win the division and, under his former coach John Tortorella, played every minute of the playoffs, bringing the club within two wins of another title.
Surprisingly, Hart did all that without a proper training camp and really didn’t get an opportunity to adjust to the Golden Knights’ system; he was just thrown to the wolves and gave a performance of a lifetime. Now, many project him to be the team’s de facto No. 1, which means he’s responsible for carrying the workload and being the guy who loses or steals games.
Mark Stone
We can hear the questions already: why would captain Mark Stone be under a lot of pressure? Well, at 33, he hasn’t played more than 66 games in any season with the Golden Knights and is in the final year of his eight-year deal he signed back in 2019. If he wants to finish his career in Vegas, Stone will need to prove he can duplicate last year’s 28-goal, 73-point production, his best statistical campaign since 2018-19. Meanwhile, as the captain who guided them to two Stanley Cup Finals, once again, he’ll carry a lot of responsibility to get the team back to the championship series, which will go a long way towards one more payday in 2027.
William Karlsson
There could have been a few other players to take up the final spot on this list, like Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Victor Olofsson, but William Karlsson is under enormous pressure to stay healthy. As one of the few Original Misfits left from the inaugural seasons in the desert, Karlsson played just 14 games last year and managed to get back in time for 15 playoff games. Ultimately, fans are not concerned about his offensive production since his expectations don’t match Eichel’s or Marner’s, but it’s his presence in the lineup that is sorely missed when he’s out. It couldn’t be more obvious that after suffering an injury in the Stanley Cup Final, the Golden Knights didn’t win another game. Just like Stone, Karlsson is in the final year of his eight-year deal, and with any prolonged absences, it could hurt his chances of staying and finishing his career in a place he turned into a local legend.
Add us as a preferred source on Google