The Vegas Golden Knights will enter the 2026-27 season with Cup-or-bust expectations, while two core players, captain Mark Stone and William Karlsson, are entering the final seasons of their long-term deals. Meanwhile, playoff heroes Brett Howden and Carter Hart will face enormous pressure to recapture the lightning in a bottle they held from April to June.
Despite being one of the top teams in the NHL, the Golden Knights will face many setbacks on their journey to remain Pacific Division and Western Conference champions, since not every player will duplicate their 2025-26 success.
3 Golden Knights set to regress next season
Adin Hill - Goalie
Despite being the only goalie in franchise history to guide Vegas to a Stanley Cup championship, Adin Hill has played more than 35 games only once in his career. Last year, he lost his starting duties, sharing the crease with Akira Schmid, Carl Lindblom, and Hart, who later led the team to the Final after an 11-3-3 regular season.
In only 27 games, Hill, who makes $6.5 million, posted the worst SV% and GAA of his NHL career in 2025-26 and is now slated to play backup to Hart. Even though he’s used to playing 20-30 games every year, posting a similar 10-9-6 record for a team with aspirations to win it all just won’t cut it.
Brayden McNabb - Defenseman
Original Mistfit Brayden McNabb has been with the Golden Knights since day one, but is now entering his 15th NHL season and will be 36 in January. Last year, he missed some time, skating only 63 games and scoring 12 points, his lowest total in five seasons. During the team’s run to the Final, McNabb contributed 10 points in 21 games with a plus-13 rating, but Father Time always wins, and the extra hockey could take its toll on a guy inching closer to 40.
Despite never scoring more than five goals in a single season, McNabb is reliable enough to earn an average of 14 helpers a year, but only got to half of that total last year, while being only a plus-2, the second-lowest total in Vegas threads.
Mark Stone - Right Wing
It took eight seasons, but the captain finally pieced together his best statistical campaign in the desert, scoring 28 goals and 73 points with a plus-26 rating. Surprisingly, Stone did it in only 60 games. As mentioned, he’s eligible for an extension this season, and at 33, he’ll be looking to cash in one more final big payday and hopefully retire with the Golden Knights. During the run to the Final, Stone didn’t play every game, but collected 12 points in 17 games with a minus-3 rating. Staying healthy has always been a problem for Stone dating back to his days with the Ottawa Senators.
Considering he’s scored more than 25 goals on just three occasions, fans need to lower their expectations that he’ll reach the plateau again, despite the contract carrot hanging over his head. Even though his point production has gone up each season over the past three years, he’s 34 now, and another lengthy playoff run may have a cause-and-effect relationship with his performance in 2026-27.
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