I was looking up a picture of Mark Stone for a social media post. That's when I spotted an interesting combination:
"Mark Stone Stanley Tucci"
I know what you're thinking. What could an actor have anything to do with an NHL star? Well, it turns out that a guy named Mark Strong had a good impersonation of the actor, which drew the comparison on Google.
Sometimes, life can be funny, eh?
But I was searching for an image of Stone hoisting the Stanley Cup. After all, you can't have a "I am him" post without the Captain lifting Lord Stanley over his head. Everyone in Las Vegas knows that post fits the Winnipeg native perfectly, too.
That's especially true when he's dealing with conspiracy theorists and haters en route to another Stanley Cup. Man, I wonder how Tucci must feel when he deals with people who dump on his work for no reason. At least he has John Oliver coming to his aid.
But let's look at what it'll take for the Golden Knights to win another Stanley Cup. These three factors will decide whether Las Vegas is having another party at Toshiba Plaza or we're talking about the NHL Draft come June. Let's make a roadmap to another Stanley Cup, shall we?
1.) Will the goaltending hold up?
Adin Hill had a career year with the Golden Knights in 2024-25. His GAA was good for sixth-best in the NHL (2.47) and he had four shutouts. However, some questions remain with the goaltending unit.
First, how will Akira Schmid do with the Golden Knights with added responsibilities? He might've had an impressive campaign in a small sample size (1.26 GAA, .944 save percentage in five games played). But can he handle a heavier workload?
Also, this is contingent on whether Hill can duplicate that 2024-25 performance. If he can do this and have a better playoff campaign than last season, everything will be hunky-dorry. If not, Vegas isn't celebrating in June.
2.) Can the blue line pick up the slack?
Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hague brought many things to the Golden Knights. They carried a innate defensive acumen and gave it their all on every play. They also brought size with them, giving Vegas a defensive edge.
Without these two players around, how will the Golden Knights respond? Will they make up for the loss in size and defensive play with more speed and physicality? That's the big question as the 2024-25 season looms.
3.) Staying healthy is key
What sucks about injuries is that nobody can predict when they'll strike. They could happen on a bad play or a freak accident, leaving you without your best player.
Vegas was fortunate enough not to deal with this problem too much last season. Players like Jack Eichel (77 games played) and Shea Theodore (67 games played) didn't miss significant time. As a result, their numbers flourished.
If the injuries aren't rolling in and the hospital beds aren't filling up, that'll be a good sign. One can point to 2022-23 with the goaltending and say they survived. However, this team looks drastically different from that iteration.