Let's make one thing perfectly clear. The Vegas Golden Knights don't exactly have the league's best farm system. They've been documented as a team that loves trading away their first-round picks for better players in the moment. It explains why some fans aren't too hot on Vegas's drafting and front office.
Now that we've gotten the team's issues out of the way, there's a writer from The Athletic (aka the New York Post) who touched on this very subject. Corey Pronman ranked all 32 teams based on where they'll be five years from now. The Golden Knights came in 22nd in the rankings.
"For years, Vegas has adopted an all-in approach to its roster building in pursuit of Stanley Cup rings. At some point the bill will come due, and I think in 3-5 years is a reasonable timeframe for that to happen."Corey Pronman
Granted, there's some truth to this. Eventually, the Golden Knights will become terrible and play as good as the Raiders do nearly every NFL season. But as it stands, that's not the truth.
In fact, you can say that there's a case that this won't be true in the upcoming years. Salary cap structures in the Pacific Division, along with the current Golden Knights' front office, trend towards things remaining the status quo in Las Vegas... at least, for now. Here's a devil's advocate take on why nothing will change too much in Las Vegas, except for the divisional rivals who will cause trouble.
Playing devil's advocate for the Vegas Golden Knights to be successful in five seasons
I know that Carl Brutanandilewski and his angry (probably imaginary) wife, Emma, are seething at this or hating this. They're probably hating hard and are making silly threats to unfollow. Emma's probably lecturing someone to watch a documentary that fits her motives. Anyway, you both can let it out.
That one was for you, Carl. I hope you get your crushed car fixed.
Anyway, that ranking also had four Pacific Division teams behind the Golden Knights. That would be the Seattle Kraken (23rd), the Los Angeles Kings (24th), the Calgary Flames (29th), and the Vancouver Canucks (32nd). Essentially, you're giving Vegas a playoff spot nearly every year, based on how mediocre the division is.
However, there's another caveat with this. The Edmonton Oilers rank 15th here, yet they're one of the league's oldest rosters. Combine a thinning prospect pool and Edmonton, well, not having a lot of appeal as a hockey city and the future looks much murkier.
That's not even mentioning how the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks have become hamstrung by gossamer contracts. Having Macklin Celebrini ($18.8 million AAV deal) and Leo Carlsson ($18 million AAV deal) on the books detracts from their respective teams' overall depth. In turn, it'll expose some holes in the lineup.
Kelly McCrimmon is well-versed in balancing out the roster in most aspects. Sure, he'll have the occassional deal over $10 million AAV (see Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner). But he still veers towards keeping each position as balanced as possible.
It explains why the Golden Knights have been to the Stanley Cup Final in two of the last four seasons. It's being adaptable and taking on change with a headstrong approach. Let's not forget that nobody thought this team would be great out of the gate. I wonder how that worked out for them...
Add us as a preferred source on Google