3 Vegas Golden Knights that will regress in 2024-25

Father Time is an undefeated fighter. It takes down anything young by aging them, making these things unable to defend themselves any longer. Through deteriorating physical ability and declining cognitive capabilities, time withers away at anything and everything. It's a reminder that nothing's built to last unless you adapt and change.

Even with that, the physical aspect makes matters complicated. Not everyone's built to go on a TB12 diet and play football, let alone sports, until they're 45 years old. Production starts dropping once age 30 rolls around when players can't do what they've done in the past. Skating faster? That's a tough matter if you're older than 30. Physical strength? You might want to eat more lean proteins, my friend. It's even tougher when you're constantly hurt, with your body unable to perform. It leaves you as a crumpled heap, underperforming from your potential.

Of course, there was an interesting take by Paul Bissonnette, who offered an inside perspective on Max Pacioretty's situation with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He stated that the 35-year-old can still perform at a high level, capable of scoring 30+ goals with the Maple Leafs. While that's wishful thinking on his part, injuries have kept him out for the past two seasons, where he only played 52 games.

Three players should take Pacioretty's cautionary tale and tread carefully. These three Vegas Golden Knights stars aren't getting any younger, with all of them past the 30-year mark in life or having injury histories. Names like Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo are names to watch, whether they have health problems or an overall regression of play. Who are these three Golden Knights stars that might take a step back in 2024-25?

Mark Stone

Yes, I know this answer does sound ridiculous. Sure, he's at the tail end of his career prime. But Mark Stone is a 32-year-old forward, already a cause for concern. Being 32 years old wouldn't be as big of a problem if he didn't have a decorated injury history. It doesn't matter if it's a ruptured spleen or back injury. Stone missing time has hurt the Vegas Golden Knights offensively.

That's not to say he'll bomb in the 2024-25 regular season. He's still valuable as a two-way forward, bringing bite to the Golden Knights forecheck. In fact, he'll be a contributing factor to the team's success this season and put up solid numbers. If he's on the second line as expected, he could get 35 assists minimum if things break right.

However, Father Time can find ways to break down people sooner than they think. That's especially true when it comes to being in a physical sport like hockey, where the wear and tear comes from endless checks. It also shows his body isn't handling the workload like it used to. That could also be troubling for the Golden Knights entering 2024-25. He might suffer a minor dip once the campaign ends due to the aforementioned injury problems.

Alex Pietrangelo

This one hurts because this was arguably the biggest free agent signing in Vegas Golden Knights history. Alex Pietrangelo filled the need of a first-pair defenseman perfectly, blocking 581 shots, creating 222 takeaways, and making 205 hits in his four seasons. He guided the team to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history behind his sacrifice, making him one of the best blue-liners in the past decade.

However, everything good has a time limit, especially when it comes to elite defensemen. His defensive stats dropped from his Stanley Cup-winning season across the board. That included his blocked shots (177 in 2022-23 compared to 160 last season), hits (65 hits in 2022-23 compared to 46 in 2023-24), and takeaways (56 takeaways in the Stanley Cup-winning year compared to 50 in 2023-24).

That also goes for his offensive production, where he's scored fewer goals from 2022-23 (11 compared to four last season) and assists (43 compared to 29 last season). It's tough seeing a great blue-liner fall off regarding production. But being 34 years old doesn't help his cause, specifically when he's slowing down in his career.