Looking at the defensive pairings for the Vegas Golden Knights

It's always good to reunite with an old friend, especially if they come from the same state as you. Jack Eichel was given this luxury when the Vegas Golden Knights acquired his Massachusetts buddy, Noah Hanifin, from the Calgary Flames in March. The goal was getting the power play to jump-start (along with the overall offense), where the team could finally be a legitimate scoring threat.

His tenure was a resounding success, for he scored 10 assists and two power play goals in 18 games with the team. His presence was rewarded to the point where he received a nice contract extension, making him a Golden Knight for eight more years. Could his new contract be a sign of what's to come for Jack Eichel? Stay tuned.

But that brings up a bigger point about the defensive pairings. The Golden Knights certainly aren't suffering from a shortage of blue-liners. That includes offensive specialists like Shea Theodore and huge bodies like Nicolas Hague. The stacked defensive lineup has come with its consequences, including a piping-hot rumor mill for offloading bloated contracts.

Still, having a stacked defenseman room isn't a bad thing. It allows Kelly McCrimmon to make moves accordingly, where he can acquire big names like Mitch Marner in a deal. It also gives the Golden Knights flexibility if one of the blue-liners goes down. If a player like Theodore gets hurt, Vegas can insert a player like Ben Hutton or Kaeden Korczak into the lineup.

Looking at the Vegas Golden Knights defensive pairings

For the first unit, the Vegas Golden Knights are expected to roll out Noah Hanifin and Alex Pietrangelo. While Jack Eichel's buddy is younger and expected to fill the 1D role for a long time, Pietrangelo is starting to experience some wear on his body. That has led to a drop in takeaways (50 last season compared to 93 in 2021-22) and a spike in the percentage of unblocked shots that missed the net (31.6% in 2023-24 compared to 27% in 2021-22). That's not to say he's a bad player now. However, the mileage on Pietrangelo's body will show during the season, when he's not as swift or imposing as before.

The second unit provides more balance with Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb. Theodore acts in a similar role to Hanifin and Pietrangelo. He kickstarts the offense and is expected to do the same this season. McNabb is the more defensive-minded player, acting as an important cog on the forecheck. That means using his body at every turn and doing whatever it takes to create turnovers and transition opportunities.

Finally, the third unit is the grind-it-out pair. Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud find their purpose in constricting their opponents defensively. That will be done by taking away shooting lanes and closing gaps quickly. The good news about this group is they're younger than the first two pairs, making them the team's sparkplug.