So what should the Golden Knights do?
The Vegas Golden Knights did make some offseason moves to remedy the situation. First, they traded Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid. The Swedish winger is 22 years old and scored 16 goals in a full 82-game season in 2023-24.
There's some belief from the Devils organization that Holtz was underwhelming and played poorly away from the puck. That also coincided with the franchise leaning toward other stars such as Dawson Mercer. Whether that's the case with the Golden Knights remains to be seen. However, he could provide a cure for the ailing wing depth.
As for Victor Olofsson, he fell off a cliff in his last season with the Buffalo Sabres. The winger scored seven goals and eight assists in 51 games. The Golden Knights are banking on another Swedish winger to put up respectable numbers and Olofsson could be that guy. He might look nice on the lower lines, especially with players like Keegan Kolesar.
That might work for Vegas this season with the tremendous upside of both acquisitions. After all, the upside from these moves would launch them to the front of the Stanley Cup contention line. However, they might stall and leave the production to a standstill. That would be bad news for a Golden Knights team looking to win another Stanley Cup.