Who has the most defensive point shares in Vegas Golden Knights history?

The Vegas Golden Knights have forged an identity as being one of the best defensive teams in the NHL since 2017-18. They've made it tough for opponents to score by having a strong forecheck, creating turnovers, and closing gaps effectively. In turn, it's led to six Stanley Cup playoff appearances and a championship. That's pretty good for a team that started in 2017.

Thanks to players like Shea Theodore, Alex Pietrangelo, and Brayden McNabb, the defensive identity has never been stronger. That's especially true with the team carrying seven blue-liners this season, giving them depth at the position. Injuries won't be much of a problem compared to their offensive counterparts, where there's not much positional strength. It even provides them trading chips for a bigger deal, where they can fill the void in the top line.

Of course, this is nothing new for the Golden Knights, who've had good defenders and goaltenders throughout its short history. But let's focus on the blue line stars for a second. Who's the most valuable player when it comes to defending the puck? Who's the quintessential forecheck and defender on the Golden Knights? Let's see who leads the franchise all-time in defensive point shares.

Brayden McNabb has the most defensive point shares in Vegas Golden Knights history

Many factors go into defensive point shares. For example, marginal goals against are calculated into the total. Here, it consists of (1 + (7/12)) * (team games) * (league goals per game) - (team goals against). Other factors that play into this include ice time, the position adjustment, and the plus/minus adjustment. For the full definition, check out Hockey Reference's explanation.

As for the franchise leader, that belongs to Brayden McNabb, who has a total of 26.8. He barely beat out Shea Theodore, who came in with 24.3 point shares. Alex Pietrangelo was third with 15.1, while William Karlsson had 14.1. Alec Martinez came in fifth place with 13.8, following Karlsson closely.

There are other notable names on the list, including Nate Schmidt and Jonathan Marchessault. The two stars finished sixth and seventh respectively, with Schmidt compiling 12.6 point shares. Marchessault had 12.1, finishing 0.1 ahead of Nicolas Hague for the seventh spot. He also finished 0.3 ahead of Zach Whitecloud, who was ninth all-time (11.8). Finishing 10th was Reilly Smith with 10.7.

There's no doubt the Golden Knights have created an identity of being a strong defensive team. They've galvanized their forecheck by creating turnovers and tightening gaps, making them one of the toughest NHL teams to score on. McNabb has a hand in this, blocking shots and laying out incredible hits for Vegas.