Predicting the Vegas Golden Knights lines for 2025-26

1.) Pavel Dorofeyev-Jack Eichel-Mitch Marner

When constructing this roster, something stuck out to me. It was this quote that was interesting and described the Golden Knights' current top line situation to a tee.

Fans know what Marner and Eichel can do. But what about the other wing?

Certainly, you can't put a player like Mark Stone on that line if McCrimmon makes that quote. This past season's output (19 goals and 48 assists) says it all. As for Ivan Barbashev? Forget about it. 48 goals in three seasons with Vegas had made him a non-factor.

So why not give Pavel Dorofeyev a promotion of sorts? The Russian winger led the team in goals scored last season with 35. He also scored 13 goals on the power play, turning the unit into the second-best unit in the league (28.3%).

If McCrimmon is serious about someone shooting the puck, he should look no further than the 24-year-old. He led the team in total shots in 2024-25 with 253, making him the ideal candidate for the top line.

2.) Brandon Saad-Tomas Hertl-Mark Stone

So I was sent a line proposal from one of my X followers (thank you, Dean Jones!) and there was a trade involving Evan Rodrigues. I looked at the line setup and saw that Mark Stone was on the third line while Brandon Saad was on the second unit.

The explanation was that Saad played extremely well with Tomas Hertl and Dorofeyev. I dug deeper and, lo and behold, that statement was true (stats courtesy of MoneyPuck, minimum of 150 minutes played)!

Saad and Hertl played off each other well. Both had an aggressive approach to the net, attacking whether it was up front or near the faceoff circle. Therefore, that was a concession I made in earnest.

But why not give Stone some time on the line, especially with Dorofeyev getting his promotion? His two-way game is perfect for the group, making the group a shutdown unit. Let's give the best of both worlds!