Noah Hanifin had a Stanley Cup Final to forget. He only posted one assist throughout the entire series, leaving the Vegas Golden Knights in second place. To go even further, he didn't have a single point against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
People love to point the blame at Carter Hart for allowing four goals in nearly every Stanley Cup Final game. However, he wasn't the only problem, nor was he the biggest. The Golden Knights' defensive unit didn't do enough to help Hart out, nor did they do anything else productive during the series.
Part of that goes back to Hanifin, who had 41 giveaways (36 in the defensive zone!) during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Sure, his regular season stats were good (116 blocked shots and 25 assists). But he wasn't a clutch player when the Golden Knights called upon him. Now? You have Carolina Hurricanes fans trolling you.
So, let's map out a path for Hanifin to improve from that showing. You don't want to live in the past and let it hamper you in the future. Here's how Hanifin can recover from fading in the Stanley Cup playoffs and help the Vegas Golden Knights win in 2026-27.
How Noah Hanifin can help the Vegas Golden Knights win it all in 2026-27
As mentioned, giveaways can't be happening all the time for the Golden Knights, let alone Hanifin. Last season, he had 98 giveaways, down from the 112 he had the season prior. However, 67 of those were in the defensive zone, putting the goaltending in a compromised position. You can't do that in the Stanley Cup playoffs, specifically the Final. Otherwise, your opponent will cook you.
That's what happened to Carter Hart, which explains the near-four-goals-per-game tally during the Final. Often, the netminder was left to fend for himself whenever Hanifin or Rasmus Andersson turned the puck over in the defensive zone. As a result, he had little time to react and got burned.
Yes, you can say that Hart must make these saves. However, those plays don't happen if Hanifin takes care of the puck. The Boston native can also lean into his strength of creating rebounds. Last season, he had 7.1 rebounds created above expected, helping the Golden Knights score goals.
Also, it helps to simply score goals. Scoring 10 goals is good for a defenseman, which is what he did in 2024-25. But socring three and having a goals above expected of -3.4 won't get the job done. Therefore, he must find the net better.
All of these improvements and strengths can equal a strong season for the Olympic gold medalist. The Golden Knights got him from the Calgary Flames, hoping that he'd be a solid fit throughout the entire season. That includes the playoffs, where he must show up when called upon.
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