The Vegas Golden Knights are the final team we’ll look at in this seven-article series.

Winners of the 2023 Stanley Cup, the Golden Knights made three sizable trades prior to the 2024 trade deadline, but finished as the eighth-seed in the Western Conference. They weren’t your typical eighth-seed though thanks to a returning Mark Stone, and they took the Dallas Stars to seven games in the first round and even blew a 2-0 series lead in the process.

Looking to get back to glory, the Golden Knights have made a handful of trades and signings, but had a few notable departures early in free agency. Let’s take a look at how their off-season has shaped up!

Since joining the National Hockey League before the beginning of the 2017-18 season, the team only has one first-round pick drafted prior to the 2024 draft still in the organization, Brendan Brisson.

Despite all their moves at the trade deadline, such as moving a first to acquire Noah Hanifin and another first to acquire Tomáš Hertl, the Golden Knights picked 19th-overall in the 2024 draft. With this selection, they drafted Trevor Connelly.

We won’t look at the off-ice incident he’s known for, but the 18-year-old scored 31 goals and 78 points in 52 games with the Tri-City Storm in 2023-24. The left winger is committed to play for Providence College next season.

The Knights selected netminder Pavel Moysevich with their third-round pick from SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. Their last two picks were in the sixth and seventh-round, picking Trent Swick and Lucas Van Vliet.

Prior to the 2024 draft, the Golden Knights made a handful of moves. First, they shipped netminder Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals for the 83rd-overall pick as well as a 2025 third-round pick.

Later that day, they acquired netminder Akria Schmid from the Devils, along with 2020 seventh-overall pick, Alexander Holtz. The Golden Knights gave up Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick.

Holtz had a career-year with the Devils in 2023-24, scoring 16 goals and 28 points in 82 games, but he never found his footing with the Devils. Last season, Thompson had a .908 save percentage and a 2.65 goals-against average in 46 games, while Schmid had an .895 save percentage and a 3.15 goals-against average in 19 games played.

The last minor move of the draft saw the Knights trade their 212nd-overall pick for the Capitals’ 2025 sixth-round pick.

Just before the end of the 2023-24 season, the Knights agreed to an eight-year, $58.8 million deal with former Calgary Flames defenceman, Noah Hanifin. It wasn’t until the start of free agency on July 1 that they signed another player.

The Knights have always been a team that makes their big transactions in the middle of the season, meaning it was a pretty quiet off-season for the 2023 Stanley Cup champions. In the early days of free agency, they agreed to league-minimum deals with Zach Aston-Reese, Tanner Laczynski, Robert Hagg, and Cal Burke.

Moreover, Kaedan Korczak was re-signed to two-year deal at $825,000, while forward Pavel Dorofeyev re-signed to a two-year, $3.67 million deal. Also re-signing was netminder Akria Schmid to a two-year deal at $875,000 after he was originally non-tendered to become an unrestricted free agent.

The most notable acquisition in free agency for the Knights was Victor Olofsson, who agreed to a one-year, $1.075 million deal. Last season with the Sabres, he scored seven goals and 15 points in 51 games, but had 28 goals and 40 points the season before, as well as a career-high 49 points in 2021-22.

To shore up their goaltending, the Knights also signed former Toronto Maple Leafs’ netminder Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $1.8 million deal. Last season, he had an .890 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average in what was another first round exit for the Leafs. However, the 27-year-old had a .919 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average in 42 games in 2022-23.

The Knights made some solid additions this off-season, but the loss of Jonathan Marchessault will hurt them. One of the original misfits, the undrafted 33-year-old scored a career-high 42 goals and 69 points in 82 games, both a career-high, but departed the Knights for the Nashville Predators.

Another notable departure was Chandler Stephenson, who left for the Seattle Kraken. Last season, Stephenson scored 16 goals and 51 points, but had a career-high 65 points in 2022-23, as well as a career-high 21 goals in 2021-22.

Anthony Mantha signed with the Calgary Flames, while roster players Michael Amadio and William Carrier took their talents to the Eastern Conference, Amadio signed with the Ottawa Senators and Carrier with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, while netminder Jiří Patera signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Layton Ahac signed an American Hockey League deal with the Abbotsford Canucks. Byron Froese and Sheldon Rempal signed in the Kontinental Hockey League as well, while Mikhail Vorobyev’s NHL rights expired.

Mason Primeau remains as an unrestricted free agent.

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