Ten bold predictions for the Golden Knights in 2024-25

LAS VEGAS – The NHL regular season is just around the corner. The Golden Knights will open their eighth season on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena, and given the roster turnover this offseason, it appears there is more uncertainty surrounding the team than in recent years.

The strong defense remains, and the Golden Knights will lean heavily on it after losing a lot of offensive production to free agency. These changes open up opportunities for new players to take on larger roles, making predicting how this season will play out more challenging – and a little more fun.

It's that time of year for bold predictions, so I'm going to try to be extra bold. In my opinion: These will almost certainly be wrong by the end of the season anyway, so why not have a little fun?

So here we are, 10 bold predictions for the Golden Knights' 2024-25 season.

Eichel will set a new career high in terms of goals

Jack Eichel typically looks to pass first, especially during his time with the Golden Knights, but with the loss of the primary beneficiary of those passes (Jonathan Marchessault), I expect Vegas to lean more on his scoring prowess this season.

The current plan is for Eichel to play between Ivan Barbashev and Victor Olofsson, and while there's a chance that one of the two has a career year, I think it's more likely that Eichel is looking for his own shot more than he did in the last two seasons Vegas.

Eichel only scored 11 power play goals last season. I expect that number to increase and for his total to go beyond his previous career high of 36 goals (2019-20 in Buffalo).

Dorofeev will be second on the team in goals

Pavel Dorofeyev scored 13 goals in 47 games for the Golden Knights last year – a rate of about 23 goals in 82 games. That's not bad for his first full year in the NHL, and he's in a perfect position for an offensive breakout year two.

Coach Bruce Cassidy paired William Karlsson and Mark Stone on the second line and tried out several wingers on the third line throughout camp. Dorofeev looked the most impressive of the group and fits the line well stylistically.

If he spends most of the season playing goalie on a line with two of the team's best passers, Dorofeyev will have plenty of scoring opportunities. He's certainly not the favorite to finish second on the team in goals, but the results are within his range and that's why these predictions are called bold.

For the first time ever, the Golden Knights finish in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring

The last prediction was partly a result of my confidence in Dorofeyev's development and chances, but was also a result of my concern for all teams' goal scoring. In their seven-year history, the Golden Knights have never finished worse than 14th in the league in goals scored, but I think that's changing this year.

I think that with less scoring talent on the roster, Vegas will expand its strength on defense even further and play in much tougher games with fewer scoring chances this season.

Vegas will be tied for the league lead in shutouts

This prediction continues the theme of expecting a more defensive mentality from the Golden Knights. Vegas only had three shutouts last season – 24th in the league – but I expect them to throw out more than a few this year.

Adin Hill hasn't been the most consistent goalie in the league, mostly due to injuries, but when he's at it, he's incredibly hard to beat. He should surpass his career high of two (which he's done three times in a row), and I expect a shutout or two from Ilya Samsonov as a 1B.

Vegas will lead the NHL in blocked shots

This prediction is admittedly not as bold as the others, as the Golden Knights have been among the top seeds every season for years. I think they have more to come this season, even with the loss of standout blocker Alec Martinez.

Cassidy's zone defense not only keeps defenders closer to the net, but also allows them to watch the puck a little more often, making it easier to get into the shooting lanes. Add to that the fact that I expect Vegas to have fewer shot attempts than their opponent on most nights, and the result is a lot of blocked shots.

Hanifin will set a new career high for assists

Since Noah Hanifin came over at the trade deadline last season, he has been a perfect fit for the Golden Knights. His smooth running and quick passing style fit together perfectly, and I expect that to get even better in his first full season in Las Vegas.

Hanifin's career-high 38 assists came during the 2021-22 season in Calgary and I think he will easily surpass that mark. Last season he had 10 helpers in 19 games with Vegas (an 82-game pace of 43). This was without a full offseason and camp to build chemistry. This may be the best season of Hanifin's career so far.

Hertl will score fewer than 24.5 goals

No, I didn't pull this number out of thin air. Bet MGM offers total goal betting lines for 66 different players this season, and Tomas Hertl's number is 24.5. Hertl has only reached that mark twice in his 11-year NHL career and hasn't done so since 2021-22 (when he played 82 games).

He currently plays on the third line with Brett Howden and Alexander Holtz, so I'll go with the story on that one.

Vegas will have more shots on goal than any other season in franchise history

If there's one noticeable change in the Golden Knights' style of play over the course of camp and preseason, it's the emphasis on putting shots in front of opposing goaltenders. They worked on it a lot in training and are clearly looking for these moves in the preseason games. Cassidy said the hope is to score playoff-style goals in the regular season to prepare for the postseason.

The Golden Knights have never really used this strategy in the past. Their most tipped shots in a single season were 160 in the 2021–22 season (10th in the NHL). I expect them to significantly exceed that number this year.

Laczynski will quadruple his career points total

For my money, no Golden Knight had a better training camp and preseason than Tanner Laczynski. The 27-year-old center was unable to stay in the NHL in his four seasons with the Flyers. He only scored two goals and had two assists in 38 career NHL games, but his raw offensive talent was evident from the moment he stepped on the ice in Las Vegas.

Laczynski has an excellent wrist shot with a deceptive shot and has shown the ability to play with quality offensive players in limited preseason action. He's stuck behind a backlog of talented centermen in Vegas and will almost certainly start the year in the AHL, but should be one of the first draftees if needed.

I'll go all out and say that Laczynski quadrupled his career points to 16 by the end of the season.

Vegas finishes second in the Pacific Division

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Golden Knights' start to this season, but the same goes for many of their division opponents. The reigning Pacific champions in Vancouver now face uncertainty in net due to the absence of Thatcher Demko. The Kings will be without Drew Doughty for some time and will lean on Darcy Kuemper in net, who finished a season in Washington with a save percentage of .890.

The truth is, the Oilers should probably walk away with this division, and I believe Las Vegas' defense and goaltending prowess is enough to push them into second place in a competitive Pacific race.

(Photo by Jack Eichel: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)