Golden Knights add Marner with eye on return to Stanley Cup Final

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2025-26 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the Vegas Golden Knights:

2024-25 season: 50-22-10; first in the Pacific Division; lost in Western Conference Second Round

Key arrivals

Mitch Marner, F: The 28-year-old forward was acquired in a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1. Marner gives the Golden Knights more offensive firepower after he had a career-best 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 81 games last season. … Jeremy Lauzon, D: The hard-hitting defenseman was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on June 30 for Nicolas Hague and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. The 28-year-old had one assist in 28 games last season and will be competing for time on the team’s third pair. … Colton Sissons, F: The 31-year-old, acquired along with Lauzon in the deal with Nashville, had 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 72 games last season. … Jaycob Megna, D: The 32-year-old defenseman is another third-pair option after signing a two-year contract July 1. He played eight games for the Florida Panthers last season. … Cole Reinhardt, F: The 25-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1. A depth forward, he had a goal and an assist in 17 games for the Ottawa Senators last season. … Dylan Coghlan, D: The 26-year-old returns to Vegas, where he had 19 points (six goals,13 assists) in 88 games between 2020-22, on a one-year contract after playing six games with the Winnipeg Jets last season.

Key departures

Alex Pietrangelo, D: The Golden Knights announced June 30 that the 35-year-old will not play this season because of a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup champion had 33 points (4 goals, 29 assists) in 71 games last season. … Nicolas Roy, F: The 28-year-old had 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 71 games before he was sent to the Maple Leafs in the deal for Marner. He spent the past six years with Vegas. … Nicolas Hague, D: The 26-year-old, who also spent the past six seasons in Vegas, had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 68 games last season before he was traded to Nashville in the deal for Sissons and Lauzon. … Victor Olofsson, F: The 30-year-old has not re-signed after he had 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 56 games last season. ... Ilya Samsonov, G: The 28-year-old remains an unrestricted free agent; he went 16-9-4 with a 2.82 goals-against average, .891 save percentage and two shutouts in 29 games last season.

On the cusp

Trevor Connelly, F: Selected in the first round (No. 19) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Connelly signed a three-year, entry-level contract April 1. The 19-year-old had 14 points (four goals, nine assists) in 23 games with Providence College last season before joining Henderson of the American Hockey League and posting four points (one goal, three assists) in six games. … Carl Lindbom, G: The 22-year-old will compete for the backup role after completing his first AHL season. A seventh-round pick (No. 222) in the 2021 NHL Draft, he was 18-15-2 with a 2.65 GAA, .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games with Henderson last season. … Lukas Cormier, D: The 23-year-old, selected by Vegas in the third round (No. 68) of the 2020 Draft, missed most of last season with undisclosed injury; he had nine assists in 19 games with Henderson last season.

What they still need

The Golden Knights have improved their offense with the addition of Marner, but they must find consistent depth on defense. The departures of Pietrangelo and Hague, who played top-pair minutes, will force Vegas to elevate certain players. There also remains doubt as to whether Akira Schmid can fill the backup goalie spot on a full-time basis.

They said it

“This was a spot that was very high on my list. I wanted to come here. Kind of went back to my agent and said, ‘I'm open to doing this if we can find a way to do it.’ A couple hours later, we had a deal going on. Very fortunate. This is the place we want to be. We don't want to lose that opportunity.” -- Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner

EDGE stat to watch

The Golden Knights led the NHL in midrange shots on goal (761) and were tied for first in midrange goals (94) last season. Forwards Pavel Dorofeyev (96 midrange SOG; 98th percentile) and Jack Eichel (93 midrange SOG; 97th percentile) both excelled in those areas last season as the duo combined for 26 midrange goals (14 by Dorofeyev, 12 by Eichel). With the addition of Marner, who ranked in the 95th percentile with 12 midrange goals last season for the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights are likely to be an even more powerful offense in 2025-26. -- Troy Perlowitz

Fantasy spin

Dorofeyev led Vegas with a career-high 35 goals and 254 shots on goal in 82 games last season. He also set NHL career highs in power-play goals (13), power-play points (17), game-winning goals (seven) and average ice time (16:32). Dorofeyev's 22-goal improvement from 2023-24 (13 goals in 47 games) was the second largest jump among NHL players (minimum 40 games played in each season) behind only Aliaksei Protas of the Washington Capitals (plus-24). Dorofeyev could improve his goal total even more this season with the addition of Marner, who ranks second in primary assists since 2018-19 (281 in 498 games) and third in total assists (312 in 357 games) since 2020-21. -- Chris Meaney

Projected lineup

Pavel Dorofeyev -- Jack Eichel -- Mitch Marner

Ivan Barbashev -- Tomas Hertl -- Mark Stone

Brandon Saad -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith

Brett Howden -- Colton Sissons -- Keegan Kolesar

Shea Theodore -- Brayden McNabb

Noah Hanifin -- Zach Whitecloud

Jeremy Lauzon -- Kaedan Korczak

Adin Hill

Akira Schmid