The Vegas Golden Knights were back on the ice on Thursday for Day 1 of training camp just three months after hoisting the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The Golden Knights will look to defend their title as repeat champions, and they will do so with most of the same lineup that clinched the victory back on June 13.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon said the Golden Knights are “fortunate to be able to keep our team almost entirely intact, which has been tough for past champions to do.”
The Golden Knights are coming off their most memorable offseason thanks to the extended Cup celebration. However, as far as roster management is concerned, it was a relatively quiet few months, with only a handful of changes made to a team that never faced an elimination game en route to 16 wins and Lord Stanley’s prize.
But one of the moves McCrimmon made involved a core piece of the franchise, as Reilly Smith became the first cap casualty of the post-Cup era. Smith was sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2024 third-round draft pick just weeks after scoring the series-clinching goal in Game 5 against the Panthers.
Smith was an original Golden Misfit after being acquired from Florida for a fourth-round draft pick during the 2017 expansion draft. He went on to play 399 games (124-162–286) for the Golden Knights and is second all-time in Vegas playoff scoring with 66 points (18-48–66) in 88 contests.
Vegas shipped Smith’s $5 million cap hit to Pittsburgh in order to accommodate the pending five-year, $25 million extension for Ivan Barbashev, who proved to be a perfect fit in Sin City after coming over from St. Louis at the deadline.
Smith’s departure accounts for the lone position up for grabs during training camp. The Golden Knights are considering four players for the left-wing slot on William Karlsson’s line: Paul Cotter, Pavel Dorofeyev, Brendan Brisson and Max Comtois.
Cotter was given the first chance to fight for that role, as he skated with Karlsson and Michael Amadio on Day 1 of camp.
“Paul deserves that,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He was the most veteran of the guys.”
Originally drafted in the fourth round (No. 115 overall) in 2018, Cotter scored 13 goals and 18 points in 55 games last year as a rookie. He was effective throughout the lineup in the 2022-23 season, and his combination of scoring, physicality and speed continues to make him a versatile option up front.
Though Cotter has the most NHL experience, this is still a four-man race.
Cassidy said the players will have to “determine who’s ahead of who” and that he couldn’t say who will be on Karlsson’s line on opening night. “That will sort itself out in the next 17 days. … Hopefully they’ll push each other and it’s a tough decision. That’s what we want; we want internal competition, we want tough decisions, and we’ll go from there.”
But the Vegas bench boss said Cotter and Dorofeyev are “ready to take the next step.”
Dorofeyev demonstrated an impressive level of skill last season and boasts dynamic finishing ability, making him another strong candidate for the position.
The former 2019 third-round pick (No. 79 overall) missed several months with an injury but scored seven goals and nine points in a 10-game stretch from March 12 through April 3. Though he didn’t crack the lineup during Vegas’ championship run, he played a key role in helping the Golden Knights secure home-ice advantage throughout the postseason after playing in 15 of the final 16 games of the year.
Brisson already has the jersey for the job after recently switching to No. 19, notably worn by Smith in his six seasons with the Golden Knights. Brisson reached out to several Golden Knights veterans, including Smith, before making the change to the number he’s worn for most of his life. Smith’s response? “Just make sure you take care of her.”
But Brisson wants more than just Smith’s former jersey number. He’s hoping to follow up an impressive showing in rookie camp with a compelling performance that will garner the attention of the coaching staff.
He is the only one of the four who has yet to make his NHL debut, though this is his first legitimate opportunity to make the roster out of camp. The former 2020 first-round draft pick (No. 29) scored 18 goals and 37 points in 58 games with the Henderson Silver Knights last year. His fantastic shot is his greatest asset, and it’s what could propel him to the front of the pack.
The fourth player in the mix is the lone addition to the club in Comtois, who signed a PTO earlier this month after Anaheim decided not to issue him a qualifying offer.
Comtois has had his fair share of success against the Golden Knights, particularly in the shortened 2020-21 season when he scored five goals and six points in eight games against Vegas. The 24-year-old led the Ducks in scoring that year with a team-high 16 goals and 33 points. But his production has since faded, as he has just 15 combined goals in his last 116 games.
Cassidy said Vegas likes Comtois’ “pedigree” and the fact that “he’s a big-bodied guy that gets to the net, and he scores his goals usually from the top of the circles down.”
But he’s the only player without a contract, so he’ll have to be a standout to make the cut.
Cotter got the first look on Karlsson’s line, but there should be a healthy rotation throughout training camp. It will be a key storyline to track, especially with regards to who plays with Karlsson in preseason action.
At the end of the day, the Golden Knights kicked off training camp and expect to start the season with very similar lines to the ones that made Vegas the last team standing last year, which is the goal for 2023-24.
“We’re here to win a Cup,” Cassidy said. “We feel we’re in a good position to repeat.”
Though he maintained the same one-day-at-a-time demeanor he employed in his first season behind the Vegas bench, Cassidy was clear about his belief in this club.
“I feel we have as good a chance as anybody. … It’s just what I feel about our team, where each player is in their career and where we are as a team. But until you get out there, it’s wide open. We’re on Day 1, but, like I said, I like our chances.”