Does the Path Forward Get Murkier for the Golden Knights After Second-Round Stumble?

The Vegas Golden Knights‘ season is over after a 1-0 overtime loss in Game 5 against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Kasperi Kapanen had the game-winning goal, sneaking past a helpless Adin Hill lying on the ice. The ending seemed inevitable.

The Golden Knights struggled in several aspects of their game in Round 2 against the Oilers, and their lack of goal-scoring ultimately ended their season. Stuart Skinner shut them out in back-to-back games, going the last 127 minutes of the series without a goal.

Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Hub

It was a sour ending to a strong regular season. Vegas finished first in the Pacific Division for the fourth time in its first eight seasons and was one of five teams to win over 50 games. With their postseason exit, here’s a look at what to expect this offseason.

Oilers Were Better Than Golden Knights

When the Golden Knights look back on this series, they’ll likely see a collage of missed opportunities. In Game 1, they held a 2-0 lead early in the first period thanks to a pair of goals from Mark Stone, but lost 4-2.

Game 2 showcased many of the same missed opportunities. In overtime, after Nicolas Roy was assessed a major penalty, the Oilers had a five-minute power play and failed to convert. Despite the Golden Knights having all the momentum, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would go down the ice minutes after and score the series winner.

“No disrespect to the others, but we feel like we’re the two kings of the division and we’re going to have to go through each other to get where we want to go,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “This is probably not a one-off” (from ‘After second-round exit, is Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup window closing?,’ The Athletic, 11/18/22).

Reilly Smith was the hero in Game 3, scoring a goal with 0.4 seconds left to give the Golden Knights their first win of the series. However, it was all downhill from there. Following the dramatic finish to Game 3, the Oilers shut them out in Games 4 and 5. The Oilers’ drive to return to the Stanley Cup Final was stronger than the Golden Knights’ desire to win, and it showed.

Is Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup Window Closing?

While the series brought a disappointing end to a solid season, the most crucial question is whether the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup window is closing. They have made the playoffs every year they’ve been in the league except for 2021-22. Now, with an aging core, it looks like their run could be ending.

The team’s captain, Stone, is 33, Alex Pietrangelo is 35, William Karlsson is 32, and Tomáš Hertl is 32. With most of the Golden Knights on the backside of 30 years old, they don’t have much time left. Meanwhile, their ‘younger’ core group of players include Noah Hanifin, who is 28; Jack Eichel, who is 28; Roy, who is 28; and Hill, who is 29. There’s also no pending rebuild with many players having full no-movement clauses.

Are the Golden Knights among the premier Stanley Cup contenders anymore? Looking at teams like the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and even the Oilers, the best of the best, Vegas might be a level below. The team has little draft capital and limited cap space, so the future is murky, especially if this playoff rut continues next season.

What Does Vegas’ Offseason Look Like?

Next up is the 2025 NHL Draft, held at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The Golden Knights have six picks but no first-round pick, which was traded to the San Jose Sharks as part of the Hertl trade during the 2024 Trade Deadline. However, they still have their second and third round picks, which could be used to add some prospects to the pipeline. With Trevor Connelly highlighting the prospect pool at the moment, adding some depth wouldn’t hurt.

Shortly after the draft, the free-agent market will open. The Golden Knights have about $10.5 million in cap space to work with, while Victor Olofsson, Reilly Smith, Tanner Pearson, Brandon Saad, and Ilya Samsonov are all unrestricted free agents, and Nicolas Hague is the only restricted free agent. The Golden Knights will have work to do this summer, especially if they want to make more noise next season.

Golden Knights Shift Focus to Offseason

The Golden Knights’ future is uncertain; there’s no doubt about that. Since 2018, their rise to fame with a Stanley Cup and many more acolytes has been impressive, but this run of success may be ending, and this Round 2 loss to the Oilers stings more than others.