Golden Knights Offseason Outlook: Who Stays, Who Goes?

“I think when you build a team, you want to build a team that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup,” McCrimmon said. “I think this team did that… So from that standpoint, it’s disappointing because we fell short of what we anticipated that we would.”

Goaltending in these playoffs was also a significant emphasis, and not in the way many thought. Adin Hill set foot into the postseason as one of the better 16 goaltenders among playoff teams, and that held until it didn’t. He was pulled in Games 2 and 3 in Round 1 against the Wild for Akira Schmid.

Hill signed a six-year extension with the Golden Knights in March of this year and will be the goaltender in Vegas for the distant future, but you have to wonder what caused this playoff slump. At times, he was at the top of his game, but other times, it wasn’t a pretty story.

Make no mistake: the Golden Knights have some hard questions to answer this offseason, starting with the roster. They face a couple of roster gaps, limited cap flexibility, and few solutions in the cupboard.

Looking at the Roster

While the 2025-26 season may still be a few months away, now’s the right time to take stock of the roster and identify where the Golden Knights have holes to fill. The majority of their free agents are forwards, but here’s the full list of pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and restricted free agents (RFAs):

Compared to the losses in free agency last offseason, this likely won’t be a noisy offseason with nine UFAs/RFAs to deal with; the only problem comes down to cap space. As of the end of the 2024-25 season, they have $71,000 in cap space. Clearly, little to no room to work with.

Yet, they are projected to have $9.62 million in cap space according to PuckPedia entering free agency, which still isn’t much but gives some wiggle room.

The priority should be Hague, as he rounds out the top six on defense and has played an integral role defensively. The Golden Knights do have depth, with youngster Kaedan Korczak waiting patiently for his turn at a full-time role with the NHL club. However, Hague has proved himself since being drafted by Vegas in 2017.

An original misfit, Smith, also stands out as someone who has expressed his desire to be in Vegas. He’s stated numerous times that his family loves the city, and being in Vegas brings the best out of him. Notably, he had the game-winning goal this postseason with 0.4 seconds left in Game 3 in Round 2 against Edmonton.

Olofsson and Pearson, the other bigger names on the list, combined for a lot of the Golden Knights’ depth scoring during the regular season. Oloffson was in and out of the lineup, and Pearson had a solid season. Saad was picked up in late January after being placed on waivers by the St. Louis Blues and then signed with Vegas.

For the others, Røndbjerg, Schwindt, and Holtz didn’t provide much, with Holtz being the only one out of this bunch to play more than 50 games in the regular season.

In net, they have Samsonov, who was injured and wasn’t available to back up Hill during the playoffs, but had a nice regular season, finishing with a record of 16-9-4 and an average save percentage of .891 in 29 games. Given the depth in net, it’s not likely Samsonov will return to Vegas next season.

With that in mind, here’s how the current roster shapes up, minus the pending free agents.

A handful of holes on the forward side need to be filled this offseason if they don’t plan on re-signing more than one of the listed pending UFAs. Hague is the lone defenseman, but all expectations point toward his return to Vegas next season.

For the others, however, that’s where things can get tricky. Fan favorite Smith has said he’d love to come back, but it’d have to be a contract that fits the team, which time will only tell if that happens.

Free agency kicks off on July 1, like always, and McCrimmon will be busy. However, with limited cap space, his moves may not be as flashy as those we’ve seen him make in the past.

Interesting Offseason Ahead For Golden Knights

The Golden Knights find themselves in an interesting spot. A return to the playoffs feels likely, but how deep they can go is up for debate. Limited cap space leaves little room for major moves, even with most of the roster returning. One way or another, McCrimmon has a pivotal offseason ahead and plenty of questions to answer.