Is Vegas Primed for Their Most Underwhelming Season Yet?

In their seven year history the Vegas Golden Knights have rarely ever done anything but overachieve, rise above and transcend expectations.

From the Vegas born days of the “Golden Misfits” to hoisting a Stanley Cup in 2023, Vegas has done more in that time than many franchises have done in decades.

Making the postseason in 6 of those 7 years, the Knights boast 2 Stanley cup final appearances, winning one.

Add three Western Conference Final showings and you can see that Vegas hasn't just made the postseason 6 of their 7 years, but have played well into it.

For expansion teams to become successful as quickly as Vegas did is a rarity in the sporting world.

Those who have? Well it typically doesn’t last forever.

The Baltimore Ravens won a championship in 5 years, then took a twelve year hiatus from another Super Bowl.

The Arizona Diamondbacks got a world series victory as soon as four years in, only to go 22 years before another opportunity to win a title presented itself.

In the NBA, Milwaukee showed up with Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and took home a chip 3 years into their existence and made another finals two years after.

But after the hot start came the fall, as Milwaukee would suffer through a 50-year drought before another finals game went Wisconsin’s way.

Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers captured Lord Stanley within 5 years and proved that a team’s fall off didn’t have to come swiftly.

Establishing a dynasty in the 80’s, Edmonton would rack up 5 Stanley Cup’s in 7 years.

Yet the competitive nature of sports always guarantee's a challenge, and the Oilers would eventually fall themselves.

It appeared in the form of a 15-year finals absence lasting from the dawn of the 90’s until 2005.

Success is guaranteed for no one, regardless of status, pedigree or resume.

It isn't a matter of if the Knights will ever slip into mediocrity but when.

5 years? Ten years? 25 years?

After last year’s entertaining, but disappointing loss to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, in which Vegas once held a 2-0 series lead, some are asking if that time has come.

Chief among the doubters may be The Athletic and it's NHL staff in their “Way-too-early predictions” for 2024-2025 that they published in July.

The staff tabbed Vegas at a 28.1 percent chance of being the “Biggest Disappointment”.

The Knights, receiving the 2^nd highest amount of votes only behind Carolina, are cited as lacking forward depth, dealing with inconsistent health concerns and working in a dangerous division.

The reasons of concern are valid, as Vegas watched multiple forwards walk in free agency including fan favorite and original golden misfit, Jonathan Marchessault, a 42-goal scorer.

Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio and even Anthony Manta are all elsewhere.

Plugging in Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz can only do so much to replace that value and that depth.

Injuries? Well they speak for themselves.

The division is debatable, but teams like Seattle and Anaheim should be stiffer competition for the upcoming season.

Whatever reasoning one may come up with, the reality is simple.

Most people outside of Sin City are looking at Vegas as a team that is due for a slip up, a fall down, a decline.

It’s a familiar storyline, but how do the Knights combat it once again?

There’s no easy answer. It will come down to chemistry between Mark Stone and Tomas Hertl, it will come down to health for Adin Hill, and it will come down to a player or two overachieving.

But from a pure non analytical player standpoint, it sure is difficult to write this team off as a major threat for “disappointment” of the year.

History does show us their time is likely nigh, but the only sure fire way to know is by taking the ice.

Vegas will look to strengthen the fortress and rise again when they start the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday the 9^th of October.