Vegas Golden Knights 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Vegas Golden Knights 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights had 108 points in the regular season. By the way, this is what this is. It’s a regular season preview. Let’s not talk about the playoffs. Let’s not talk about that seven that that fivegame series against Edmonton in the second round. Let’s talk about the Vegas Golden Knights. Overunder set at 106 a 12. They had 108 last year and they added Mitch Mner. So, where do we have the Vegas Golden Knights this year? They were second in the conference uh last year. I am climbing the ropes. Okay. And I am Macho Man Randy Savage elbow dropping the over as hard as I can. Yeah. You think so? Yeah. Okay. Now, even that’s that’s without Alex Petrangelo, which we’re going to talk about. Jesse, what about you? 106 and a half. Yes. I’m going to take the under. It’s a lot. It is a lot. It’s a lot. So, you’re not as you’re not confident at all. No. 106 points is a lot. Even if they get 106 points, I’d be like, that’s a very successful season. That’s just a lot of points for me to bet on. So, they could win the division with 106. Yeah. I think I’m I’m just doing uh I think a service to my odds on hitting this. So, I’m going to take the under. Okay. So, you can’t talk about these guys without talking about the biggest acquisition of the summer, which is Mitch Mner. Uh he was the the best free agent available. He didn’t even make it to free agency. They were able to work out a deal with the Leafs. So, uh, Mitch Mner added, Nicola Wah subtracted, Alex Petrangelo subtracted, and we didn’t know at the time that Pro wasn’t going to play this year, although it was sort of trending that way. And it’s looking like he may never play again. A lot of hard miles on that body. Uh, let’s start with the addition of Mitch Mner and what it brings to this lineup. Listen, uh, we know him well and we know what he does great and man, Mitch Mner can put together some magic stuff. Yeah. And it’s great because he can sort of help you with everything. Um he’s going to be a factor on your penalty kill. He’s going to be a factor on your power play. If you’re down a goal, he’s going to be a factor in the final 90 seconds. If you’re up a goal, he’s going to be a factor in the final 90 seconds. He’s going to be on your top line. Like he’s a very very significant ad for this team. And uh the the I mean no one not a single person in Toronto would be surprised if he put up a careerhigh in everything right just cuz he can. Not a soul alive living and breathing above the dirt uh would be like oh yeah no he’s good things don’t happen to the Leafs right they don’t. So, the way this usually trends is he’s going to go somewhere and he’s going to have the best season of his life. Jesse, uh, looking like at the start of camp he’s starting with Barbashev and Jack Eel. Uh, pretty solid linemates. Looks a little bit like, uh, with the exception of the shooting power of Austin Matthews, a little like the N Matthews Martner line from last year in terms of player makeup. Uh, what do you think about Mitch Mner’s addition to this team? There’s no reason not to believe that he won’t have maybe the most successful season of his entire career. Like he’s extremely motivated to go to Vegas and show everybody what he can be there outside of Toronto. And this thing can I think is going to be so successful playing with Jack Eel, too, who who’s a different type of player than Austin Matthews. It’s going to be interesting to see Marner play with somebody who has so much speed through the neutral zone cuz that’s where Jack Eel really is successful in his game is he can fly through just like Nathan McKinnon does and get the puck in that way and seeing how Marner’s skills match that cuz it might honestly be a better fit than Matthews. We’ll see how it plays out. But it’s it’s going to be very successful for them this season on that top line. That line’s going to be ridiculous at both ends of the ice. the there’s like very minute things that I have my eye on. Um he hasn’t regularly played with a right-handed center since Tyler Bozac like seven years ago, maybe eight years ago. Played with one guy for more than half a decade. Yeah. And before it was him, it was John Tvaris, right? And and you know, he he just hasn’t played very much with a right-handed center. Uh, I love as a as a fantasy sleeper Ivan Barbashev so so much. His career high isn’t that mind-blowing. It’s 26. He had 23 last year in 70 games. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he had like a Zack Heymanesque where the hell did that come from run and he throws up 30 plus maybe even I’ll say it. Screw it. Flirts with 40 goals. You think so? for a guy whose career high is 26. That line, they’re gonna dominate. They’re going to dominate. Now, we we can’t forget that this team is also a team that features the likes of Thomas Hurdle, Mark Stone, William Carlson. Uh like these are very very good players. We have the uh you know, we had the return of Riley Smith last year. Brandon Saw joined the team late last year. Uh they love what Dorf uh Dorf has has added. Colton Sens was added in in to replace Nicola Was. So there’s been there has been some turnover, but there’s a lot of faces that have been here for a while, too. Yeah, the Marner addition pushes everybody on the right side down. And it’s already a strong right side that started with Mark Stone. And like him being there gives everybody else just like even on the penalty kill, on the power play, every fast of the game, he’s going to affect that. And all these guys who are super talented without Mner now have easier jobs with him there. The defensive burden you’re taking off of Mark Stone uh is One of the biggest positives of adding Mitch Marty, it it could it could make him better. Honestly, for 82 games, Mark Stone’s matchups against the other team are now easier. Yes. Like Mner’s there now to cover that for him. Yes. Uh now without Petrangelo, it’s McNab, Theodore, Hannneathan, Whitecloud, Lozison, Corzac, maybe. Uh so I’m I’m questioning, you know, that that defense does not I it’s still pretty damn good. It’s still very good, but it is not as formidable as it used to be. No. Uh, and and this is like I keep talking about Petrangelo like people are not appreciating how big of a loss this is. I don’t think you’re going to notice it as much through the regular season. I think it’s going to be hell when the playoffs arrive not having that player, but through 82 games. I I they’re a better team. They’re a better regular season team this year than last to me. No question. Might a player like Raspus Anderson change the makeup of that? I wonder. Uh, but we can’t say that in the preview. We don’t know. Well, they’re not You can’t be in on everyone, you know? They can. Yes, sure. You can try, but like they’re in on Raspus Anderson and the rumor is also Carter Hart. Like, yeah. So, how much is Hart going to make? Uh, are you going to get Calgary to retain on Anderson somehow? I just I don’t know how they’re going to make this work. I Maybe it involves trading someone like Brett Hen. Mhm. Um uh I I don’t I don’t know how they’re going to do all this. And one thing that could hurt them is backup goalending. Well, we’ll get to that in a second. I just kind of I wanted to break down that that defense. And the backup goalender is Akira Schmid. Obviously, they’ve got Aiden Hill, won them the Stanley Cup, maybe hasn’t been the same guy since uh in terms of being lights out. Uh but very good goalender, 6.25 million bucks. And you said Akira Schmid might hurt them. Uh and and you know they had IAS Samson off last year. What is it about Akir Schmid that you’re just not uh he’s just not a proven commodity. Like he was he stole the starting job in the playoffs for the Devils a few years ago and then just completely fell into the abyss. So we we’ll see what you got there. I I wonder if they’re scavenging the waiver wire at the beginning of the season to be honest. Well, there going to be a lot of goalies that try to pass through. Jesse, what do you think about the goalending situation in Vegas? It’s It’s not the best. Like, I I honestly think there’s room to upgrade there and that they will. Like, I don’t think this is what they’re going to end the season with at all. I don’t think it’s going to be Hill and and Schmid. So, they probably can, if I can see that, they can see that and they’re going to tweak there in their goalender. So, it’s hard to predict how they’re going to play out when their goalending, I think, is in flux truly and that going to the playoffs, these won’t be those their two guys. We’re we’re grading them more harshly because we think so highly of them. It’s hard to win a division and like if something goes wrong for you. It’s also hard to p poke holes in the Vegas Golden Knights of course, but like if if you get substandard goalending for like a month, that can hurt your chance of winning a division because it’s we’re talking about the best of the best of the best. Bruce Cassidy. Uh, you know, we we rarely mention coaches in this segment, but I think he’s a big part of what the these guys are. I do think they’re one of the better coach teams in the league. I’ve always had a ton of respect for him. He broke my heart several times in Toronto. Um, as coach of the Bruins, and I think if you were to give Bruins management truth serum, as much as Jim Montgomery was a good coach for them, I think they probably wouldn’t have moved on from Bruce Cassidy in retrospect, given that he immediately won a cup afterwards. How do you think a guy like this um adds to a guy like Mitch Mner’s game? Because Mitch is not a guy that’s afraid to learn and to grow. Um and I think that there are there were some questions in Toronto when Bruce went up against Mike Babcock and against Sheldon Keefe that he basically outplayed them uh in the in the coaches battle. Uh where do you think Mitch grows there and also he’s a part of the Olympic uh coaching staff? That’s important. Yeah, that that’s hugely important. and I believe he was part of that staff from fornation faceoff. I think it’ll be a seamless transition cuz Mitch has uh Cassidy will be his fourth NHL coach like and he’s already played with him. I I think it’ll be fine. Jess. Yeah. Like it it’s going to be fun to see him in a new environment. Like Cassidy I don’t think is is like the coaches that Mitch had in Toronto. So, I’m I’m interested to see the style of play they they have in in Vegas with Mitch Martner now there. So, that brings us to predictions. Uh, remember this is a division that looked pretty tight at the top last year. Los Angeles had 105 points. Edmonton, who had a bad start, had 99 and then there was a bit of a fall-off from there. You know, Calgary Flames at 94, just missing the playoffs. Vancouver, Anaheim, Seattle, San Jose. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s difficult for you guys, just like it was difficult for me to not see them winning the division. So, that’s where I have them here. Should we do it all at once on a three shot? Okay. See what we got. All right. All right. Okay. Well, I already gave you mine, but on the count of three. One, two, three. First in the division. No, I already picked Edmonton. Well, I didn’t remember that. You happy to remember that? So, you think Could you have mentioned that a little sooner? Yeah. Like we’re going to remember that, Jesse. Come on, man. Goldfish brain. Yeah, well, of course you know us. I have uh Vegas second. Second in the division. I already had picked Edmonton to win. That was Monday. I don’t freaking couldn’t do a threeount. That was four days ago. I don’t Vegas is going to win the division. There’s your Vegas Golden Knights season preview.

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake preview the upcoming season for the Vegas Golden Knights and predict where they will finish in the Pacific Division.

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