Vegas Golden Knights 2026-27 Preview: Can They Replace Dorofeyev?

Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2025-26, which is a hard result to argue with. But losing Pavel Dorofeyev, who led the team with 37 goals and 20 power-play goals last season, is a significant problem to solve, and the answers so far are more hopeful than certain. Hiring Ryan Craig and locking up Mark Stone are smart moves. Whether the offence fills the Dorofeyev void is the real test.

Last season in review

The Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division at 39-26-17 for 95 points, then rode a hot finish under John Tortorella (7-0-1 in his eight regular-season games) into a run to the Final, where they lost to Carolina in six games. Jack Eichel was the engine, posting 27 goals and 90 points. Mitch Marner added 80 points, and Mark Stone contributed 73. The offence as a whole scored 265 goals, which is a workable number, though the 250 goals allowed suggests the defence and goaltending had some leaky stretches. Akira Schmid, who carried the starter's load with a 16-10-6 record and a .893 save percentage, was not a weakness but was not elite either. The team's real identity was its depth of skill up front and a defence corps that can move pucks.

Ins and outs

• In: Ryan Craig (hired as head coach, replacing John Tortorella)
• In: Victor Olofsson (signed as an unrestricted free agent, one year, $1.64 million)
• In: Marc Gatcomb (signed as an unrestricted free agent)
• In: Parker Wotherspoon (acquired via trade from Pittsburgh for Kaedan Korczak)
• In: Mitch Marner (returning; signed prior to 2025-26)
• In: Noah Hanifin (returning)
• In: Carter Hart (returning)
• Out: Pavel Dorofeyev (traded to the New York Rangers for two first-round picks and a third-round pick; signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with New York)
• Out: Akira Schmid (traded to Florida Panthers for a third-round pick in 2028)
• Out: Keegan Kolesar (traded to Detroit Red Wings)
• Out: Kaedan Korczak (traded to Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Out: Colton Sissons (signed with Toronto Maple Leafs)
• Out: John Tortorella (not retained as head coach)
• Extended: Mark Stone (two-year, $18 million extension through 2028-29)
• Extended: Braeden Bowman (six-year, $20.4 million extension, $3.4 million AAV, beginning 2027-28)

On the injury front, forward Raphael Lavoie is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after getting hurt in the preseason opener against Los Angeles on September 19. [hockey.com]

The big question

Who replaces Dorofeyev's production on the power play? He had 20 power-play goals last season, second in the NHL, and Vegas has not added a direct like-for-like replacement. The plan, according to Craig and the front office, is to make Eichel more of a shooter on the man advantage, but Eichel had only one power-play goal all of last season. That is a significant shift to ask for in year one under a new coach.

X-factor

William Karlsson. He missed 68 games last season and is now healthy heading into camp. When Karlsson is in the lineup and producing at his usual rate, Vegas has another reliable centre who can contribute at both ends. His return gives Craig a much deeper forward group to work with, and a healthy Karlsson could quietly be the difference between Vegas being a fringe playoff team and a genuine Pacific contender again.

Bold prediction

Eichel, freed up as a power-play shooter without Dorofeyev drawing attention, posts his first 30-goal season as a Golden Knight and Vegas returns to the playoffs as a Pacific Division top-three finisher.

The outlook

Vegas is still a legitimate contender. The core of Eichel, Marner, Stone, Karlsson, Theodore, Hanifin, and Carter Hart in goal is as good as almost any group in the West. Craig is an unknown quantity at the NHL head coaching level, but he spent six seasons as an assistant in Vegas and was part of the 2023 Cup staff, so the culture is not foreign to him. The Dorofeyev hole is real, but this roster has enough talent to paper over it if the goaltending takes a step forward and the power play adapts.