Golden Knights to name first captain prior to next season

The Vegas Golden Knights will name their first captain before next season, coach Peter DeBoer said.

"We've got great leadership, a big group of guys that have really taken charge and recognized the opportunity," DeBoer said Thursday.

Since entering the NHL in the 2017-18 season, the Golden Knights have rotated alternate captains, including forwards Max Pacioretty, Reilly Smith and Mark Stone, and defensemen Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt, among others, this season.

Asked if the Vegas players were thinking about the captaincy as they prepare for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, Stone said, "Not right now. This is one of the strongest locker rooms I've ever played with if not the strongest. There's one goal and one goal only, and that's winning the Stanley Cup. Over the next week here, that's our main focus is to be ready playing our best hockey. … The only thing I think about right now is trying to win the Stanley Cup."

The Golden Knights (39-24-8, .606 points percentage), who were in first place in the Pacific Division when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, will play in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers in the Western Conference against the St. Louis Blues (42-19-10, .662), Colorado Avalanche (42-20-8, .657) and Dallas Stars (37-24-8, .594) to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Western Conference round-robin and four best-of-5 qualifier series will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference's 12 participating teams, beginning Aug. 1.

The Golden Knights will play their first game of the round-robin against the Stars on Aug. 3. They will face the Arizona Coyotes in an exhibition game July 30.

"I think we don't need to add to everything that's going on here right now," DeBoer said. "… We were playing real well going into the pause, so we're just going to keep it the way it is for this season.

Vegas, which has qualified for the playoffs in each of its first three seasons, is one of five teams without a captain (Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators).