Inside look at Vegas Golden Knights

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Vegas Golden Knights aren't satisfied by winning the Stanley Cup.

"We're not done," owner Bill Foley said on the ice at T-Mobile Arena on June 13 after the Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to clinch their first championship.

Foley set the goal of winning the Cup in six seasons before the NHL awarded Las Vegas an expansion team June 22, 2016.

The Golden Knights reached the Cup Final in their inaugural season of 2017-18, returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their second season, and advanced to the third round in their third and fourth seasons.

After missing the playoffs in their fifth season largely because of injuries, they won the Cup in their sixth season.

Though they had accomplished their mission, they wanted more. They were so deep that they didn't feel depleted, on such a roll that they wanted to keep going.

"A lot of times when that team wins the Stanley Cup and they cross the finish line, they pretty much collapse," general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "And our guys were saying in jest, like, 'Let's go again. Who's coming next?' It was really a team effort."

McCrimmon said the Golden Knights' goal in the offseason was to keep as much of the team together as possible.

Their only significant loss was forward Reilly Smith, whom they traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 28, and that was offset by the signing of forward Ivan Barbashev to a five-year contract the same day.

Smith was one of the original "Golden Misfits," acquired from the Panthers in a trade related to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

In Vegas history, he ranks second in goals (124), fourth in assists (162) and third in points (286) in the regular season, and first in assists (48) and second in points (66) in the playoffs.

He was third on Vegas in goals (26) and fourth in points (56) last season, and he had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 22 games in the playoffs. But he is 32 with two years left on his contract.

Barbashev, acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 26, is 27. He had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 23 regular-season games for Vegas and 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 22 playoff games.

"We were not looking to bring anyone in from outside our organization," McCrimmon said. "All of the decisions that we were making were on people that we just won the Stanley Cup with.

"So, by definition, that makes those decisions difficult and challenging to make, but we feel that we got our way through it and are excited about what it could mean for the makeup of our roster."

Coach Bruce Cassidy returns for his second season in Vegas with a Cup ring. The players know his system works and they have the personnel to execute it.

The Golden Knights are strong down the middle with Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, William Karlsson and Nicolas Roy.

They're deep on the wing, especially if captain Mark Stone is healthy after dealing with back problems. Jonathan Marchessault should be brimming with confidence after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

Led by Alex Pietrangelo, the deep defenseman corps is big and mobile, protecting goalies Adin Hill and Logan Thompson.

Hill never has been a No. 1 goalie in the NHL before and never has played more than 27 NHL games in a season, but he went 16-7-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 27 games for Vegas last season. He went 11-4 with a 2.17 GAA, a .932 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 playoff games.

"Everybody runs their own race and is trying to get better," president of hockey operations George McPhee said. "We think we've got a good team, and they just proved it. They played through challenges, and they can come back and play again.

"A short offseason makes it busy for everybody. We think we're in pretty good shape. We lost Reilly Smith, who we liked a lot and respect a lot, and we'll miss him. We've got some young guys that we have to give opportunities to. Otherwise, we're bringing back the whole team."