3 questions facing Vegas Golden Knights

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Vegas Golden Knights.

1. Can Mark Stone stay healthy?

The importance of health -- particularly to forward Mark Stone, Vegas' captain and emotional leader -- cannot be overstated.

The Golden Knights missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 2021-22 largely due to injuries. It didn't look good Jan. 31 when Stone had to have his second back surgery in nine months.

"I thought, 'Oh, no. I don't want this to be a repeat of last year,'" president of hockey operations George McPhee said.

Stone came back for the playoffs and had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 22 games, and the Golden Knights stayed mostly healthy, a big reason they won the Stanley Cup. But it wasn't easy for Stone.

"He managed to come back for the playoffs, just barely," owner Bill Foley said.

Where will Stone be to start the season? More importantly, where will he be to finish it? What about the rest of the roster?

2. How will the goaltending shake out?

Adin Hill took over the net due to injuries to Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson, and he went 11-4 with a 2.17 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 playoff games (14 starts).

Hill signed a two-year contract June 30 and will compete with Thompson after Brossoit signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1. Hill has never started more than 25 NHL games in a season. Thompson has never started more than 36.

The good news for the Golden Knights is that they have smart centers and big defensemen, and coach Bruce Cassidy has a goalie-friendly system.

"I do believe it will help goaltenders, but the goalie's still got to go in there and stop the puck, right?" Cassidy said. "I just think it's a system that shouldn't be highly stressful night after night after night with high-danger chances. It doesn't always work out that way, but that's how it's designed to be."

3. Can Jack Eichel reach another level?

Eichel led Vegas with 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) in 67 games in the regular season and 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 22 playoff games, and the center was excellent defensively.

He looked fully recovered from the neck surgery he had Nov. 12, 2021, and he thrived in his first playoff experience in his eight NHL seasons.

Can he set NHL career highs offensively and become even more dominant defensively? He reached 36 goals for the Buffalo Sabres in 68 games in 2019-20, and he had 54 assists and 82 points in 77 games for them in 2018-19.

"One of the things in my experience I've always really valued playoffs for is, they make your players better," general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "When we come back in the fall, they're better players. Jack Eichel is a better player on Sept. 1 than he was on April 1, and that's what I think helps teams continue to win or maybe have that ability to rise to the occasion in key situations."