Will the path forward become even more stupid for the Golden Knights after the second round trip? – Hockey Writer – Las Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights season ended after a 1-0 loss in Game 5 overtime against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Kasperi Kapanen had the goal to win the game and slipped through the helpless Adin Hill on the ice. The ending seems inevitable.

The Golden Knights struggled in several aspects of the game in the second round against the Oilers, and their lack of goals scored ended their season. Stuart Skinner shut them out in back-to-back matches, without a goal in the last 127 minutes of the series.

Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Hub

It’s a regular season sour taste. Vegas finished first in the Pacific Division for the fourth time in the fourth in the first eight seasons and was one of five teams to win 50 games in 50 games. With the playoffs exit, here are some of the expectations for this offseason.

Oiler is better than the Golden Knight

When the Golden Knights look back at the series, they may see collages of missed opportunities. In Game 1, they led 2-0 in the early stages of the first phase but lost 4-2 due to two goals from Mark Stone.

Game 2 shows many of the same missed opportunities. In overtime, the Oilers played a five-minute power game and failed to convert after Nicolas Roy was evaluated as a major fine. Despite all the momentum of the Golden Knights, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will fall into the hockey puck in a few minutes and win the series.

“There is no respect for others, but we feel like we are two kings in the department and we will have to go through each other to get where we want to go,” said head coach Bruce Bruce Cassidy. “It may not be a one-off” (the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup windows are closed after the second round exit?” sports11/18/22).

Reilly Smith was the third hero with 0.4 seconds left to score the Golden Knights’ first victory in the series. But everything went downhill from there. After the dramatic end of Game 3, the Oilers shut them out in Game 4 and Game 5. The Oilers’ drive to return to the Stanley Cup final is stronger than the Golden Knights’ desire to win, which shows.

Is the Golden Knight’s Stanley Cup window closed?

While the series has brought a disappointing end to a steady season, the most critical question is whether the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup windows are closing. They compete in the playoffs every year except for 2021-22. Now, with the aging core, their run seems to be over.

The team captain Stone is 33 years old, Alex Pietrangelo is 35 years old, William Karlsson is 32 years old, and Tomáš Hertl is 32 years old. Most of the Golden Knights are behind the age of 30 and they don’t have much time yet. Meanwhile, their “young” core players include Noah Hanifin, 28, Jack Eichel, 28, Roy, 28, and Hill, 29, who is not yet rebuilding, many players have complete no-action clauses.

Has the Golden Knights in Stanley Cup contenders already happened? Looking at the likes of the Dallas Stars, the Florida Panthers and even the Oilers, the best Vegas may be at the level below. The team has very few capital drafts and limited capacity space, so the future is vague, especially if next playoffs continue next season.

How is the offseason in Las Vegas?

Next is the 2025 NHL Draft held at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles from June 27 to 28. The Golden Knights have six draft picks but no first-round picks, which was traded to the San Jose Sharks as part of the Hult trade during the 2024 trade deadline. However, they still have second and third round picks that can be used to add some prospects to the pipeline. With Trevor Connelly currently highlighting the foreground pool, adding depth will not be hurt.

The free agent market will open shortly after the draft. The Golden Knights have about $10.5 million in blocking space, while Victor Olofsson, Reilly Smith, Tanner Pearson, Brandon Saad and Ilya Samsonov are all unrestricted free agents, while Nicolas Hague is the only restricted free agent. The Golden Knights will do this summer, especially if they want to make more noise next season.

Golden Knights shift focus to offseason

The future of the Golden Knight is uncertain. There is no doubt. They have been known since 2018 with the Stanley Cup and more assistants, but success may end, and the game against the Oilers is bigger than others.