LAS VEGAS — The NHL regular season is almost here. The Golden Knights open their eighth campaign against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, and with roster turnover this offseason, it feels like there is more uncertainty surrounding the team than in recent years.

The strong defense remains, and the Golden Knights will rely on it heavily after losing a lot of offensive production to free agency. With these changes come opportunities for new players to take on bigger roles, which makes predicting how this season will go more challenging and a little more fun.

It’s the time of year for bold predictions, so I’ll try to be extra bold. My thought: These will almost certainly be wrong by the time the end of the season rolls around anyway, so why not have some fun?

So here we go: 10 bold predictions for the Golden Knights’ 2024-2025 season.

Eichel will set a new career high for goals

Jack Eichel usually wants to pass first, especially during his time with the Golden Knights, but with the loss of the main beneficiary of those passes (Jonathan Marchessault), I expect Vegas to lean more on his scoring ability this season.

As of now, Eichel is scheduled to play between Ivan Barbashev and Victor Olofsson, and while there’s a chance that one of these two could have a career year, I think the most likely outcome is that Eichel is looking for his own opportunity more than he has in recent years. the last two seasons in Vegas.

Eichel scored just 11 power-play goals last season. I expect that number to rise, and for his total to rise above his previous career high of 36 goals (2019-20 in Buffalo).

Dorofeyev will finish second on the team in goals

Pavel Dorofeyev scored 13 goals in 47 games for the Golden Knights last year – an 82-game pace of about 23 goals. That’s not bad for his first full year in the NHL, and he’s in a perfect position for an offensive breakthrough in year two.

Coach Bruce Cassidy paired William Karlsson and Mark Stone on the second line and has tried several wingers at third throughout camp. Dorofeyev looked the most impressive of the group and fits the bill well stylistically.

If he plays as a frontman on a line with two of the team’s best passers for most of the season, Dorofeyev will have plenty of scoring opportunities. He is certainly not the favorite to finish second in the team in terms of goals, but it is within his range of results and that is why these are called bold predictions.

For the first time ever, the Golden Knights will finish in the bottom half of the NHL in goal scoring

The last prediction was partly a result of my confidence in Dorofeyev’s development and chances, but it is also a product of my concern about goal scoring across the lineup. In their seven-year history, the Golden Knights have never finished lower than 14th in the league in goals scored, but I think that will change this year.

With less scoring talent on the roster, I think Vegas will lean further on its defense and play in much tighter controlling, low-scoring games this season.

Vegas will be tied for the league lead after shutouts

This prediction continues the theme of expecting a more defensive mentality for the Golden Knights. Vegas had just three shutouts last season – 24th in the league – but I expect them to have more than a few shutouts this year.

Adin Hill hasn’t been the most consistent goalkeeper in the league, largely due to injuries, but when he gets going he’s incredibly difficult to beat. He should get past his career high of two (which he has done three times), and I expect one or two shutouts from Ilya Samsonov as the 1B.

Vegas will lead the NHL in blocked shots

This prediction is admittedly not as bold as the rest, because the Golden Knights have been among the leaders every season for years. I think they have more to come this season, even with the loss of blocking extraordinaire Alec Martinez.

Cassidy’s zone defense not only keeps defensemen closer to the net, it also allows them to look at the puck a little more often, making it easier to get into shooting lanes. Add to that the fact that I expect Vegas to have fewer shot attempts than its opponent on most nights, and the result is a number of blocked shots.

Hanifin will set a new career-high for assists

Since arriving at the trade deadline last season, Noah Hanifin’s fit with the Golden Knights has been seamless. His smooth skating and quick passing style are a perfect fit, and I expect it will only get better in his first full season in Vegas.

Hanifin’s career-high 38 assists came during the 2021-2022 season in Calgary, and I think he’ll easily surpass that milestone. Last season he had 10 helpers in 19 games with Vegas (an 82-game pace of 43). That was without a full offseason and camp to build chemistry. This should be the best season of Hanifin’s career so far.

Hertl will score fewer than 24.5 goals

No, I didn’t take this song off the air. Bet MGM offers bets on total goals for 66 different players this season, and Tomas Hertl’s number comes out to 24.5. Hertl has reached that goal just twice in his 11-year NHL career, and hasn’t done so since 2021-22 (when he played 82 games).

He currently plays on the third line with Brett Howden and Alexander Holtz, so I’m siding with history in this case.

Vegas will allow more shots on goal than in any other season in franchise history

If there’s one noticeable shift in the Golden Knights’ playing style during camp and preseason, it’s the emphasis on tipping shots for opposing goalies. They have worked on it a lot in practice and are visibly looking for those plays in the preseason games. Cassidy said the hope is to score playoff-style goals in the regular season in preparation for the postseason.

The Golden Knights have never really used that strategy much in the past. Their most tipped shots in a single season was 160 in 2021-2022 (10th in the NHL). I expect them to significantly exceed that number this year.

Laczynski will quadruple his career points total

For my money, no Golden Knight has had a better training camp and preseason than Tanner Laczynski. The 27-year-old center was unable to last in the NHL in his four seasons with the Flyers organization. He has just two goals and two assists in 38 NHL games, but his raw offensive talent was evident from the moment he stepped on the ice in Vegas.

Laczynski has an excellent wrist shot with a deceptive release, and has shown the ability to play with quality offensive players in limited preseason action. He’s stuck behind a tailback of talented centermen in Vegas, so he’ll almost certainly start the year in the AHL, but should be one of the first call-ups if needed.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say Laczynski quadruples his career point total to 16 by the end of the season.

Vegas finishes second in the Pacific Division

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Golden Knights’ arrival this season, but the same can be said for many of their division foes. The defending Pacific champions in Vancouver now face uncertainty in net with the absence of Thatcher Demko. The Kings will be without Drew Doughty for a while and lean on Darcy Kuemper in net, who is coming off a season in Washington with an .890 save percentage.

The truth is, the Oilers should probably run away with this division, and I believe enough in Vegas’ defense and goal-scoring ability to put them in second place in what should be a competitive race in the Pacific.

(Photo by Jack Eichel: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)