Key departures

Alex Pietrangelo, D: The Golden Knights announced June 30 that the 35-year-old will not play this season because of a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup champion had 33 points (4 goals, 29 assists) in 71 games last season. … Nicolas Roy, F: The 28-year-old had 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 71 games before he was sent to the Maple Leafs in the deal for Marner. He spent the past six years with Vegas. … Nicolas Hague, D: The 26-year-old, who also spent the past six seasons in Vegas, had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 68 games last season before he was traded to Nashville in the deal for Sissons and Lauzon. … Victor Olofsson, F: The 30-year-old has not re-signed after he had 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 56 games last season. … Ilya Samsonov, G: The 28-year-old remains an unrestricted free agent; he went 16-9-4 with a 2.82 goals-against average, .891 save percentage and two shutouts in 29 games last season.

On the cusp

Trevor Connelly, F: Selected in the first round (No. 19) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Connelly signed a three-year, entry-level contract April 1. The 19-year-old had 14 points (four goals, nine assists) in 23 games with Providence College last season before joining Henderson of the American Hockey League and posting four points (one goal, three assists) in six games. … Carl Lindbom, G: The 22-year-old will compete for the backup role after completing his first AHL season. A seventh-round pick (No. 222) in the 2021 NHL Draft, he was 18-15-2 with a 2.65 GAA, .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games with Henderson last season. … Lukas Cormier, D: The 23-year-old, selected by Vegas in the third round (No. 68) of the 2020 Draft, missed most of last season with undisclosed injury; he had nine assists in 19 games with Henderson last season.

What they still need

The Golden Knights have improved their offense with the addition of Marner, but they must find consistent depth on defense. The departures of Pietrangelo and Hague, who played top-pair minutes, will force Vegas to elevate certain players. There also remains doubt as to whether Akira Schmid can fill the backup goalie spot on a full-time basis.

They said it

“This was a spot that was very high on my list. I wanted to come here. Kind of went back to my agent and said, ‘I’m open to doing this if we can find a way to do it.’ A couple hours later, we had a deal going on. Very fortunate. This is the place we want to be. We don’t want to lose that opportunity.” — Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner

EDGE stat to watch

The Golden Knights led the NHL in midrange shots on goal (761) and were tied for first in midrange goals (94) last season. Forwards Pavel Dorofeyev (96 midrange SOG; 98th percentile) and Jack Eichel (93 midrange SOG; 97th percentile) both excelled in those areas last season as the duo combined for 26 midrange goals (14 by Dorofeyev, 12 by Eichel). With the addition of Marner, who ranked in the 95th percentile with 12 midrange goals last season for the Maple Leafs, the Golden Knights are likely to be an even more powerful offense in 2025-26. — Troy Perlowitz