2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights season

The 2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights season was the seventh season for the National Hockey League franchise that started playing in the 2017–18 season. The Golden Knights entered the season as the defending Stanley Cup champions.

2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights
Division	4th Pacific
Conference	8th Western
2023–24 record	45–29–8
Home record	27–12–2
Road record	18–17–6
Goals for	267
Goals against	245
Team information
General manager	Kelly McCrimmon
Coach	Bruce Cassidy
Captain	Mark Stone
Alternate captains	Jack Eichel William Karlsson Alex Pietrangelo
Arena	T-Mobile Arena
Average attendance	18,137
Minor league affiliate(s)	Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) Savannah Ghost Pirates (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Jonathan Marchessault (42)
Assists	Jack Eichel Mark Stone Shea Theodore (37)
Points	Jonathan Marchessault (69)
Penalty minutes	Keegan Kolesar (49)
Plus/minus	Brayden McNabb (+18)
Wins	Logan Thompson (25)
Goals against average	Logan Thompson (2.70)

During the season, Vegas started off hot, winning the first seven games, the most wins to start a season from a defending cup champion. The Golden Knights played in the 2024 Winter Classic, losing 3–0 to the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Park on January 1, 2024.

After a 7–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche on November 4, Vegas struggled throughout the rest of the season, stumbling from first in the Western Conference to a wild card spot. This included a 4–5–1 February slump, and a 2–8–1 record between February 12 and March 7. On April 12, the Golden Knights clinched a playoff berth for the sixth time in their first seven seasons, following a 7–2 win over the Minnesota Wild and a 5–2 loss by the St. Louis Blues to the Carolina Hurricanes. In the playoffs, the Golden Knights faced the Dallas Stars, losing in seven games in the first round; despite taking a 2–0 series lead, Dallas went on to win four of the last five games.

Standings

Divisional standings

Pacific Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Vancouver Canucks	82	50	23	9	44	279	223	+56	109
2	x – Edmonton Oilers	82	49	27	6	39	294	237	+57	104
3	x – Los Angeles Kings	82	44	27	11	37	256	215	+41	99
4	x – Vegas Golden Knights	82	45	29	8	34	267	245	+22	98
5	e – Calgary Flames	82	38	39	5	32	253	271	−18	81
6	e – Seattle Kraken	82	34	35	13	28	217	236	−19	81
7	e – Anaheim Ducks	82	27	50	5	21	204	295	−91	59
8	e – San Jose Sharks	82	19	54	9	14	181	331	−150	47

Source: National Hockey League
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Conference standings

Western Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	CE	x – Nashville Predators	82	47	30	5	38	269	248	+21	99
2	PA	x – Vegas Golden Knights	82	45	29	8	34	267	245	+22	98
3	CE	e – St. Louis Blues	82	43	33	6	31	239	250	−11	92
4	CE	e – Minnesota Wild	82	39	34	9	32	251	263	−12	87
5	PA	e – Calgary Flames	82	38	39	5	32	253	271	−18	81
6	PA	e – Seattle Kraken	82	34	35	13	28	217	236	−19	81
7	CE	e – Arizona Coyotes	82	36	41	5	28	256	274	−18	77
8	PA	e – Anaheim Ducks	82	27	50	5	21	204	295	−91	59
9	CE	e – Chicago Blackhawks	82	23	53	6	17	179	290	−111	52
10	PA	e – San Jose Sharks	82	19	54	9	14	181	331	−150	47

Source: National Hockey League
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

Preseason

The 2023 preseason schedule was published on June 22, 2023.

2023 preseason game log: 3–3–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 1–2–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 24	Vegas	2–5	San Jose		Patera	9,785	0–1–0
2	September 25	Vegas	2–3	Colorado		Patera	13,294	0–2–0
3	September 27	Los Angeles	4–3	Vegas	OT	Hill	17,427	0–2–1
4	September 29	Arizona	1–3	Vegas		Thompson	17,501	1–2–1
5	October 3	San Jose	2–0	Vegas		Hill	17,406	1–3–1
6	October 5	Colorado	3–4	Vegas		Thompson	17,539	2–3–1
7	October 7	Vegas	7–4	Los Angeles		Hill	15,080	3–3–1

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 27, 2023.

2023–24 game log
October: 9–0–1 (home: 5–0–1; road: 4–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 10 Seattle 1–4 Vegas Hill 18,724 1–0–0 2 2 October 12 Vegas 4–1 San Jose Thompson 17,435 2–0–0 4 3 October 14 Anaheim 1–4 Vegas Hill 18,033 3–0–0 6 4 October 17 Dallas 2–3 Vegas SO Hill 17,612 4–0–0 8 5 October 19 Vegas 5–3 Winnipeg Thompson 11,521 5–0–0 10 6 October 21 Vegas 5–3 Chicago Hill 19,867 6–0–0 12 7 October 24 Philadelphia 2–3 Vegas Thompson 17,717 7–0–0 14 8 October 27 Chicago 4–3 Vegas OT Hill 18,338 7–0–1 15 9 October 28 Vegas 4–3 Los Angeles SO Thompson 18,145 8–0–1 17 10 October 30 Montreal 2–3 Vegas SO Hill 17,791 9–0–1 19 November: 6–5–3 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–3–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 11 November 2 Winnipeg 2–5 Vegas Thompson 17,878 10–0–1 21 12 November 4 Colorado 0–7 Vegas Hill 18,512 11–0–1 23 13 November 5 Vegas 2–4 Anaheim Thompson 15,720 11–1–1 23 14 November 8 Los Angeles 4–1 Vegas Hill 18,330 11–2–1 23 15 November 10 San Jose 0–5 Vegas Hill 18,423 12–2–1 25 16 November 14 Vegas 0–3 Washington Thompson 16,598 12–3–1 25 17 November 16 Vegas 6–5 Montreal Hill 21,105 13–3–1 27 18 November 18 Vegas 3–4 Philadelphia OT Thompson 18,113 13–3–2 28 19 November 19 Vegas 0–3 Pittsburgh Hill 18,120 13–4–2 28 20 November 22 Vegas 2–1 Dallas OT Hill 18,532 14–4–2 30 21 November 25 Arizona 2–0 Vegas Thompson 18,591 14–5–2 30 22 November 27 Vegas 1–2 Calgary OT Hill 17,031 14–5–3 31 23 November 28 Vegas 4–5 Edmonton SO Thompson 18,098 14–5–4 32 24 November 30 Vegas 4–1 Vancouver Hill 18,856 15–5–4 34 December: 7–5–1 (home: 5–1–1; road: 2–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 25 December 2 Washington 1–4 Vegas Thompson 18,140 16–5–4 36 26 December 4 St. Louis 2–1 Vegas OT Thompson 17,826 16–5–5 37 27 December 6 Vegas 6–3 St. Louis Thompson 18,096 17–5–5 39 28 December 9 Vegas 6–1 Dallas Thompson 18,532 18–5–5 41 29 December 10 San Jose 4–5 Vegas SO Patera 17,849 19–5–5 43 30 December 12 Calgary 4–5 Vegas OT Thompson 17,814 20–5–5 45 31 December 15 Buffalo 5–2 Vegas Thompson 18,008 20–6–5 45 32 December 17 Ottawa 3–6 Vegas Thompson 17,892 21–6–5 47 33 December 19 Vegas 3–6 Carolina Thompson 18,848 21–7–5 47 34 December 21 Vegas 4–5 Tampa Bay Patera 19,092 21–8–5 47 35 December 23 Vegas 2–4 Florida Patera 19,364 21–9–5 47 36 December 27 Vegas 2–5 Anaheim Thompson 15,109 21–10–5 47 37 December 28 Los Angeles 2–3 Vegas Thompson 18,595 22–10–5 49 January: 7–5–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 38 January 1 Vegas 0–3 Seattle Thompson 47,313 (outdoors) 22–11–5 49 39 January 4 Florida 4–1 Vegas Thompson 18,044 22–12–5 49 40 January 6 NY Islanders 2–5 Vegas Thompson 18,312 23–12–5 51 41 January 10 Vegas 0–3 Colorado Patera 18,039 23–13–5 51 42 January 11 Boston 1–2 Vegas OT Thompson 18,209 24–13–5 53 43 January 13 Calgary 3–1 Vegas Thompson 17,858 24–14–5 53 44 January 15 Nashville 1–4 Vegas Thompson 17,719 25–14–5 55 45 January 18 NY Rangers 1–5 Vegas Thompson 18,149 26–14–5 57 46 January 20 Pittsburgh 2–3 Vegas Thompson 18,319 27–14–5 59 47 January 22 Vegas 5–6 New Jersey OT Thompson 16,514 27–14–6 60 48 January 23 Vegas 3–2 NY Islanders Hill 16,077 28–14–6 62 49 January 26 Vegas 5–2 NY Rangers Hill 18,006 29–14–6 64 50 January 27 Vegas 2–5 Detroit Thompson 19,515 29–15–6 64 February: 4–5–1 (home: 1–4–0; road: 3–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 6 Edmonton 1–3 Vegas Hill 18,433 30–15–6 66 52 February 8 Vegas 3–2 Arizona Hill 4,600 31–15–6 68 53 February 12 Minnesota 5–3 Vegas Hill 18,207 31–16–6 68 54 February 17 Carolina 3–1 Vegas Hill 18,355 31–17–6 68 55 February 19 Vegas 4–0 San Jose Thompson 13,673 32–17–6 70 56 February 20 Nashville 5–3 Vegas Hill 17,727 32–18–6 70 57 February 22 Toronto 7–3 Vegas Thompson 18,188 32–19–6 70 58 February 24 Vegas 3–4 Ottawa SO Thompson 19,197 32–19–7 71 59 February 27 Vegas 6–2 Toronto Hill 18,907 33–19–7 73 60 February 29 Vegas 4–5 Boston Hill 17,850 33–20–7 73 March: 8–5–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 4–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 61 March 2 Vegas 2–7 Buffalo Thompson 16,693 33–21–7 73 62 March 4 Vegas 3–6 Columbus Hill 17,338 33–22–7 73 63 March 7 Vancouver 3–1 Vegas Hill 18,054 33–23–7 73 64 March 9 Detroit 3–5 Vegas Hill 18,401 34–23–7 75 65 March 12 Vegas 5–4 Seattle OT Hill 17,151 35–23–7 77 66 March 14 Vegas 1–4 Calgary Hill 16,998 35–24–7 77 67 March 17 New Jersey 1–3 Vegas Thompson 18,234 36–24–7 79 68 March 19 Tampa Bay 5–3 Vegas Hill 17,789 36–25–7 79 69 March 21 Seattle 1–3 Vegas Thompson 18,033 37–25–7 81 70 March 23 Columbus 2–4 Vegas Hill 18,225 38–25–7 83 71 March 25 Vegas 2–1 St. Louis OT Thompson 18,096 39–25–7 85 72 March 26 Vegas 4–5 Nashville OT Patera 17,778 39–25–8 86 73 March 28 Vegas 4–1 Winnipeg Thompson 15,225 40–25–8 88 74 March 30 Vegas 2–1 Minnesota OT Thompson 19,178 41–25–8 90 April: 4–4–0 (home: 4–1–0; road: 0–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 75 April 2 Vancouver 3–6 Vegas Thompson 18,366 42–25–8 92 76 April 5 Vegas 4–7 Arizona Thompson 4,600 42–26–8 92 77 April 8 Vegas 3–4 Vancouver Thompson 18,899 42–27–8 92 78 April 10 Vegas 1–5 Edmonton Hill 18,347 42–28–8 92 79 April 12 Minnesota 2–7 Vegas Thompson 18,415 43–28–8 94 80 April 14 Colorado 3–4 Vegas OT Hill 18,239 44–28–8 96 81 April 16 Chicago 1–3 Vegas Thompson 18,222 45–28–8 98 82 April 18 Anaheim 4–1 Vegas Hill 18,109 45–29–8 98
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs

2024 Stanley Cup playoffs
Western Conference first round vs. (C1) Dallas Stars: Dallas won 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 22 Vegas 4–3 Dallas Thompson 18,532 1–0 2 April 24 Vegas 3–1 Dallas Thompson 18,532 2–0 3 April 27 Dallas 3–2 Vegas OT Thompson 18,536 2–1 4 April 29 Dallas 4–2 Vegas Thompson 18,333 2–2 5 May 1 Vegas 2–3 Dallas Hill 18,532 2–3 6 May 3 Dallas 0–2 Vegas Hill 18,432 3–3 7 May 5 Vegas 1–2 Dallas Hill 19,046 3–4
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Updated to games played May 5, 2024

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jonathan Marchessault	82	42	27	69	–2	40
Jack Eichel	63	31	37	68	+4	27
William Karlsson	70	30	30	60	+15	22
Mark Stone	56	16	37	53	+1	22
Chandler Stephenson	75	16	35	51	–9	25
Ivan Barbashev	82	19	26	45	+15	42
Shea Theodore	47	5	37	42	+4	6
Nicolas Roy	70	13	28	41	+8	29
Alex Pietrangelo	64	4	29	33	–5	24
Michael Amadio	73	14	13	27	+4	16
Brayden McNabb	82	4	22	26	+18	37
Paul Cotter	76	7	18	25	–11	41
Pavel Dorofeyev	47	13	11	24	+8	12
Brett Howden	72	8	11	19	–11	39
Keegan Kolesar	79	8	10	18	–8	49
Alec Martinez	55	4	13	17	–2	6
Zach Whitecloud	61	2	12	14	–3	32
Noah Hanifin†	19	2	10	12	+6	2
Nicolas Hague	73	2	10	12	–5	43
Anthony Mantha†	18	3	7	10	+6	8
Ben Hutton	41	2	8	10	+12	17
Kaedan Korczak	26	1	8	9	+12	8
William Carrier	39	6	2	8	+3	16
Brendan Brisson	15	2	6	8	–5	2
Mason Morelli	9	3	1	4	–3	0
Tomas Hertl†	6	2	2	4	–2	0
Sheldon Rempal	9	2	1	3	–2	4
Jonas Rondbjerg	20	1	2	3	+2	0
Brayden Pachal‡	17	1	0	1	–2	12
Lukas Cormier	2	0	1	1	+1	0
Byron Froese	16	0	1	1	–2	4
Tobias Bjornfot†‡	2	0	0	0	–2	2
Daniil Miromanov‡	4	0	0	0	–2	0
Grigori Denisenko	6	0	0	0	–3	2

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jack Eichel	7	3	4	7	0	0
Noah Hanifin	7	2	3	5	–2	0
Brayden McNabb	7	2	3	5	+5	0
Jonathan Marchessault	7	2	2	4	+1	2
Ivan Barbashev	7	0	4	4	+3	0
Mark Stone	7	3	0	3	–2	2
Michael Amadio	4	1	1	2	+2	0
Brett Howden	7	1	1	2	+1	0
William Karlsson	7	0	2	2	+4	0
William Carrier	7	1	0	1	+1	6
Tomas Hertl	7	1	0	1	–6	2
Chandler Stephenson	7	0	1	1	–3	8
Alex Pietrangelo	7	0	1	1	0	4
Pavel Dorofeyev	1	0	0	0	0	0
Nicolas Hague	1	0	0	0	0	0
Nicolas Hague	1	0	0	0	+1	0
Anthony Mantha	3	0	0	0	–1	2
Zach Whitecloud	6	0	0	0	0	2
Keegan Kolesar	6	0	0	0	–1	2
Alec Martinez	6	0	0	0	–2	0
Nicolas Roy	7	0	0	0	+1	4
Shea Theodore	7	0	0	0	+2	0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Logan Thompson	46	42	2,645:28	25	14	5	119	2.70	1,298	.908	1	0	3	0
Adin Hill	35	35	1,968:49	19	12	2	89	2.71	957	.909	2	0	1	0
Jiri Patera	6	5	316:46	1	3	1	21	3.98	196	.893	0	0	0	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Logan Thompson	4	4	255:00	2	2	10	2.35	127	.921	0	0	0	0
Adin Hill	3	3	176:17	1	2	5	1.70	72	.931	1	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Golden Knights. Stats reflect time with the Golden Knights only.
^‡Denotes player was traded or waived mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Golden Knights only.
Bold denotes new franchise record.

Transactions

See also: 2023–24 NHL transactions

The Golden Knights have been involved in the following transactions during the 2023–24 season.

Trades

* Retained Salary Transaction: Each team is allowed up to three contracts on their payroll where they have retained salary in a trade (i.e. the player no longer plays with Team A due to a trade to Team B, but Team A still retains some salary). Only up to 50% of a player's contract can be kept, and only up to 15% of a team's salary cap can be taken up by retained salary. A contract can only be involved in one of these trades twice.

Date	Details		Ref
June 28, 2023	To Pittsburgh Penguins Reilly Smith	To Vegas Golden Knights VGK 3rd-round pick in 2024
June 29, 2023	To Columbus Blue Jackets 7th-round pick in 2023	To Vegas Golden Knights 7th-round pick in 2024
March 5, 2023	To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2024 4th-round pick in 2026	To Vegas Golden Knights Anthony Mantha*
March 6, 2024	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2024	To Vegas Golden Knights Noah Hanifin*
March 6, 2024	To Calgary Flames Daniil Miromanov conditional 1st-round pick in 2025 or      1st-round pick in 2026 conditional 2nd-round pick in 2025 or      3rd-round pick in 2025	To Vegas Golden Knights Mikhail Vorobyev
March 8, 2024	To San Jose Sharks David Edstrom 1st-round pick in 2025	To Vegas Golden Knights Tomas Hertl* 3rd-round pick in 2025 3rd-round pick in 2027

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01)	Mason Geertsen	New Jersey Devils	2-year	Free agency
	Mason Morelli	Hershey Bears (AHL)
	Gage Quinney	Henderson Silver Knights (AHL)
October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07)	Grigori Denisenko	Florida Panthers		Waivers
January 4, 2024 (2024-01-04)	Tobias Bjornfot	Los Angeles Kings

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Term	Via	Ref
July 1, 2023 (2023-07-01)	Teddy Blueger	Vancouver Canucks	1-year	Free agency
	Laurent Brossoit	Winnipeg Jets
	Connor Corcoran	Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
	Jonathan Quick	New York Rangers
July 4, 2023 (2023-07-04)	Maxim Marushev	Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)	Tryout
July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)	Spencer Foo	Kunlun Red Star (KHL)	3-year
February 4, 2024 (2024-02-04)	Brayden Pachal	Calgary Flames		Waivers
February 6, 2024 (2024-02-06)	Marcus Kallionkieli	Kiekko–Espoo (Mestis)	1-year	Free agency
February 16, 2024 (2024-02-16)				Termination
March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)	Tobias Bjornfot	Florida Panthers		Waivers
June 17, 2024 (2024-06-17)	Ivan Morozov	Spartak Moscow (KHL)	2-year‡	Free agency
Legend:  †  Contract is entry-level.  ‡  Contract begins in 2024–25 season.

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
June 28, 2023 (2023-06-28)	Ivan Barbashev	5-year
	Brayden Pachal	2-year
June 30, 2023 (2023-06-30)	Adin Hill
July 2, 2023 (2023-07-02)	Jiri Patera	1-year
July 15, 2023 (2023-07-15)	David Edstrom	3-year†
July 19, 2023 (2023-07-19)	Pavel Dorofeyev	1-year
	Brett Howden	2-year
October 8, 2023 (2023-10-08)	Jakub Demek	3-year†
November 26, 2023 (2023-11-26)	Ben Hemmerling
November 29, 2023 (2023-11-29)	Jordan Gustafson
December 22, 2023 (2023-12-22)	Ben Hutton	2-year‡
December 31, 2023 (2023-12-31)	Mathieu Cataford	3-year†
April 11, 2024 (2024-04-11)	Noah Hanifin	8-year‡
Legend:  †  Contract is entry-level.  ‡  Contract begins in 2024–25 season.

Draft picks

See also: List of Vegas Golden Knights draft picks

Below are the Vegas Golden Knights' selections at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 28 to 29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Round	#	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team (League)
1	32	David Edstrom	C	Sweden	Frölunda HC (J20 Nationell)
3	77	Mathieu Cataford	C	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
	96	Arttu Karki	D	Finland	Tappara (U20 SM-sarja)
6	192	Tuomas Uronen	RW	Finland	HIFK (U20 SM-sarja)