2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights season
The 2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights season was the inaugural season for the Vegas Golden Knights. They played their home games at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
The Golden Knights enjoyed the strongest debut season for an expansion team in North American professional sports history. On February 1, 2018, they broke the record for most wins by an expansion team in their first season when they earned their 34th win of the season. On February 21, they broke the record for most points by an expansion team in their inaugural season when they got their 84th point of the season. Then on March 26, they became the first team to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league since the Edmonton Oilers and Hartford Whalers in the 1979–80 season. Following that achievement, on March 31, 2018, with a 3–2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, the Knights became the first modern-era expansion team from any of the four major sports and the first NHL team since the 1926–27 New York Rangers to win their division in their inaugural season. The Golden Knights finished the regular season with a.665 points percentage; prior to 2018 the only examples of first year expansion teams joining any of the North American major professional sports leagues after their respective league's first decade and finishing with a winning/points percentage of.500 or better were teams that had joined from another league.
Earning a playoff berth in their first season, the Golden Knights eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in four straight games during the First Round, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep their first playoff series in their inaugural season. They later defeated the San Jose Sharks in the Second Round in six games and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. There they defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season where they faced the Washington Capitals, and lost in five games.
Standings
Schedule and results
Preseason
A preliminary preseason schedule was announced in January 2017. The draft schedule was released in April 2017, while the final schedule was released in June 2017.Regular season
The regular season schedule was released on June 22, 2017.Playoffs
Player statistics
Final statsSkaters
| Player | ||||||
| 82 | 43 | 35 | 78 | 49 | 12 | |
| 77 | 27 | 48 | 75 | 36 | 40 | |
| 70 | 16 | 50 | 66 | 1 | 50 | |
| 67 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 31 | 24 | |
| 76 | 29 | 26 | 55 | −16 | 37 | |
| 71 | 25 | 19 | 44 | −11 | 24 | |
| 82 | 10 | 31 | 41 | −4 | 53 | |
| 78 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 3 | 27 | |
| 76 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 19 | 16 | |
| 61 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 5 | 14 | |
| 80 | 11 | 16 | 27 | −6 | 22 | |
| 79 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 6 | 24 | |
| 45 | 3 | 15 | 18 | −5 | 6 | |
| 72 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 5 | 14 | |
| 67 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 14 | |
| 76 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 26 | 52 | |
| † | 36 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| 30 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 15 | |
| ‡ | 44 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −1 | 4 |
| 63 | 9 | 2 | 11 | −11 | 14 | |
| † | 20 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −11 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 37 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 19 | |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 | |
| † | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 | |
| 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Player | ||||||
| 20 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 5 | 10 | |
| 20 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 10 | |
| 20 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 8 | 2 | |
| 20 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 12 | |
| 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 12 | |
| 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 8 | |
| 20 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 27 | |
| 15 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 10 | |
| 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | |
| 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 14 | |
| 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | |
| 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 20 | |
| 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
| 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
| 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | |
| 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | |
| 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 18 | |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 26 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 8 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
Goaltenders
| Player | |||||||||||||
| 20 | 20 | 1,258:35 | 13 | 7 | 47 | 2.24 | 641 | .927 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Awards and honours
Milestones
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| 1st career goal 1st career assist 1st career point | October 15, 2017 | |
| 1st career win | October 15, 2017 | |
| 1st career game 1st career goal 1st career point | October 15, 2017 | |
| 1st career game 1st career win | October 21, 2017 | |
| 1st career assist | October 24, 2017 | |
| Oscar Dansk | 1st career shutout | October 27, 2017 |
| 1st career game | October 30, 2017 | |
| Maxime Lagace | 1st career win | November 4, 2017 |
| 200th career point | November 10, 2017 | |
| 200th career game | November 14, 2017 | |
| 1st career game | November 14, 2017 | |
| 100th career point | November 16, 2017 | |
| 400th career game | November 24, 2017 | |
| 400th career point | December 9, 2017 | |
| 500th career game | December 17, 2017 | |
| 100th career point | December 19, 2017 | |
| Cody Eakin | 100th career assist | December 23, 2017 |
| Reilly Smith | 400th career game | December 27, 2017 |
| Erik Haula | 300th career game | January 2, 2018 |
| Deryk Engelland | 100th career point | January 18, 2018 |
| David Perron | 700th career game | February 8, 2018 |
| William Karlsson | 100th career point | February 15, 2018 |
| 1st career game | February 19, 2018 | |
| Tomas Hyka | 1st career goal 1st career point | February 23, 2018 |
| 100th career point | February 26, 2018 | |
| Tomas Hyka | 1st career assist | March 4, 2018 |
| 100th career game | March 12, 2018 | |
| 300th career game | March 20, 2018 | |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 200th career game | March 31, 2018 |
| 700th career game | March 31, 2018 | |
| 100th career point | April 3, 2018 | |
| 1st career game | April 5, 2018 | |
| 300th career game | April 12, 2018 | |
| 400th career win | April 15, 2018 |
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| 1st career playoff game | April 11, 2018 | |
| William Carrier | 1st career playoff game | April 11, 2018 |
| Jon Merrill | 1st career playoff game | April 11, 2018 |
| Alex Tuch | 1st career playoff game | April 11, 2018 |
| Tomas Nosek | 1st career playoff game 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | April 11, 2018 |
| Alex Tuch | 1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point | April 13, 2018 |
| Ryan Carpenter | 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | April 15, 2018 |
| Alex Tuch | 1st career playoff assist | April 15, 2018 |
| Brayden McNabb | 1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point | April 17, 2018 |
| Brayden McNabb | 1st career playoff assist | April 26, 2018 |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 1st career playoff goal | April 26, 2018 |
Transactions
The Golden Knights have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.Trades
Free agents acquired
Free agents lost
Claimed via waivers
Lost via waivers
Players released
Lost via retirement
Player signings
Draft picks
Expansion draft
The team filled its initial roster by selecting players in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 21, 2017. They were required to select or sign one player, who was not protected, from each existing team. In return for not selecting certain unprotected players, Vegas made several deals to grant concessions with some teams.| # | Player | Drafted from | Notes |
| 1. | Calvin Pickard | Colorado Avalanche | Traded to Toronto on October 6, 2017. |
| 2. | Luca Sbisa | Vancouver Canucks | |
| 3. | Teemu Pulkkinen | Arizona Coyotes | |
| 4. | Jon Merrill | New Jersey Devils | |
| 5. | William Carrier | Buffalo Sabres | Sabres traded their sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Vegas selecting Carrier instead of Linus Ullmark. |
| 6. | Cody Eakin | Dallas Stars | |
| 7. | Tomas Nosek | Detroit Red Wings | |
| 8. | Jonathan Marchessault | Florida Panthers | Panthers traded Reilly Smith in exchange for Vegas selecting Marchessault and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. |
| 9. | Brayden McNabb | Los Angeles Kings | |
| 10. | Connor Brickley | Carolina Hurricanes | Hurricanes traded Boston's fifth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Vegas selecting Brickley. Brickley was a pending unrestricted free agent and signed with the Panthers on July 1. |
| 11. | Chris Thorburn | Winnipeg Jets | Jets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Vegas selecting Thorburn and Columbus' first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Thorburn was a pending unrestricted free agent and signed with the Blues on July 1. |
| 12. | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Philadelphia Flyers | |
| 13. | Jason Garrison | Tampa Bay Lightning | Lightning traded their second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Pittsburgh's fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and Nikita Gusev in exchange for Vegas selecting Garrison. |
| 14. | Jean-Francois Berube | New York Islanders | Islanders traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Mikhail Grabovski and Jake Bischoff in exchange for Vegas selecting Berube. Berube was a pending unrestricted free agent and would sign with the Blackhawks on July 1. |
| 15. | James Neal | Nashville Predators | |
| 16. | Deryk Engelland | Calgary Flames | Engelland was a pending unrestricted free agent. As a Las Vegas resident, he signed a one-year deal before free agency. |
| 17. | Brendan Leipsic | Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| 18. | Colin Miller | Boston Bruins | |
| 19. | Marc Methot | Ottawa Senators | Traded to Dallas on June 26, 2017. |
| 20. | David Schlemko | San Jose Sharks | Traded to Montreal on June 22, 2017. |
| 21. | David Perron | St. Louis Blues | |
| 22. | Oscar Lindberg | New York Rangers | |
| 23. | Griffin Reinhart | Edmonton Oilers | |
| 24. | Alexei Emelin | Montreal Canadiens | Traded to Nashville on July 1, 2017. |
| 25. | Clayton Stoner | Anaheim Ducks | Ducks traded Shea Theodore in exchange for Vegas selecting Stoner. |
| 26. | Erik Haula | Minnesota Wild | Wild traded Alex Tuch in exchange for Vegas selecting Haula and a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Entry Draft. |
| 27. | William Karlsson | Columbus Blue Jackets | Blue Jackets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and David Clarkson in exchange for Vegas selecting Karlsson. |
| 28. | Trevor van Riemsdyk | Chicago Blackhawks | Traded to Carolina on June 22, 2017. |
| 29. | Marc-Andre Fleury | Pittsburgh Penguins | Penguins traded their second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Vegas selecting Fleury. |
| 30. | Nate Schmidt | Washington Capitals |
Entry draft
Before the draft lottery, the Golden Knights were given the same odds as the team with the third worst point total from the 2016–17 season, which meant that they would not draft any lower than sixth overall and would draft third in each subsequent round. On April 30, 2017, the Golden Knights received a sixth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft during the draft lottery.Below are the Vegas Golden Knights' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 6 | Cody Glass | C | Canada | Portland Winterhawks |
| 1 | 131 | Nick Suzuki | C | Canada | Owen Sound Attack |
| 1 | 152 | Erik Brannstrom | D | Sweden | HV71 |
| 2 | 34 | Nicolas Hague | D | Canada | Mississauga Steelheads |
| 2 | 623 | Jake Leschyshyn | C | Canada | Regina Pats |
| 3 | 65 | Jonas Rondbjerg | RW | Denmark | Växjö Lakers |
| 4 | 96 | Maxim Zhukov | G | Russia | Green Bay Gamblers |
| 5 | 127 | Lucas Elvenes | C | Sweden | Rögle BK |
| 5 | 1424 | Jonathan Dugan | LW | United States | Northwood School |
| 6 | 158 | Nick Campoli | C | Canada | North York Rangers |
| 6 | 1615 | Jiri Patera | G | Czech Republic | Motor České Budějovice |
| 7 | 189 | Ben Jones | C | Canada | Niagara IceDogs |
Notes:
- The Winnipeg Jets' first-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that sent Columbus' first-round pick in 2017 to Winnipeg in exchange for Vegas selecting Chris Thorburn in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Winnipeg, a third-round pick in 2019 and this pick.
- The New York Islanders' first-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that ensured that Vegas selected Jean-Francois Berube in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from the Islanders in exchange for Mikhail Grabovski, Jake Bischoff, a second-round pick in 2019 and this pick.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 22, 2017, that sent Trevor van Riemsdyk and a seventh-round pick in 2018 to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
- The Boston Bruins' fifth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that ensured that Vegas selected Connor Brickley in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Carolina in exchange for this pick.
- The Buffalo Sabres' sixth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that ensured that Vegas selected William Carrier in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Buffalo in exchange for this pick.