The 2017-18 NHL season was headlined by the emphatic rise of the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights. The group of players bundled together by general manager George McPhee in the expansion draft gelled remarkably well and rode all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in a record-breaking campaign.

But, the summer has brought on some unfavorable news for many fans of the team. While they were expected to be traded last winter anyway, the Golden Knights have lost two of their premier players. But, has the team actually become weaker because of their offseason activity?

Losing Perron and Neal

When making selections in the expansion draft, it was abundantly clear that David Perron and James Neal were selected purely for their value at the trade deadline. Both highly-rated players had one year left on their contracts but, due to the unexpected rise of the Golden Knights, management made the call to keep their team intact and ride the wave as far as it would take them.

So, inevitably, they had to battle with teams in the free agency to keep Perron and Neal. David Perron signed for his former team, the St. Louis Blues, on a four-year, $20 million deal, while James Neal went to the Calgary Flames for $28.75 over five years.

The Golden Knights were wise to not try and out-bid the Flames for Neal as, even though he was one of their star players last season, Neal is now 30-years-old. Vegas is only in its second year, and its current roster is still quite young with plenty of youngsters getting ready to breakthrough. Having Neal locked into a role for the next five years while his output inevitably lessens could hinder Vegas’ development. Perron is also 30-years-old and would have caused similar issues for the growing franchise.

Strong enough to stay in contention

Many see the Vegas Golden Knights as a one-hit wonder and that losing Perron and Neal will be detrimental to the team. But, in the NHL betting, they’re joint-favorites to win in the Conference Finals at +450. This is because so much of the team has been kept intact and they’ve still got many of their key players in William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Colin Miller, Jonathan Marchessault, Shea Theodore, and Marc-Andre Fleury – who all surpassed expectations last season.

Furthermore, Vegas has extended on its self-proclaimed ‘Golden Misfits’ persona with some key free agency signings. Nick Holden and Daniel Carr fit the mould perfectly, and Paul Stastny was one of the more shrewd signings of the summer so far. He can play all situations, is a master of the duel, and is one of the most reliable two-way forwards in the league.

A real diamond in the rough, however, is Zach Fucale. Once a highly rated young goalie and potential successor to Carey Price, Vegas picked him up on one-year deal. Malcolm Subban appears to have the backup role locked down for now, but if Vegas and develop Fucale as they have so many other budding stars, there could be some real competition behind Fleury or if the star goalie gets injured again.

Get excited about another thrilling season

Goaltending will once again be key to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the team that they’ve tweaked in this offseason looks to be strong enough to challenge for a place in the playoffs this season. They could very well shock the league again and win the Pacific Division, again.

Even without Neal and Perron, expect another exciting season of hockey from the Vegas Golden Knights as they prove that they’re not a one-hit-wonder and do possess the ability to maintain their contender status. On top of this, they’re expected to have plenty of cap space to sign some more additions, potentially.