Fans get excited when they are told that this is the last month for their respective sport (or any unit of time). The prospect of their favorite sports returning has people marking their calendars and looking for dates to watch games. It's the most wonderful time of the year with a packed sports schedule.
The same goes for the NFL and several other sports. The Chicago Bears take on the Houston Texans on Thursday and NFL games continue through mid-February, while the NBA and NHL also begin exhibition games in September, meaning the Vegas Golden Knights will return to T-Mobile Arena and take over the streets of Las Vegas.
Big names like Alex Pietrangelo and Jack Eichel grace the ice and amaze fans with their plays. There are good and bad times during the season. The league has good and bad days. That's the beauty of enjoying a precious sport like hockey. Sometimes teams come out of nowhere.
The Vancouver Canucks are a great example of this. They came out of nowhere and won the Pacific Division. They won 109 points and came very close to making it to the Western Conference Finals. With superstars like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes ready to get Jack Eichel and company back to doing what they do best, it's going to be a tough battle for the Vegas Golden Knights next season.
But they are not the only teams to watch. The Anaheim Ducks have a young core, led by Trevor Zegras, that is ready to take the next step. It is questionable whether they will be able to do it. But they are trending in the right direction, having selected Beckett Senneke in their most recent draft. The Seattle Kraken have added notable players like Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour. The Kraken are hoping to get back to the playoffs and create a similar storyline to the Golden Knights.
So how should Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo and the team tackle this challenge? One way is to work with newcomers such as Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz. Both have great potential in their games and would benefit the Golden Knights more. Getting more out of the power play would also help, especially considering the unit has historically underperformed. Vegas could beat their franchise-best 22% win percentage in 2019-20 with Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin playing a full season and playing more in tandem.
Either way, 2024-25 is a chance for the Golden Knights to take a new step. Sure, some regulars have left the team. But the logo remains, along with the tradition. Get ready to fill T-Mobile Arena again, because the victory flamingo isn't going away anytime soon. August will be the last month without hockey.
