3 questions facing Golden Knights next season

The Golden Knights have one goal, and after three seasons, it still eludes them.

Owner Bill Foley wants a Stanley Cup. Fast. Every decision made by his management team has been in pursuit of that goal, and his club reached two conference finals in three seasons because of it.

That level of success is good for most teams — the Knights already have more playoff series wins than the Arizona Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets — but it’s not good enough for this franchise.

The Knights want more, and they’ll have as good a chance as any other team to win the Cup next season. But there are still things they must do to get there.

“I feel that I’ve been handed the keys to a Porsche here, and we’ve got to find a way to get it across the finish line in first place, not in second or third or fourth,” coach Pete DeBoer said.

Here are three questions the Knights will have to answer next season:

1. What’s the goaltending situation?

OK, real original. But this goes beyond who’s the starter.

If the team moves on from Marc-Andre Fleury or Robin Lehner — a decent bet because of its salary cap situation — it will have a void at backup goaltender.

The Knights are 65-37-10 when Fleury or Lehner have started the past two regular seasons. They’re 17-19-5 when they don’t. The Knights are essentially a 103-point team with a top-end starter and a 78-point club with backups.

Having a solid No. 2 might be more important than ever next season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league still hopes to play an 82-game regular season, but it might not start until late December or early January. That could mean a condensed schedule that forces teams to rotate goaltenders more often.

Beyond that, the Knights either will have a then-36-year-old starter (Fleury) or one who has started more than 50 games just twice in 10 seasons (Lehner). Both could use someone to spell them.

“It could be a compressed schedule,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “We might have less days off. It might increase the need for teams to have two real good goaltenders. Perhaps that’s a consideration as we make our decisions.”

The team will have decide whether 26-year-old Oscar Dansk, who had a .908 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average in the American Hockey League last season, is ready to be a full-time NHL netminder. If not, the Knights might need to dip into a deep free-agent class for goaltenders that includes veterans Cam Talbot, Mike Smith, Aaron Dell and others.

2. Can Tuch keep this up?

The best thing about right wing Alex Tuch’s postseason performance is it erased most of the taste from his bitter regular season.

Tuch was injured, inconsistent and just couldn’t get on track before the pause. He had 17 points in 42 games, and the Knights were outscored 25-15 with him on the ice at five-on-five. It continued a pattern from the end of the 2018-19 season, when the 6-foot-4-inch speedster became a lot less noticeable once he was bumped from the top six to the third line for Mark Stone.

Tuch came back for the playoffs this season renewed, refreshed and 10 pounds lighter. He scored as many goals as he did in the regular season in 20 postseason games. He also started scoring on the third line with new linemates Nicolas Roy, Nick Cousins and Chandler Stephenson. Those efforts earned him the nickname “The X-factor” from teammate Max Pacioretty.

The Knights outscored opponents 10-7 with Tuch on the ice at five-on-five in the playoffs. If he helps them maintain that scoring depth throughout the regular season, the team will be a matchup nightmare.

3. What will Cody Glass bring?

One disappointment for the Knights last season is they didn’t get a long look at their first-ever draft pick, Cody Glass, at his natural center position.

Glass opened the season between Stone and Pacioretty, but then played a lot of right wing the rest of his rookie campaign. The position didn’t suit his strengths. The sixth overall pick in 2017 didn’t get to show off his playmaking ability or vision, and he was outmatched physically against the wall.

He finished with 12 points in 39 games, with half of those coming on the power play. His season ended in February with a knee injury.

The Knights need a second-year leap from Glass. His offensive creativity could spark a team that slumped badly in its final eight playoff games. The club wants to improve its in-zone offense, and mixing in more of Glass’ passing could be one way to do that.

“His rehab has gone quite well,” McCrimmon said. “He’s really used the time to work on his strength, which I think is going to be really helpful for him. He’s going to be a guy that we’re really excited to see when training camp begins.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.