3 things Vegas Golden Knights must do to repeat Stanley Cup heroics next season

The Vegas Golden Knights are the NHL's reigning Stanley Cup champions and it is well-known that repeating is a huge task.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to repeat in 2020 and 2021 and the Pittsburgh Penguins won in 2016 and 2017. Outside of that, there have been no repeats since 1998. It simply does not happen very often.

With that, if Vegas is going to repeat as Stanley Cup champions they need three things to happen.

#1, Adin Hill steps up as full-time starting goalie

The Vegas Golden Knights went through several goaltenders last year due to injuries. In the playoffs, Adin Hill stepped up in the second round and took the Golden Knights the rest of the way to the Cup.

Yet, Hill did that in only 14 starts, so how he will fare over a full NHL season as a starting goaltender is uncertain. Hill signed a multi-year extension to be the starting goaltender and if Vegas is going to win the Stanley Cup again, Hill will need to play as well as he did in the playoffs over the course of the season.

#2, Jack Eichel must continue to dominate

Jack Eichel had 26 points in 22 playoff games last year

Jack Eichel was drafted second overall and after being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, the prevailing consensus was that he couldn't dominate games.

However, this past season, Eichel really turned a corner and started to dominate games. In 67 games he recorded 66 points, but in the playoffs when the stakes mattered the most and he was healthy, he was over a point per game player and was a key reason the Golden Knights won the Cup.

If Vegas is going to repeat, Eichel will need to play as well as he did in the playoffs next season.

#3, Stay healthy

Perhaps the most straightforward answer, but if the Vegas Golden Knights are going to repeat as champs, they will need to stay healthy.

Last season, Mark Stone missed the entire season but was back for the playoffs. If Stone can be healthy and Eichel can play every day, that already boosts Vegas' chances. As well, in goal, the Golden Knights went through several goalies due to injuries.

Vegas was able to get through the injuries last year, but after losing some of the depth due to the cap, the Golden Knights won't have as many players to rely on if they deal with key injuries.