The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs saw the Vegas Golden Knights win their first Stanley Cup in their sixth year in the NHL.

The triumph was a bit of a surprise for head coach Bruce Cassidy, because the Golden Knights had to face something of a gauntlet in the Western Conference and many were expecting the Boston Bruins to raise the Stanley Cup after their record-setting regular season.

But Cassidy's former team — he was fired by the Bruins after the 2022 playoffs — lost in the first round and their dreams were shattered. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets in 5 games, the Edmonton Oilers in 6 games and the Dallas Stars in 5 games in the Western Conference Finals.

That sent the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their brief history. They defeated the Florida Panthers in 5 games and Cassidy was able to watch his players skate the Stanley Cup around T-Mobile Arena against the same team that eliminated his former team.

Cassidy never gloated, but that had to feel good for him, and it's clear that he has a team that will be one of the best teams in the league again this season — barring a series of major injuries.

Golden Knights have stars, but clutch play led their Stanley Cup march

The Golden Knights have several stars on their roster, including Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault. However, it is more the all-around chemistry and clutch play that allowed the team to win the championship last year and will almost certainly keep them in contention this year.

While they have a veteran roster, no team can simply trot out the same players every year and hope to win again. That theory does not work in the salary-cap era.

The Golden Knights have a potential breakout candidate in center Nicolas Roy on the fourth line who could become one of the players that Cassidy depends on.

If it's not Roy, defenseman Nicolas Hague could become a player who develops into one of the Golden Knights key players.

Nicolas Roy steps up in 2023-24

Roy is not a rookie who is getting his first opportunity. He is in his 5th season with the Golden Knights and his 7th season in the league. He is a big man at 6-4 and 202 pounds, and he has performed adequately to this point in his career.

But adequate is not the ceiling for the 27-year-old Roy. He is hoping that this is the year he can reach the 20-goal mark or more. Roy scored 15 and 14 goals in the last 2 seasons back-to-back, so he is close to that level.

He has 234 games of experience under his belt, so that's more than enough games for a good player to emerge. With his size and skating ability, he can drive the puck towards the net and create plays, and he can also go to the front of the net and use his size to get the best of defensemen who are trying to clear space.

Roy has gotten off to an impressive start as he has 3 goals and 1 assist in the first 6 games of the season. In addition to the 3 goals, he is connecting on 25 percent of his shots.

Nicolas Hague has a chance to step up

The 24-year-old Hague is a 6-6, 230-poound mountain of a man who has a chance to step up and become a stalwart on the blue line.

Hague is in his 5th year with the Golden Knights and he has averaged about 18 minutes per night the last 2 seasons.

In the early part of the current season, Hague is averaging more than 20 minutes per game. The more time he is on the ice, the greater his impact as a physical player will be. There's no reason he can't develop into the kind of player who can intimidate the opposition — at least from time to time.

Hague has never scored more than 17 points in a season, but he already has 3 points and 1 goal in 6 games. He is not an offensive defenseman, but there's no reason he can't reach the 25-30 point mark.