Chandler Stephenson enjoying life as Knights top center

Chandler Stephenson spent his 27th birthday at home Thursday being spoiled by his fiancee.

He is on pace for career highs in nearly every major offensive category after signing a long-term contract with the Golden Knights during the offseason.

Life is good right now for the top-line center.

“Every year I think that any player can say that they kind of put pressure on themselves to be better than they were the previous year,” Stephenson said Friday. “That was something I wanted to do this year. Even for next year I’d like to do a bit more and be better than I was this year.”

Stephenson continues to be a revelation since he was acquired from Washington on Dec. 2, 2019, for a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft.

Playing between leading scorers Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, Stephenson already has matched his career high from last season with 26 points in 41 games played.

That works out to a 46-point pace over an 82-game regular season since Stephenson missed five games.

He also has a personal-best 16 assists, and his 10 goals are one off his total from last season when he doubled his output from his first four NHL seasons combined.

“He made a great impression last year with his versatility and his speed. You saw the signs of offense,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I’d be lying to you if I said I felt 100 percent confident he could do what he’s doing. We felt that he had the potential to do that.

“But until you actually go out and grab that job, you never know. To his credit, that’s exactly what he did.”

Stephenson’s emergence helped make center Paul Stastny expendable in the offseason when the team was clearing cap space to sign defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in free agency. The Knights rolled the dice that Stephenson’s production wasn’t a one-off and locked him up with a four-year, $11 million contract, a decision that has worked out well for both parties.

In training camp, Stephenson solidified his spot on the top line and is adjusting to playing against the opposition’s top lines. His importance to the Knights was reinforced at the start of April while he served a three-game suspension for elbowing.

Stone and Pacioretty combined for two assists without their center, and the Knights went 1-1-1.

“I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable playing against some of the best players in the world,” Stephenson said. “The first couple games you are playing against some guys, it’s kind of, you’re pinching yourself. It’s kind of hard to believe that you’re playing against certain guys.”

Stephenson’s top-end speed coming from behind the play complements Stone and Pacioretty, who are adept at maintaining possession in the neutral zone. That allows Stephenson to swing through the middle and blow past flat-footed defenders after receiving a short pass.

His goal against Los Angeles on April 14 was a prime example. Pacioretty settled the puck at the far blue line and fed Stephenson streaking through the neutral zone to set up a breakaway.

“We’ve been playing together for a while now, (and) they’ve just kind of let me do my thing and play my game,” Stephenson said. “Just try to find them, get them the puck as much as I can.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.