Wednesday, 21 June 2017

{coyotes} Golden Knights unveil Expansion Draft picks

 

LAS VEGAS -- And finally, the Vegas Golden Knights have a team.

The Golden Knights made their 30 selections in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on Wednesday and added seven more players and 10 draft picks acquired through 10 trades.

Here is a look at the 30 players and an analysis of Vegas' picks, trades and what it all means:

Colorado Avalanche: Calvin Pickard, G -- Pickard, 25, had 15 wins, two shutouts, a 2.98 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in 50 games (48 starts) this season.

Vancouver Canucks: Luca Sbisa, D -- Sbisa, 27, had 13 points in 82 games this season and has 88 points in 465 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Canucks.

Arizona Coyotes: Teemu Pulkkinen, F -- Pulkkinen, 25, had two goals in 13 games split between the Coyotes and Minnesota Wild this season, and has 13 goals and 22 points in 83 NHL games, including 70 games with the Detroit Red Wings.

New Jersey Devils: Jon Merrill, D -- Merrill, 25, had six points in 51 games this season and has 36 points in 216 NHL games with New Jersey.

Buffalo Sabres: William Carrier, F -- Carrier, 22, had eight points in 41 games this season, his first in the NHL.

Detroit Red Wings: Tomas Nosek, F -- Nosek, 24, has one goal in 17 games with the Red Wings the past two seasons and this season helped Grand Rapids win the Calder Cup as American Hockey League champion, scoring 22 points in 19 playoff games after scoring 41 points in 51 regular-season games.

Dallas Stars: Cody Eakin, F -- Eakin, a 26-year-old center who was drafted in 2009 by Vegas general manager George McPhee when he was the GM of the Washington Capitals, had 12 points in 60 games this season but averaged 17 goals, 36 points and 80 games played in each of the previous three seasons with Dallas.

Florida Panthers: Jonathan Marchessault, F -- Marchessault, 26, scored 30 goals for the first time this season, one of 26 NHL players who scored at least that many.

Los Angeles Kings: Brayden McNabb, D -- McNabb, 26, had four points in 49 games this season and has 50 points in 238 NHL games.

Co-owner Bill Foley of the Vegas Golden Knights greets defenseman Brayden McNabb onstage during the 2017 NHL Awards & Expansion Draft at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Carolina Hurricanes: Connor Brickley, F -- Brickley, 25, a pending unrestricted free agent, had five points in 23 games with the Florida Panthers in 2015-16 but spent all of this season in the AHL with Charlotte, where he had 26 points in 69 games.

Winnipeg Jets: Chris Thorburn, F -- Thorburn, 34, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, scored three goals in 64 games this season and has 127 points in 750 games in his NHL career, which dates to the 2005-06 season.

Philadelphia Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F -- Bellemare, 32, had eight points in 82 games this season and has 34 points in 237 games in three NHL seasons.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jason Garrison, D -- Garrison, 32, who has one year remaining on his contract, had nine points in 70 games this season, his lowest total in his seven full NHL seasons.

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Co-owner Bill Foley of the Vegas Golden Knights shakes the hand of defenseman Jason Garrison onstage during the 2017 NHL Awards & Expansion Draft at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Islanders: Jean-Francois Berube, G -- Berube, 25, has 13 wins, a 3.11 GAA and .900 save percentage in 21 NHL games, including 14 with the Islanders this season, when he won seven games and had a 3.42 GAA and .889 save percentage.

Nashville Predators: James Neal, F -- Neal, 29, who has one year remaining on his contract, scored 23 goals this season and six in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has 238 goals and 451 points in 632 NHL regular-season games.

Calgary Flames: Deryk Engelland, D -- Engelland, 35, who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, scored four goals and 16 points in 81 games this season.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic, F -- Leipsic, 23, played six games for the Maple Leafs last season and spent this season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, scoring 51 points in 49 games and five points in 11 playoff games.

Boston Bruins: Colin Miller, D -- Miller, 24, had 13 points in 61 games this season after scoring 16 points in 42 games last season when he was a rookie.

Ottawa Senators: Marc Methot, D -- Methot, 32, who has one year left on his contract, played on the Senators' top defense pair with Erik Karlsson this season and had 12 assists in 68 games before scoring four points, including two goals, in 18 playoff games.

San Jose Sharks: David Schlemko, D -- Schlemko, 30, who has three years left on his contract, had 18 points in 62 games this season and has 87 points in 360 NHL games.

St. Louis Blues: David Perron, F -- Perron, 29, who has one year left on his contract, had 18 goals and 46 points in 82 games this season and has 159 goals and 378 points in 652 NHL games.

New York Rangers: Oscar Lindberg, F -- Lindberg, 25, had 20 points in 65 games this season playing primarily as the Rangers' fourth-line center after he recovered from offseason hip surgery.

Edmonton Oilers: Griffin Reinhart, D -- Reinhart, 23, has two assists in 37 NHL games since being selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He spent this season in the AHL until May 7, when he played in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Anaheim Ducks.

Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin, D -- Emelin, 31, who has one year left on his contract, has 72 points in 380 NHL games, all with Montreal, after getting 10 in 76 games this season.

Anaheim Ducks: Clayton Stoner, D -- Stoner, 32, a stay-at-home defenseman who has one year left on his contract, played 14 games for the Ducks this season after appearing in 50 last season.

Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula, F -- Haula, a 26-year-old center, scored an NHL career-high 15 goals, part of his 26 points in 72 games this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets: William Karlsson, F -- Karlsson, 24, had NHL career highs in assists (19) and points (25) in 81 games this season after getting 20 points in 81 games last season.

Chicago Blackhawks: Trevor van Riemsdyk, D -- Van Riemsdyk, who turns 26 on July 24, had an NHL career-high 16 points and a plus-17 rating in 58 games this season and was a Stanley Cup champion with Chicago two years ago.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury, G -- Fleury, 32 and with two years left on his contract, is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins and has 375 regular-season NHL wins and 62 in the playoffs.

Washington Capitals: Nate Schmidt, D -- Schmidt, 25, had an NHL career-high 17 points in 60 games this season and has 43 points in 200 games with Washington.

In association with their 2017 NHL Expansion Draft selections, the Golden Knights made the following transactions:

* Vegas acquired D Shea Theodore from Anaheim.

* Vegas acquired Buffalo's 6th-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 161).

* Vegas acquired Boston's 5th-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 142, previously acquired by Carolina).

* Vegas acquired F David Clarkson, Columbus' 1st-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 24) and Columbus' 2nd-round pick in 2019.

* Vegas acquired F Reilly Smith from Florida for Vegas' 4th-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

* Vegas acquired F Alex Tuch from Minnesota for Vegas' 3rd-round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Draft.

* Vegas acquired F Mikhail Grabovski and D Jake Bischoff as well as NY Islanders' 1st-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 15) and 2nd-round pick in 2019.

* Vegas acquired Pittsburgh's 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

* Vegas acquired F Nikita Gusev, Tampa Bay's 2nd-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 45) and Pittsburgh's 4th-round pick in 2018 (previously acquired by Tampa Bay).

* Vegas acquired Winnipeg's 1st-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft (No. 13) and 3rd-round pick in 2019 for Columbus' 1st-round pick in 2017 (No. 24, previously acquired by Vegas).

ROSEN'S ANALYSIS

The Golden Knights have their No. 1 goalie. It's Fleury, who walked onstage and got a huge ovation from the crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

"I didn't expect that," Fleury told NBC Sports' Kathryn Tappen onstage. "That's really crazy. Obviously I'm excited to get this started."

Fleury should be the first face of the franchise and a perfect ambassador for the growth of hockey. There are few, if any, better people in hockey than Fleury.

Vegas also got two defensemen from the Ducks: Stoner, who was a pick, and Theodore, who came in a trade to influence the pick of Stoner. Theodore could be a cornerstone defenseman for years in Vegas.

Haula and Karlsson are centers who will compete for ice time. Both should be in the lineup on opening night.

Methot could be the Golden Knights' first captain or could be traded as early as Thursday. Methot has two years left on his contract and is coming off a strong season playing top-pair minutes with two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.

The Emelin pick is surprising, especially since the Canadiens didn't have to give up anything to Vegas to influence that selection. It's a straight pick by the Golden Knights, who either covet Emelin's physicality or have another trade ready to announce Thursday. Emelin has one year left on his contract. He could be a second-pair defenseman for Vegas or could get them future assets.

Perron should give the Golden Knights scoring on the wing, something owner Bill Foley and general manager George McPhee each said they would have. He also has one year left on his contract, so he could be trade bait now or before the NHL Trade Deadline.

Lindberg is one of my favorite picks. He's an intangible guy and was good in a bottom-six forward role for the Rangers. He's versatile; he can play center or the wing, can win faceoffs, can play on the power play and the penalty kill and can score. Lindberg is not a first- or second-line center, but he's a perfect depth center.

In Neal, the Golden Knights have their first-line scorer, if he remains with them. McPhee could have a trade lined up to flip Neal, who has one year left on his contract. If he's not traded, Neal gives Vegas another legitimate scoring option on the wing.

The Islanders gave up a lot to ensure Vegas wouldn't take some of the players they covet but did not protect, like forwards Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome and defenseman Calvin de Haan. So instead the Golden Knights took Berube, who may never play a game for them, but they also got the Islanders' first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft as well as their second-round pick in 2019, Bischoff and Grabovski.

The key here for Vegas is the draft picks and Bischoff, who signed with the Islanders in March after completing his senior season at the University of Minnesota. The Islanders are also getting rid of Grabovski's $5 million salary-cap charge for this season.

I first thought Garrison would be a player McPhee would look to trade immediately for future assets, but Garrison was here, in uniform, so that leads me to believe he's here to stay. He's entering the last year of his contract.

Vegas also got the negotiating rights to Gusev, Tampa Bay's second-round pick in this year's draft and its fourth-round pick in next year's draft for picking Garrison. That's a heck of a haul for McPhee.

It was also interesting that McPhee said Vegas selected and signed Engelland, a Las Vegas resident. Engelland could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1, but he gave up that option to play in his hometown.

In their first nine picks, the Golden Knights actually got 10 players. In addition to picking Marchessault from the Panthers, Vegas acquired Smith, who has five years left on his contract. They had to give Florida a fourth-round pick in 2018.

That's some good offense for Vegas. Smith scored 25 goals last season and 15 this season. Marchessault scored 30 goals this season.

Smith could be trade bait for Vegas if the Golden Knights can find a team willing to take his contract, which carries a $5 million NHL salary-cap charge. He gives McPhee options.

Pickard has a chance to be a decent backup this season for Vegas, which likely won't have a great defense but could still put together a better unit than Colorado had this season. I don't think he'll get flipped in a trade unless Vegas gets a good offer.

Carrier is the perfect pick for Vegas from Buffalo. He's 22 and has upside to be a power forward who can score. To get a player like that for no cost is simply good value for a new team that needs to build a young core.

Eakin has a chance to be a top-two center for Vegas. The center market for the Golden Knights wasn't strong, but he can be a 40-point scorer; he was one in Dallas in the 2014-15 season.

The Golden Knights got two big defensemen in Sbisa and Merrill. Each of them can block shots and play sound defensively, but has been inconsistent. I don't see either as a top-pair or even middle-pair defenseman, but Vegas might have to use one of them there.

Sbisa and Merrill are each signed through 2017-18, so they could also be trade bait for Vegas around the NHL Trade Deadline. That might be their best value.

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