Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights finally selected their team on Wednesday night announcing 10 trades as well. They took 14 forwards, 13 defenceman, and three goalies in the process. I will share my thoughts on the trades and picks that happened during the awards show. Overall I think George McPhee should have taken a young defenceman like Sami Vatanen and Matt Dumba instead of trading for draft picks to not pick them. They have a starting goalie but the rest of the team is weak. James Neal and Jonathan Marchessault will be able to score but after that nobody has proven 30-goal seasons. The defence is old and will be too slow to keep up to the pace of today's game.

Trades:



Golden Knights Receive: Reilly Smith
Panthers Receive: 2018 4th Round Pick

This is a good trade for the Knights as they only give up a 4th round pick to get a proven 25-goal scorer who is still only 26 years old. Smith should slot in somewhere on the first or second line with teammate Jonathan Marchessault.

Golden Knights Receive: 2017 6th Round Draft Pick
Sabres Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations

Considering the Sabres had no good players to select from, I wonder who Buffalo wanted to keep protected. Selecting William Carrier was probably what McPhee was going to do anyways so it gives them an extra pick.

Golden Knights Receive: 2017 5th Round Pick
Hurricanes Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations

This traded pick was likely used to protect players such as Lee Stempniak or Phillip Di Giuseppe. Its only a fifth-round pick and considering they got Brickley, I would have taken one of the other two.

Golden Knights Receive: Nikita Gusev, 2018 4th Round Pick, 2017 2nd Round Pick
Lightning Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations 

Steve Yzerman probably made this trade to make sure that George McPhee took Jason Garrison's high salary. Since Garrison is one of the better defenceman drafted and Tampa freed up that cap space it is a win-win for both teams.

Golden Knights Receive: Mikhail Grabovski, Jake Bischoff, 2017 1st Round Pick, 2019 2nd Round Pick
Islanders Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations

The Islanders did this so they could protect one of their better players in Brock Nelson as well as other such as Josh Bailey. They saved the salary dumping Mikhail Grabovski's contract but because they protected five defenceman they lost the deal.

Ducks Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations
Golden Knights Receive: Shea Theodore

Shea Theodore is a great young defenceman but how do you pass on Sami Vatanen who is also young but has proven himself already. Especially when this move helps your division rival in the Ducks and you get stuck with a player like Clayton Stoner.

Bluejackets Receive; Expansion Draft Considerations 
Golden Knights Receive: David Clarkson, 2017 1st Round Pick, 2019 2nd Round Pick

The Jackets wanted Vegas to leave alone Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo so they gave up a couple picks. Those players are not worth that much but because they lost David Clarkson's ridiculous contract both teams win.

Golden Knights Receive: 2017 1st Round Pick, 2019 3rd Round Pick
Jets Receive: 2017 1st Round Pick

The Jets may have wanted Vegas to leave alone veteran Tobias Enstrom and dynamic young forward Marko Dano. The Golden Knights got three picks in the top 15 now making them the king of the draft.

Golden Knights Receive: Alex Tuch
Wild Receive: 2017 or 2018 Conditional 3rd Round Pick

Another great young defenceman in Matt Dumba was passed up by the Knights. These guys are too young and too good to not have been chosen even. Alex Tuch is a good prospect but if the Wild did cough up to protect Dumba, they could have taken Marco Scandella.

Golden Knights Receive: 2020 2nd Round Pick
Penguins Receive: Expansion Draft Considerations

After 12 seasons and three cups in Pittsburgh, it's time for Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins to go their own ways. The Penguins kept Bryan Rust in this process plus Murray will get many more starts. In return, Vegas gets a starting goalie.

Forwards:



Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: Over the last three seasons Bellemare has been a key part of the Flyers and he will be missed by the Broad Street Bullies. Bellemare led France to an upset win over Canada at the World Hockey Championships and will hope to pull off more of those in Sin City.

Connor Brickley: The 25 year old has still yet to play over 23 NHL games in the NHL and it is make or break it time. He has never been in a better spot to make a NHL team than on Vegas because every player is on even ground.

William Carrier: Carrier is only 22 which is still young and has time before he needs to make the full leap to the NHL. If Carrier makes the squad he will prove to be a good depth forward but if not he will help in Chicago. Before he makes the NHL he will need to be a better scorer.

Cody Eakin: Eakin may be the first-line centre on this team and that is a scary thought considering he only got 12 points with all-star Jamie Benn as his primary line mate. Eakin was originally drafted by McPhee and he will bring his two-way game to Vegas.

Erik Haula: Haula is good but this pick should be for future all-star defenceman Matt Dumba or Marco Scandella. Haula will be given a larger role than in Minnesota and will be able to play on any line he is asked to.

William Karlsson: This penalty-killing specialist will be given a much larger role with the Knights than was ever possible on a deep Columbus team. Watch for Karlsson to surpass his career high of 25 points and push for 40.

Brendan Leipsic: After being part of the Cody Franson trade, this goal scorer has spent the last four seasons with the Marlies in the AHL. If Leipsic makes the team look out for him to make a push for a 15-goal season.

Oscar Lindberg: Lindberg better live up to expectations after passing on Antti Raanta and Michael Grabner. In two seasons he has shown flashes putting up 48 points in 134 games. Watch for him to make the biggest leap of all players for the Golden Knights.

Jonathan Marchessault: Marchessault will have to prove last season was not a fluke after putting up 30 goals in his first season in Sunrise, Florida. He will be asked to lead this team offensively with James Neal. If they stand a chance he will to push past last year's numbers.

James Neal: Neal will probably wear the C in Vegas as he teams up with former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury in Nevada. His 40-goal seasons are past him but will need to up his goal total from 23 to at least 30 for a competitive season from Vegas.

Tomas Nosek: The young Czech only has one point in 17 career NHL games and it might stay that way as it is more than likely he heads to the AHL. Nosek will probably be the leading goal scorer for the Wolves if he does not crack the NHL roster.

David Perron: Perron will be asked to mentor the young players after putting up 18 goals and 46 points in St Louis. Watch for a slight increase in production as Perron will slot up in the top six forwards and may be a first liner.

Teemu Pulkkinen: At age 25, Pulkkinen has already played the Redwings, Wild and Coyotes making the Golden Knights his fourth franchise. Pulkkinen has shown flashes of being able to score at the NHL level and will have a chance to prove it next year.

Chris Thorburn: Thorburn was one of the more shocking picks in the draft and he along with Deryk Engelland will serve to protect the rest of the team. The all-time leader in Jets games played career is coming to an end as the enforcer continues to slowly die out.

Defenceman:



Alexei Emelin: Emelin is on the trade block and may never lace up the skates for the NHL's newest franchise. Emelin can play a dirty style of throwback hockey and many teams will come calling as Vegas needs to trade a couple of their defenceman.

Deryk Engelland: Vegas has been Deryk Engelland's home for the past 12 years in the offseason as he returns to the city of his ECHL days. Engelland will drop the mitts with anyone and will wear a letter in possibly his last season.

Jason Garrison: Garrison has moved around a lot after never living up to the hype of his game when he went to Vancouver. He should still be a valuable asset to this team and will help run the power play smoothly.

Brayden McNabb: McNabb will bring physicality to this team but it seems like they have too much of that and need more puck-moving defenceman. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, McNabb defensive game will stand out in Vegas.

Jon Merrill: Merrill has lots of potential and he will finally have a chance to showcase it in the NHL. He has never played over 66 games in a season but even if he plays a depth role this year, next season will be the one he breaks out.

Marc Methot: Many teams are looking to acquire Methot's services and that is easy to see after playing along Erik Karlsson for the past five seasons. Methot is an elite shutdown defenceman who will improve any contender's defensive core.

Colin Miller: Many were skeptical when Boston protected Kevan Miller instead of Colin Miller and McPhee made sure to snag him up when he was available. Miller will likely play a bottom-pairing role for Vegas next season.

Griffin Reinhart: After never living up to the fourth-overall pick potential, Reinhart has spent three seasons in the AHL. Another year in the AHL will be good for Reinhart and it will likely be that way as Vegas has way too many defenceman.

Luca Sbisa: The worst pick of the draft was Luca Sbisa; his possession numbers are horrific and he makes $3.6 million. There is a reason the Ducks did not want him and Vegas has been trying to trade him back to Vancouver clearly not wanting him either.

David Schlemko: Schlemko could actually play for this team but instead they shipped him off for a fifth round pick that likely amount to nothing. I don't get why they drafted Schlemko to trade him for nothing if players like Paul Martin and Mikkel Boedker were available.

Nate Schmidt: Schmidt has shown flashes in DC but never really got a chance because of their loaded defensive core. He will get his chance to prove himself next year and at only 25 years old, his old general manager made sure not to pass him up.

Clayton Stoner: Another horrible trade that was most likely caused because of a trade made with the Ducks. They could have had a player like Sami Vatanen or Josh Manson but instead got stuck with Stoner and his bad contract.

Trevor Van Riemsdyk: Since he got drafted by the Knights, Van Riemsdyk has been flipped to Carolina for a second round pick. Van Riemsdyk was Chiacgo's best player available and they got a decent pick for him.

Goalies:



Jean-Francois Berube: Berube can be a solid backup in the future but for now will start with Chicago in the AHL. He did spend half of last year backing up Thomas Greiss after Jaroslav Halak was sent to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Marc-Andre Fleury: Whatever Vegas does this year will depend on their starting goalie Fleury and how he plays. If he plays bad, Vegas will be in contention for the first overall pick; but if he plays like he did vs Washington, they might be able to contend.

Calvin Pickard: It's hard to judge Pickard based on last year because of how bad the team around him was. For now Pickard will be the reliable backup to Fleury and may be an elite starting goalie in this league for Vegas or someone else.

Photo Credit for Marc-Andre Fleury, Cody Eakin and Shea Theodore goes to https://www.nhl.com/. Marc Methot goes to http://www.tsn.ca/.