By Dan Rosen @DRosenNHL / NHL.com Senior Writer–
Welcome to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft presented by T-Mobile. The Vegas Golden Knights, who begin play in the 2017-18 season, have unveiled their 30 selections in the Expansion Draft in four separate groups. Follow NHL.com Senior Writer Dan Rosen from T-Mobile Arena for all the news and analysis of this historic event.
FOURTH GROUP
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.
THIRD GROUP
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.
ROSEN’S ANALYSIS
Twenty-four picks are in and the Golden Knights have 12 forwards, 10 defensemen and two goalies. In addition, six trades have been announced, but none in this group.
Vegas general manager George McPhee has given himself great options by going with 10 on defense, especially since at least nine of the 10 are proven in the NHL. The one question mark is Reinhart.
The most important pick in this group is Methot, who could be the Golden Knights first captain or could be traded as early as Thursday. Methot has two years left on his contract and he is coming off a strong season playing top-pair minutes with two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.
If I were McPhee, I’d keep Methot unless I was offered a trade I simply could not turn down. The Golden Knights can use his experience to help them grow. If he had one year left on his contract it would be different. Two makes him a keeper.
The Emelin pick is interesting because it’s out of left field, especially since the Canadiens didn’t have to give up anything to Vegas to influence that pick. 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 he could get them future assets.
Perron is another player who should give Vegas scoring on the wing, as team owner Bill Foley and McPhee both said they would have. He also has one year left on his contract so he could be trade bait now or before the 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 in that he can play center or the wing. He can win faceoffs. He can play on the power play and on the penalty kill. He can score. He’s not a first-line or second-line center, but he’s a perfect depth center.
SECOND GROUP
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.
ROSEN’S ANALYSIS: Let’s start this round of picks with Neal, who becomes the Golden Knight’s first-line scorer if he remains with the team. It’s possible 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.
Next we’ll go to the Islanders, who 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 in addition they got the Islanders’ first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft as well as their second-round pick in the 2019 draft, defenseman Jake Bischoff and forward Mikhail 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 this season.
The Islanders can use the $5 million savings to get a winger to play with John Tavares. The Golden Knights can use the picks and Bischoff to build their franchise. They likely won’t be close to reaching the $75 million salary cap next season, so Grabovski’s contract is mostly irrelevant to them.
I first thought Garrison would be a player McPhee would look to trade immediately for future assets, but Garrison is 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 Russian forward Nikita Gusev and Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in this year’s draft and their fourth-round pick in next year’s draft for picking Garrison. That’s a heck of a haul for McPhee and Vegas.
It was also interesting that McPhee said Vegas selects and signs Engelland, who is a Las Vegas resident. Engelland could have become a UFA on July 1, but he gave up that option to play in his hometown.
FIRST GROUP
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 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
ROSEN’S ANALYSIS: The first nine picks are in and the Golden Knights actually have 10 players. In addition to picking Marchessault from the Panthers, Vegas also acquired forward Reilly 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. When Vegas general manager George McPhee and owner Bill Foley said on Tuesday they liked the scoring they were getting on the wings, they had to have Marchessault and Smith in mind.
It’s possible 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 salary cap charge. He gives McPhee options.
Pickard is an interesting pick as a goalie. He wasn’t on my mock draft, but I might have been influenced by his pedestrian numbers. We need to remember that he played on the team that finished with the fewest points in the NHL and had massive defensive deficiencies.
Pickard has a chance to be a decent backup this season for Vegas, which likely won’t have an All-Star defense but could still put together a better blue line than Colorado had this season. I don’t think he’ll get flipped in a trade unless Vegas gets a good offer from a team.
Carrier is the perfect pick for Vegas from Buffalo. He’s young, just 22, and he has upside to be a power forward who can score. To get a player like that for the cost of nothing is simply good value for a new franchise that needs to build a young core.
Even better, albeit marginally, the Golden Knights got a sixth-round pick from the Sabres for selecting Carrier instead of another player that Buffalo wanted to protect. That could have been goalie Linus Ullmark.
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 player. He was in Dallas in the 2014-15 season.
The Golden Knights got two big defenseman in Sbisa and Merrill. They both have the ability to block shots and play sound defensively, but both have been inconsistent. I don’t see either of these players as a top-pair or even middle-pair defensemen, but Vegas might have to use one of them there.
Sbisa and Merrill are both signed for one more season, so they could also be trade bait for Vegas around the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. That might be their best value, in fact.
(Reprinted with permission of NHL.com) (NHL.com photo)
