On the Vegas Golden Knights …
Frank Seravalli of TSN: Golden Knights GM George McPhee.
“We really like what we’re looking at right now,” McPhee told reporters. “We were expecting this mass redistribution of players that really didn’t happen, which we were really happy about. What it does is, some of the things we were worried about with no-move clauses and that sort of thing didn’t happen and I think the harvest of assets that we are going to have now will be what we were hoping for.”
McPhee said they received calls as soon as the protected lists were made known. Teams are interested in players that were left unprotected. McPhee will wait until the last minute to make some final decisions.
“We’ve got lots of things lined up, but until we see everything, we don’t have anything,” McPhee told reporters. “We’re going to make all of our final decisions late, because we don’t know what kind of calls we’re going to get today. They may be different. The same manager might have different things to say now that we’re in the expansion window.”
There are several deals that are believed to be already in place.
- Anaheim – to not select Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson
- Columbus – to not select Joonas Korpisalo, Josh Anderson and Jack Johnson
- NY Islanders – to not select Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome and/or Calvin de Haan.
- Chicago – to take Marcus Kruger.
The Blue Jackets are believed to be giving up their first round pick, No. 24. The Islanders are believed to be giving up a first round pick. The Blackhawks are believed to be giving up Trevor van Riemsdyk. The Ducks are believed to be giving up a big package. The Ducks don’t have a first round pick but do have some young defensemen.
The Golden Knights could have other deals in the works as teams like the Senators, Rangers, Wild, Predators and Panthers may have players they don’t want to lose.
“You can negotiate your way out of this if you wish,” McPhee said his message is to other GMs. “Every team is this league has a chance to protect their roster. We will not make a claim with any club before we talk to the club.”