SteemSports Presenter: Matthew Biamonte, @gnocdepatat
SteemSports Editor: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, STEEM Witness & PeerPlays Witness.
Tonight, is an exciting night for hockey fans everywhere; The NHL has planned a double-header event that is sure to be action packed. Starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT you can tune in to the 2017 NHL awards show and expansion draft. While many have some idea as to how the Awards will pan out (read: favoring Pittsburgh), the expansion draft is sure to have most of us on our seats!
For the first time in almost 17 years, the NHL will be adding a team (the Vegas Golden Knights), bringing the NHL total to 31 teams. Vegas will play in the Pacific division in the Western conference, bringing the total number of teams to 8 and 15 respectively.
How Does It Work?
For starters, every team in the NHL has been put on a trade/waiver freeze that will stay in effect until 8 AM ET on Thursday. This is to ensure that Vegas’ initial roster selection is not hindered.
Expansion drafts work a lot differently than your standard entry draft, and tonight we’ll see Vegas pick 30 players from around the league to field their first NHL roster. One player from each team will be selected by Vegas, and the total salary hit must be within the $43.8-73 million range. It’s important to note that the following required total only adds up to 26, and Vegas will have an additional 4 picks to fill out their roster as they please:
14 Forwards
9 Defensemen
3 Goalies
20 of the players selected must be under contract for the 2017-2018 season, meaning Vegas can’t load up on free agents. This isn’t the only restriction, however; each of the 30 other teams in the NHL has the right to protect players that will not be available for Vegas to select. Teams can choose to either protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen and 1 goalie, or a total of 8 skaters and a goalie. In addition to those players chosen to be protected, all first/second year players and unsigned draft selections, as well as players with no movement clauses, will be protected. The former will not count to their protected total, the latter will.
What to Expect?
Vegas GM George McPhee has stated that his intentions are to build this team through the entry draft, not the expansion draft. Take this to mean that Vegas will likely stay away from big name players with high price tags and unfavorable contracts. This team needs to plan for 4 or 5 years down the line, not 2 or 3.
While the team may pick up some veteran leads like Brian Boyle or James Neal, expect them to build this initial roster around players who have some combination of the following traits: young, cheap, proven. A few players (Jonathon Marchessault, Matt Dumba) come to mind here, and could potentially be building blocks for the future of the Golden Knights. It’s almost certain that Vegas will select Marc-Andre Fleury as their starting goaltender, and hockey insiders all seem to agree that Antti Raanta would be the ideal back up for Vegas.
Vegas also has the option to make side deals with teams in order to select who they want for their teams. The potential for agreements is very real, and with Vegas selecting players, they have made it very clear that they will allow all 30 teams to keep their core roster intact should the choose to (ie. Trading picks to Vegas in exchange for not taking players).
My Predictions
Vegas holds the 6th overall pick in this year’s entry draft, and the 3rd pick in each round thereafter. They are a new team who plans to build a roster through the draft. I expect them to acquire as many picks as they can, both for this year and years to come. The potential for trading down from that 6th pick is there, although I don’t see it happening. This roster will be a combination of a couple of older players to provide some leader ship, and young guys with upside.
Tonight, is sure to be a wild show and it will be interesting to see how the first new NHL team in over a decade has planned to attack this opportunity. What are your predictions for the event?
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Thanks for your support :)
Really interested to see who they pick. Last I heard they had 6 trades in place with various teams. You would think Grabner and Neal would get picked. I also hear they have got Oscar Lindberg from NYR.
Hopefully they can be competitive in their first season. Very excited to see their full roster this afternoon!
Edit:
Jonathan Marchessault and Rielly Smith of FLA have been informed they're bound for VGK.
I'd like to believe that they'll have a competitive roster in year 1, but I don't seem them being playoff bound for at least 3 or 4 years!
Though the name is not really great, and the logo kind of cliché, I really like the idea of the NHL adding a new team. I'm looking forward to see how they will establish themselves the coming years.
Though I, being from The Netherlands, do not understand much about the American draft systems, your post was pretty helpfull. Thanks for explaining things in a clear way.
Such a great account, i'll tell you something, i hope you grow big ! Definitly deserve it ! Keep up the good work !
Thanks for the updates! I'm super excited to see the NHL adding a new team for the first time in 17 years! Hopefully the Vegas Golden Knights have a strong showing :)
It's definitely possible! Lots of talent to choose from!
Nice - you're the first big sports account I've come across on here.
I enjoy following and debating sports - mostly hockey, Go Habs Go!
I also have a blog post going to track the NHL expansion throughout the day.
I say at least 3 of the top 10 draft picks will at some point be in the Knights hands - from there, I'm sure there will be tons of wheeling and dealing before puck drop and we see the official roster. Davidson or Hudon out of Montreal - I don't think they were able to work a deal to get Plekanec out.
Anaheim will being giving a 1st round pick to protect Sami Vatanen. Apparently NY Islanders would be giving up their first round too.
Nice! Ill be giving you a follow. It'll be interesting to see how many teams make a move tonight. I definitely see the knights picking up 2 or 3 more first rounders as well!
Oh no! I will have to Miss this! I am at my grandmas place.i will be back in the city 3 days from now and i can only manage 3G connection here to post on steemit those watching have fun! Don't drink too much.
Nice
Let's See What will happen.
As a sports and sports hobby enthusiast, I love seeing these posts. Will do a big one for tomorrow's NBA draft?
Thanks for sharing on sport. Cannot wait. I resteem
Perfect, Hope it goes well :)
thank you for sharing
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