This post will be updated throughout the night.
1st: Set
Avalanche: Calvin Pickard: Goaltender
Canucks: Luca Sbisa defense 1 year left on his deal
Coyotes: Teemu Pulllinen Forward
Devils: Jon Merrill Defense, 1 year left
Sabres: William Carrier. Left Wing, and also a 2017 6th round pick
Stars: Cody Eakin, Forward
Red Wings: Tomas Nosek, Forward,
Panthers: Jonathan Marchessault, Forward, and bet Reilly Smith and 2018 4th round draft pick.
Kings: Brayden McNabb, Defense
3 Defensemen 1 goaltender, 5 forwards. Gotta like this group over all, Between Carrier and McNabb you’re getting a lot of physicality.
2nd phase
Hurricanes: Connor Brickley, Forward 2017 5th round pick
Jets: Chris Thorburn, forward and a 1st round draft pick
Flyers: Pierre Edouard Bellemare, forward Alternate Captain of the Flyers
Lightning: Jason Garrison, defenseman, Nikita Guseve, 2017 2nd 2018 4th
Islanders: J.F. Berube, Goaltender, trade Mikhail Grabovski F, Jake Bischoff D, 1st 2017, 2019 2nd
Predators: James Neal
Flames: Deryk Engelland, UFA D signed, Vegas Resident, for Las Vegas ECHL player
In this round it was clearly ll about stocking the cupboard, 5 draft picks, a 25 year old goalie, two young prospects.
3rd Round
Senators: Marc Methot, defenseman who will be glad to get away from Sidney Crosby while he has all of his fingers.
Canadiens: Alexie Emelin, defenseman, a very, very physical defenseman with some offense.
Oilers: Griffin Reinhart, defenseman high end pick.
Rangers: Oscar Lindberg, center, bottom six guy on most teams.
Blues: David Perron, forward, flashy
Sharks: David Schlemko, defensemen
Bruins: Colin Miller, defenseman
Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic, forward, 23.
4th Set
Duck: Clayton Stoner, defense and Shea Theodore Defense
Wild: Erik Haula, forward speedy, get Alex Tuch for 3rd round pick TBD.
Blue Jackets: William Karlsson, center, Sweden David Clarkson, F 2017 1st and 2019 2nd, trade the pick to Winnipeg for their first
Blackhawks: Trever Van Riemsdyk, defenseman,
Penguins: Marc Andre Fleury, Goaltender, 2020 2nd round pick
Capitals: Nate Schmidt, defenseman, missed some time this year, interesting pick.
This is a pretty interesting set of players. You have speed, youth, name recognition, not a single player under age 21, and enough defensemen that I fully expect at least two will be traded sometime before the season starts. There will almost certainly be some over agers signed from the CHL and USHL, as well as one or two players signed from European leagues like the SHL and KHL. Expect them to go after two to three key forwards.
The draft picks and true prospects are the real story of the night. As it stands only Reilly Smith is signed for two years past in the team’s first. Fifteen of the players currently the property of the Vegas Golden Knights are signed for only one season, seven more are unsigned UFA’s or RFAs. For me, this would make jersey buying a perilous and uncertain affair.
A look at the best and worst picks soon.