After much deliberation, along with the very probable risk of complete ridicule, I have decided to “offer” my suggestions to Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee for his expansion draft picks Wednesday Night.
Consideration has been given towards meeting the positional requirements of three goalies, nine defencemen, and 14 forwards.
Salary cap implications and the potential for trading certain players for a need or draft pick were also part of the process.
The presence of hockey IQ would be highly debatable in the opinions of many, I would presume.
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Just a couple of parting notes.
If 10 or fewer selections are correct, I’m immediately heading to Erin Hills, Wisconsin to hide in the tall grass.
If there are 11 -20 correct selections, I’ll stand in the crease and take your shots.
21 or more, and I’m sending George McPhee my contact info.
Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh)
Antti Ranta (NY Rangers)
Philipp Grubauer (Washington)
Left Defence
Marc Methot (Ottawa)
Josh Gorges (Buffalo)
Brenden Dillon (San Jose)
Brandon Davidson (Montreal)
Martin Marincin (Toronto)
Jon Merrill (New Jersey)
Right Defence
Sami Vatanen (Anaheim)
Matt Dumba (Minnesota)
Colin Miller (Boston)
Andre Sustr (Tampa Bay)
Robert Bortuzzo (St. Louis)
Left Wing
Jamie McGinn (Arizona)
Matt Calvert (Columbus)
Marko Dano (Winnipeg)
P.E. Bellemare (Philadelphia)
Luke Glendening (Detroit)
Jujhar Khaira (Edmonton)
Centre
Jonathan Marchessault (Florida)
Ryan Strome (NY Islanders)
Marcus Kruger (Chicago)
Cody Eakin (Dallas)
Trevor Lewis (Los Angeles)
Mikhail Grigorenko (Colorado)
Right Wing
James Neal (Nashville)
Troy Brouwer (Calgary)
Lee Stempniak (Carolina)
Derek Dorsett (Vancouver)
Total Salary Cap of $69.4M for 27 players currently under contract.
Grigorenko, Sustr, and Grubauer are RFA’s.