Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Outlook: Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are in great shape for the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft.
Since going to Edmonton, General Manager Peter Chiarelli has done a good job thus far. He may have overpaid for players like Milan Lucic and Beniot Pouliot, but has done a good job integrating young players into his NHL lineup. The Edmonton Oilers find themselves in a prime position to make the playoffs since 2006. This means Peter Chiarelli is going to do anything in his power to bolster his lineup before the trade deadline. With the Vegas Golden Knights set to make their debut in 2017-2018, how does Chiarelli set himself up for the expansion draft?
The Oilers are actually setup perfectly to use the Seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender system. First of all, players like Connor McDavid, Drake Caggiula, Jesse Puljujarvi and Anton Slepyshev are automatically exempt from the expansion draft. The locks at forward are Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. Forwards Patrick Maroon and Mark Letesu are having breakout years so I’d expect them kept also. With one forward spot remaining on the protection list, the Oilers have to keep their young talent together. Which is the reason why I’d choose Tyler Pitlick to protect. There’s no way Edmonton should leave Pitlick exposed despite his season being cut short due to a torn ACL.
It is rather easy to choose who the Oilers will pick to protect on defense. In all probability the Oilers will keep Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson and Andrej Sekera. The Oilers shouldn’t lose any sleep exposing anyone else on defense.
Another no brainer for the Oilers is to keep Cam Talbot in-goal. Talbot has been a blessing for the fans of Edmonton, Alberta all season long. Unfortunately Talbot hasn’t gotten much rest at all this season. Backup Jonas Gustavssson failed in almost every opportunity that’s been given to him. A quick change at the backup goaltender position was in order. The team called up prospect goaltender Laurent Brossoit and sent down Gustavsson.
The Vegas Golden Knights choices have limited choices. They won’t want a contract of the likes of Benoit Pouliot. They could go a dirty route and pick Zack Kassian but chances are Vegas will pass on that type of player. The player that the Golden Knights should choose to pluck off the Oilers is goaltender Laurent Brossoit.
The 23-year old goaltender shown a lot of promise despite being a 6th round pick by the Calgary Flames. Brossoit only started one game this year but got the win against his old friends from Calgary. Brossoit has the perfect size to be an NHL goaltender and is a bit of a battler in the crease. The British Colombian still has a ton to prove at the NHL level. With Edmonton seeking to lock down a playoff spot, it looks as if Brossoit may not get many more chances to play.
Brossoit needs to find consistency if he wants to become and NHL starting goalie. As a result, I envision Brossoit being the Vegas Golden Knights third or fourth goaltender to start training camp. But it doesn’t mean he wont try to make a push as the teams backup to start the 2017-2018 campaign.
Golden Knights Prediction: Laurent Brossoit