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Vegas Golden Knights Are Making An Impact On The NHL Trade Deadline

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: George McPhee speaks after being introduced as the general manager of the Las Vegas NHL franchise during a news conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 13, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: George McPhee speaks after being introduced as the general manager of the Las Vegas NHL franchise during a news conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 13, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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All 30 NHL franchises should be very careful what they do with the Vegas Golden Knights lurking.

With the Vegas Golden Knights set to debut next fall, George McPhee and his scouting staff continue to go to NHL games around the league to find his players for next season. The teams arrival will be a celebration among the locals in Vegas. This franchise could bring a good opportunity for a third or fourth line player to play in an expanded role. We all know the expansion draft is in June, but what do Golden Knights fans do until then besides speculate?

The NHL Trade Deadline is three days away and like always, there should be a ton of deals. But all 30 NHL franchises know that the Vegas Golden Knights are coming meaning they have to proceed with caution. A team that really “goes for it” at the deadline could be the biggest losers in the end. Why? Because acquiring players could push teams protection lists in limbo.

In an interview with Sportsbook Radio, McPhee came on to talk about the state of the team and what there approach is. “We’re going to be talking to teams… We’ll be able to make deals because there isn’t any warm bodies going around.” McPhee also talked about his sense of urgency to start making deals. “While we’d like to wait for the expansion draft to make deals… but there will be a couple of teams that want to do something next week and if it makes sense for us, we’ll do it.” You can listen to the full interview here. The interview starts one hour 32 minutes into the show.

After listening to this interview, I’m already a fan of this guy. He pulled no punches and answered every question without beating around the bush. It seemed to me that McPhee sounded aggressive to make a deal done also. This is the guy you want building your franchise from the bottom up. He built the wagon that is the Washington Capitals after all. McPhee drafted players like Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Braden Holtby, Dmitry Orlov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky just to name a few.

However fans should take extreme caution of the teams first General Manager. McPhee was responsible for one of the worst deals in deadline history. McPhee sent Fillip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. Erat is currently playing in the Czech league and Latta is playing for the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. Meanwhile, Forsberg is setting the world on fire for the Preds scoring 22 Goals, 20 assists and 42 Points.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Are Fishing For A San Jose Sharks Player In Particular.

While the Vegas Golden Knights aren’t expected to participate at the trade deadline, they’re making their presence known without even doing anything. Patience is a virtue for the fans of the new team in Sin City. But you have to trust the process that George McPhee is putting in place. The fact that these General Managers have Vegas on their minds while still trying to get better, could work in the favor of McPhee in the end.

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