Vegas Golden Knights Update: Franchise Will Be Active At Trade Deadline

The Vegas Golden Knights are now an official NHL club.

Well that was a quick turn of events. Last week during the open house, Vegas Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley made it known that he wouldn’t have the paperwork in time for the NHL Trade Deadline. Now that paperwork and final payment needed for the new expansion team to start making deals looks like it’ll get done today.

John Shannon of SportsNet is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights will be in  hockey buisness this afternoon. It looks as if Foley expedited the process of getting his paperwork done in time to accommodate McPhee. This is great news for the NHL’s newest franchise.

So what does all this mean for George McPhee? McPhee can start talking to all 30 NHL General Mangers and make handshake agreements about expansion draft protection lists for draft picks or prospects. McPhee can also start signing College free agents and European players.

Having this time period is huge for McPhee and hockey operations. The Golden Knights could potentially have their first official player today if that’s the case. General Managers who want to talk to McPhee want to have that closure not to take a certain player. McPhee could also get higher draft picks on this day rather than later on.

George McPhee wants to build his team through the draft and accumulating draft picks will be crucial. However, this NHL Draft is considered as one of the worst draft classes in recent history. Think of the 1999 NHL Draft when you think of this draft. Let’s see if McPhee will make a deal for the following years draft in 2018.

Next: Head Coaching Candidates For The Vegas Golden Knights.

General Managers will be trying to rip George McPhee off and he recognizes that. Options are endless for the new Las Vegas franchise. Props to Bill Foley on getting the final payment and paperwork done in time for George McPhee. It’ll be interesting to see what McPhee does come time before the 12:00 PM PT deadline.