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Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Outlook: Montreal Canadiens

By Richard Cardinale |
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 2: Paul Byron #41 of the Montreal Canadiens salutes the crowd after being named the first star of the game against the Nashville Predators in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 2: Paul Byron #41 of the Montreal Canadiens salutes the crowd after being named the first star of the game against the Nashville Predators in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Vegas Golden Knights will give trouble to the Montreal Canadiens at the expansion draft.

The Vegas Golden Knights will reap a lot of good players from opposing NHL teams and the Montreal Canadiens look to be one. The Canadiens have been in first place in the Atlantic division for nearly the entire season. The team looks poised for a big run especially with their new acquisitions, the firing of Michel Therrien and the hiring of a former Stanley Cup winning Head Coach, Claude Julien.

Since the coaching change, Julien’s Habs are 7-3-0 and the team has never looked better. The team is sure to be a Stanley Cup contender in the Eastern Conference.

But what about the expansion draft in June? Montreal General Manager Marc Bergevin needs to find a way to keep some of the young talent they have on their roster away from Vegas General Manager George McPhee.

Montreal will most likely use the Seven Forward, Three Defensemen and One Goaltender scheme. The team has a bunch of players already exempt like Michael McCarron, Artturi Lehkonen and Mikhail Sergachev. That’s the good news if you’re a Habs fan. The bad news is they aren’t going to keep every good young talented player due to the expansion draft.

Do I even have to say who’s going to be protected in-goal? Carey Price is having another stellar year for the bleu blanc et rouge. The 2015 Vezina and Hart trophy winner is 30-16-5 with a GAA of 2.28 and a .923 save percentage with three shutouts.

Al Montoya will be exposed to the Vegas Golden Knights and could be a solid backup but I wouldn’t count on it. With so many good goaltenders exposed around the league, there are better options than Montoya.

There’s more easy choices for the Canadiens on the blue line as well. With Andrei Markov set to hit the open market on July 1st, it makes Bergevin lock in his no-brainer picks on defense. Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu will be the slam dunks on Bergevin’s protection list.

However, Bergevin has a decision to make regarding his forwards. The obvious choices for the Habs are Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec. Another lock to join that list is Alex Radulov. Radulov is an unrestricted free agent and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be back, but I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want to come back to Montreal.

Two selections remain at forward and one of them has to be Andrew Shaw. Can’t you just see Shaw thriving under Julien? Just look at what he did with Brad Marchand. Well known rat who transitioned into a highly skill player and now he’s in the NHL’s top five in points scored. Not saying Shaw will do what Marchand does now, but I expect an uptick in production.

With the last pick, I’ve decided that the Canadiens should roll with Phillip Danault. There’s no way the team should let go of a 24-year old Center. Especially one that’s nearly playing 20 minutes a night since Claude Julien came to town. Danault has 10 Goals, 21 Assists and 31 Points on the year.

Danault is versatile, plays in all situations and any forward position. The Quebec Native is a strong two-way forward and has great hockey sense. Danault needs to improve his shot and lacks offensive consistency from time to time. With a ton of room to grow, If Bergevin lets this kid walk unprotected, George McPhee should throw a parade on the Vegas Strip.

The Vegas Golden Knights could decide to go with young defenseman Brandon Davidson, but he hasn’t played much this year. Only 29 games played, I’d stay away. The newest NHL franchise could also go with defenseman Jordie Benn. A physical player on defense but doesn’t have much more room to grow at the age of 29. There’s little to no chance McPhee picks Benn.

The player that George McPhee should be looking to pick is Left Wing Paul Byron. Byron is a very small player at 5’8, but the game is trending in his favor due to the speed in today’s NHL. The 27-year old has 16 Goals, 15 Assists and 31 Points.

The Ottawa Ontario born forward is a solid two-way forward and has great speed. Byron also plays in all situations and can play on either Wing which makes him even more flexible. Byron also has a knack of scoring clutch goals, his five game winners is good for second on the team. George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights should approve of this.

Byron’s size could work against him when he’s battling for pucks along the boards. Byron also has had injuries over the course of his career and has never hit the 70 game plateau.

Next: Who Are The Top Options For The Vegas Golden Knights In The WHL?

The Vegas Golden Knights shouldn’t have a problem taking Paul Byron. Byron’s cap-hit is $1.66 million for the next two seasons making him extremely affordable for Vegas. In my opinion, I could see Byron in a top line role with the Golden Knights and potentially be a leading scorer for the new expansion franchise.

Golden Knights Prediction: Paul Byron

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