Vegas Golden Knights: Expansion Draft Arizona Coyotes (2/30)

The Vegas Golden Knights are the newest NHL team. Over the next month I will take a look at why they took who they did from each NHL franchise.

The Vegas Golden Knights are the 31st NHL franchise. As an expansion team they were allowed to take one player (who was eligible to be drafted) from the other 30 NHL teams. Each team was able to protect either seven forwards, three defenseman and one goaltender or eight skaters and one goaltender. The full rules can be found here. The second team we are going to look at is the Arizona Coyotes.

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes did not have much to offer the Knights. With their most notable available players being Shane Doan (retired), Alexander Burmistrov, Louis Domingue and Radim Vrbata. As somebody who follows hockey I would have expected Vegas to take Burmistrov or Domingue but instead they took Teemu Pulkkinen.

Pulkinnen is an interesting player. He is a good skater and is very agile. He can be a top nine player but has not received much playing time. When he was with the Detroit Red Wings he had 12 points in 36 games which is not bad. That was also in a limited role with the team. For most of his career he has played fourth line minutes with no PP or PK time either. Also, if played correctly he can become an offensive player for the Knights.

What Other Options Did They Have?

As I said before, the Knights could have taken one of Burmistrov, Domingue or Vrbata instead of Pulkkinen. Other options include Peter Holland, Jamie McGinn and Jarred Tinordi.

Holland is a fourth line center who still has room to grow. He could have been a candidate for Vegas’ selection. McGinn is more of a rough player who plays the body more than the puck. I am not surprised that the Knights did not select him. Tinordi is a solid candidate. He is a defensive defenceman who could have played in a medium sized role until others were ready to take over.

Overall, I think Vegas took a risky player in Pulkkinen but it could be a high risk high reward type of scenario.

Overview

The Knights did not have many solid options to choose from. Arizona did a great job of protecting any important players and thus leaving Vegas with a small list of good candidates. Vegas ended up deciding that Pulkkinen was the best option which may have surprised a few people.

Personally, I think Pulkkinen is a good option and possibly the best option. While Domingue and Burmistrov are both around the same age as Pulkkinen they have not done much in the NHL. Domingue could be a solid backup but the Knights have two solid goaltenders – which you will hear about later. Burmistrov has played in over 300 games but has not shown much improvements. That may be a reason why the Knights decided taking Pulkkinen over Burmistrov.

Pulkkinen can become a top nine player for the Knights if they play him right.

Next: Expansion Draft Anaheim Ducks (1/30)

Join me tomorrow to find who Vegas took from the Boston Bruins and why.