Vegas Golden Knights: Expansion Draft Boston Bruins (3/30)

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 third team we are going to look at is the Boston Bruins.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins had a couple of good players available for Vegas to take. Some of those players included Matt Beleskey, Adam McQuaid and Malcolm Subban. While Subban could have become an AHL starter for Vegas and possibly a starter for them in the NHL, they went with a different player. The Knights decided that Colin Miller would be the best player for them to acquire from the Bruins.

Miller is a strong skater and has good defensive awareness and offensive upside. He has a great shot from the point and is an above average playmaker. Last season he had 13 points in 61 games, which is below average but his defensive game made up for it. Also, right handed defenders are always in demand in the NHL and Miller is right handed, adding to his value. Being 24 years old, he still has a couple of years to improve and can play top four minutes for the Knights.

What Other Options Did They Have?

As mentioned before, the Knights had the option of taking Beleskey, McQuaid or Subban instead of Miller. Other players that Vegas could have taken are Jimmy Hayes, Joe Morrow or Zac Rinaldo.

Hayes was an offensive threat in college and looked like he was going to become a good NHL player but after only producing 5 points in 58 games in 2016-17 it is not a surprise that Vegas did not take him.

Morrow was a decent option and is a good defensive defenceman. His game has not transitioned fully into the NHL, but if given the chance, he could possibly become a full time NHL player. While Morrow could have become a good player for the Knights, Miller adds more to the team and thus, he was chosen.

Rinaldo would have most likely become a fourth liner for the Knights. His game style is very aggressive. As a grinder, he takes a lot of penalties and that poorly affects his team. Since he could have poorly affected Vegas, it was not a shock that they decided against taking him.

Overall, the Knights took a great player in Miller, especially considering their other options.

Overview

The Knights had a couple of good options from the Bruins but I believe that they acquired the best option. Miller can add to their defensive core and at the age of 24, is still relatively young.

Compared to the other available players, I would say that the only other good option was Subban. As I said last article, Vegas had two great goalie options and therefore, decided that Miller would be more effective for their team.

Next: Expansion Draft Arizona Coyotes (2/30)

Miller can become a top four defenceman for Vegas and because of that he was a great choice for them.

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