Vegas Golden Knights: Expansion Draft Philadelphia Flyers

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 defenceman and one goaltender or eight skaters and one goaltender. The full rules can be found here. The 22nd team we are going to look at is the Philadelphia Flyers.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers finished in 19th place last season. They have some star power up front and on the backend but their depth and goaltending was a huge negative to their overall success. With the lack of depth, the Golden Knights did not have many good options to choose from. Some players they could have taken are Matt Read and Michael Del Zotto.

Read is a top nine forward who needs a new start. His first three seasons in the league were really good, but the last three have seen his production drop. Last season he had a career low 19 points in 63 games, which is in between third and fourth line production. Despite that, in a new home with more ice-time, his production would have more than likely increased.

MDZ could have been a suitable top four defenceman for the Knights. Despite his production dipping like Read, he is still capable to find his game again. The 27-year-old is in the prime of his career and could have been a solid pickup for Vegas. He does have a history of injuries, which could be one of the reasons the Knights did not want him.

The Golden Knights ended up drafting Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. While I do believe that Bellemare can be an effective player for Vegas, I do not believe that he was the best option. He is a very good penalty killer and a bottom six player, with great leadership skills as well. Despite that, the Knights had a better option, which I will get to later.

What Other Options Did They Have?

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Vegas could have drafted Read or MDZ instead of Bellemare. All three players would have been a good pick for the Knights, but there are two other players they could have taken. They could have went with goaltender Michal Neuvirth or center Jordan Weal.

Neuvirth would have been a solid backup for the Golden Knights. He is on a very good contract at $2,500,000 for the next two seasons. He is quick in the net, but his positioning still needs some work. The 29-year-old is strong on his glove side, and plays in the hybrid position. With that being said, I believe he would have been a better option than Bellemare, but not the best option.

Weal is a 25-year-old centerman, who would have been a solid player for Vegas. Despite not having much NHL experience, he has shown the ability to produce at a top nine rate. Last season, in 23 games, he produced 12 points. That may not look like much, but in a full 82 game season, that would be 43 points. While those numbers would most likely be less, they are still impressive. He has been known to take a couple of years to transition into a new league, but once he does, he excels in it. I believe he would have been the best option for VGK.

Overview

The Knights decided to draft Bellemare, but I do not believe that was the best choice for them. Weal is younger and still has time to improve at the NHL level. He could surprise a lot of teams this season, including Vegas. They could have also went with Read, Del Zotto or Neuvirth. All players have a lot of experience and would have been a solid pickup for the Knights.

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Overall, despite his little experience, Weal would have been a great pickup for the Knights. With more ice time, he could have been a key piece to Vegas’ core.

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