Vegas Golden Knights: Expansion Draft Pittsburgh Penguins
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 23rd team we are going to look at is the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins won the Stanley Cup last year, becoming the first back-to-back champions in the salary cap era. They had a lot of depth on offence, defence and in net, giving Vegas a lot of good options to choose from. Two solid options for the Golden Knights were Carl Hagelin and Derrick Pouliot.
Hagelin is currently one of the strongest skaters in the NHL. He is able to hit top speed in a couple of strides and is very hard to keep up with once he does. The Swedish winger is also a solid playmaker, he uses his speed to create space and sets up a teammate in front of the net. Last season he produced 22 points in 61 games, but was playing on the third line. Given more ice time could increase his production again.
Pouliot would have been an interesting pick. He was drafted eighth overall by the Penguins in 2012, but has not reached his potential. While his window is quickly closing, it still is possible. He initially looked like he would be able to transition to the NHL, but has not yet succeeded in the endeavour. He needs to work on his skating in order to become a full-time NHL player, until ten he will be playing in the AHL.
Vegas decided to draft Marc-Andre Fleury, which I think was the best option by far. The 32-year-old goaltender will be the face of the franchise. He has won the Stanley Cup three times and will bring a lot of experience to a relatively young Vegas team. The Knights even found a way to get a second in the 2020 draft for choosing Fleury. This was, in my opinion, the best pick for Vegas out of the entire draft.
What Other Options Did They Have?
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The Golden Knights could have drafted one of Hagelin or Pouliot, but opted for the veteran goaltender. Two other options for Vegas were Trevor Daley and Nick Bonino.
Daley is a top four defenceman, who could play on the top pair if needed. He is a solid penalty killer with a lot of NHL experience. For a young Vegas team, he could have been a leader on the team. After winning back-to-back championships with Pittsburgh, he would have been a good choice for their backend. With that being said, Vegas has a surplus of defenceman and Fleury was still the best choice.
Bonino is a top nine centerman and a great penalty killer. He is a decent killer but is a good setup man to have on your roster. With the Knights drafting James Neal from Nashville, Bonino could have been a suitable centerman for him. Bonino’s contract also ended after the 2016-17 season, making it no surprise that Vegas decided not to draft him.
Overview
The Golden Knights decided drafting Fleury was the best choice, and I definitely agree with them. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, who brings 13 years of NHL experience to the table. If allowed, the Knights would have probably named them their first team captain. With players like Hagelin, Bonino, Daley and Pouliot available as well, Vegas had a lot of good options to choose from.
Next: Expansion Draft Philadelphia Flyers (22/30)
Overall, I believe that Fleury was the best option and despite not having a letter on his jersey, will be a leader on the team.