Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights: Expansion Draft Vancouver Canucks

By Michael Joubran |
SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Luca Sbisa
SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Luca Sbisa

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 28th team we are going to look at is the Vancouver Canucks.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have been at the bottom of the league for the last couple of seasons, but they have finally decided to get more prospects. The problem for the Knights was the prospects were not expansion draft eligible. Therefore, Vegas did not have many good options to choose from. Two players available were Brendan Gaunce and Philip Larsen.

Gaunce is a 23-year-old center, who would have been a solid choice by the Knights. He is a solid skater who needs to work on his stick handling and vision of the ice. While he has found his groove in the AHL, he still needs to find it in the NHL. Last season, he had 5 points in 57 games, but that is also on an offensively weak Vancouver team. If given more ice time, he could become a solid NHL player.

Larsen is right-handed defenceman, who has been bouncing back and forth between the NHL and KHL. The 27-year-old may not be a prospect anymore, but he is a solid bottom pairing defenceman. Considering he went back to the KHL for the 2017-18 season, the Knights made a smart choice to not draft him.

Vegas decided to draft Luca Sbisa, which I was not a big fan of. Sbisa is 27 years old, meaning he does not fit into the Knights’ long-term plans. While they could trade him in the future for picks/prospects, they could have gotten a better player. I believe that Gaunce would have been the best choice for the Knights.

What Other Options Did They Have?

More from Editorials

The Golden Knights could have drafted Gaunce or Larsen, but decided to go with Sbisa. While I was not a big fan of the choice, it is understandable. Vegas could have also drafted Reid Boucher or Ryan Miller.

Boucher is a 24-year-old left-winger, who is trying to make a name for himself. He is a strong skater, but has problems finding open space. Last season, he had 10 points in 39 games, which is not very impressive. Despite that, he was playing in a smaller role and could benefit from being put into a bigger role.

Miller is a veteran goaltender, who would have been a solid backup behind Marc-Andre Fleury. The 37-year-old goaltender could have been a good pick for the Knights because of his leadership qualities. Considering he has never won the Stanley Cup, he most likely would have left Vegas for a contending team.

Overview

The Golden Knights decided to draft Sbisa, which I was not a big fan of. While he is a good bottom pairing defenceman, Vegas drafted too many defenceman, which hurt his value to the team. They would have been better off taking a young forward in Gaunce. As a 23-year-old he would fit in with Vegas’ long-term plans. With another young option in Boucher, VGK had a couple of better options.

Next: Expansion Draft Toronto Maple Leafs (27/30)

Overall, while Sbisa is a good bottom pairing defenceman, Gaunce would be a better fit for the long-term plans.

Home / Editorials