Vegas Golden Knights: Big Draft ahead for McPhee and company
It is now officially the offseason after the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup and all eyes will now be on the 2019 NHL Entry Draft for the Vegas Golden Knights and the remainder of the league.
Although we won’t be treated to any meaningful hockey until October now, the action doesn’t stop with the focus switching to Vancouver for next Friday’s Draft and what the Vegas Golden Knights will do with their slew of picks.
Jack Hughes appears to be a lock to go to the New Jersey Devils as the No.1 overall pick, while the New York Rangers seem almost certain to select Kaapo Kakko with the No.2 selection.
What about the Vegas Golden Knights? They enter Friday with the No.17 overall pick and this could prove to be a cornerstone draft in the franchise’s albeit young history.
With a first round selection, a pick in the second round, three third round picks, a fourth round selection and an additional three picks in the fifth round, the Golden Knights are in a rare but luxurious position to be able to replenish their farm system and set this franchise up for long-term success.
They have the power to significantly bolster the pipeline for years to come and load up on exciting prospects while addressing a variety of different needs.
Not only that but, given their glut of picks, Vegas also has the option to be able to trade up in the First Round if they so wish in order to land a bona fide stud.
They have plenty of ammunition to be able to do that with their armoury of picks and a number of trade assets on the block.
We will be delving a lot deeper into what needs the Golden Knights should address in the Draft, and who exactly they could select with the No.17 pick in addition to their other picks throughout the next week leading up to Friday.
But, for now, we don’t think you can understate just how important Friday and next weekend could be for a franchise still very much in its infancy.
Not only will they come out of the First Round with a very good player with a high ceiling, they will have the opportunity to strengthen the infrastructure of the team and improve their farm system in a number of key areas.
The cupboard is bare when it comes to high-end forwards with elite phenom Cody Glass the only one of note, but that could change on Friday with the Draft boasting a slew of extremely talented offensive weapons, such as Ryan Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Dylan Cozens and Philip Tomasino.
Vegas already has a wealth of stud blueliners in the system, including the likes of Nic Hague and Zach Whitecloud, but someone in the ilk of Thomas Harley of the Mississauga Steelheads could be an intriguing option for General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee.
The Knights could also do with a long-term heir to the throne for Marc-Andre Fleury behind the pipes, which is where a lot of the franchise’s later picks could come in handy.
It could be a big week for the short-term future of this roster, too. Teams are already pushing their chips in the middle of the table and positioning themselves to make moves in order to improve their rosters.
We could well see a flurry of trades in the buildup to Friday’s Draft and Vegas, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, could be big players.
It has been speculated for a while that Colin Miller, Cody Eakin and maybe even Ryan Reaves could be shopped for a potential trade in order to clear much-needed cap space.
Could any of those trades be given the green light this week? Vegas has five restricted free agents on the books in total this offseason and any of those could be moved if the right deal presents itself.
There’s also the ongoing questions surrounding William Karlsson’s future. The star center, who has amassed 67 goals and 67 assists for 134 points in 164 regular season games for the Golden Knights, is still waiting for a new contract.
Next. VGK face tough decision over Deryk Engelland. dark
Karlsson is a restricted free agent this summer and he’s in line for a significant bump in pay given his production over the last two years. Both parties are said to be keen to get a deal done but Vegas are going to have to clear the decks in terms of cap space in order to be able to give one of their star assets the deal he craves.
All in all, this is set up to be a big week for the Vegas Golden Knights who could clear the cap space they need in addition to loading up at the draft with some key and tantalising pieces.
As we’ve already said, we’ll be covering the draft extensively this week and we’ll be taking a deep dive on a number of prospects over the next few days ahead of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft on Friday.