Headlines

  • Golden Knights Beginning To Work Out Jack Eichel Extension
  • Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard
  • NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension
  • Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State
  • Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement
  • Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pacific Expansion Options Offer Weak Value To Vegas

June 18, 2017 at 11:24 am CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

When looking at the massive lists that were released today, the Pacific Division might have produced one of the weaker set of options for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Again, while many of these names may be intriguing to hockey fans, that doesn’t mean that Las Vegas will take all of them. The team has been active on the trade market and continues to work hard to acquire as many draft picks that can build the franchise’s future over the next five years. So, there are many side deals that will dissuade the Golden Knights from taking certain people. On top of that, the team may also look to draft several players with the hopes of flipping them to another pick for even more picks.

The Anaheim Ducks list stands out the most. They have two obvious names that stand out in defensemen Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen. Manson had a breakout year with his physical play and Vatanen is a top defenseman despite an off year. While both would be perfect pieces to a brand-new franchise as they are both high-quality and young defenders, most people believe that there is a side deal already in place that will prevent the Golden Knights from taking either one. The Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, has little of value as the Oilers were able to protect most of what they needed to keep their core intact as well as several key players were exempt from the expansion draft.

The San Jose Sharks also didn’t have expose too much, although defenseman David Schlemko might be a solid veteran who has three years left at a reasonably priced $2.1MM per year. However, Las Vegas may attempt to kick the tires on star free agents Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau instead. The Calgary Flames have a few options available that could intrigue Las Vegas. The team could go after veteran forward Troy Brouwer, but he still has three years remaining at $4.5MM. Another option would be 23-year-old blueliner Brett Kulak, who is an emerging young defenseman. Again, Las Vegas might be better off going after one of their unrestricted free agents instead, either defenseman Michael Stone or veteran winger Kris Versteeg.

The Los Angeles Kings also are a team that didn’t have to expose too much. Perhaps their most interesting option is defenseman Brayden McNabb, who is an excellent physical defenseman. However, a collarbone injury derailed much of his season this past year and he wasn’t the same upon his return. The Arizona Coyotes are another team that didn’t have to protect too much. Forwards Jamie McGinn and Brad Richardson might be the best two options unless Las Vegas can convince veteran forward Radim Vrbata to sign with them. The Vancouver Canucks exposed center Brendan Gaunce, who has a lot of promise, but has never been able to put up numbers at the NHL level. Gaunce, a former first-round pick in 2012, had just five assists in 57 games.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Anaheim Ducks| Calgary Flames| Edmonton Oilers| Los Angeles Kings| San Jose Sharks| Uncategorized| Utah Mammoth| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights Josh Manson| Sami Vatanen

NHL Announces Expansion Protection Rosters
Main
Central Division Offers Veteran Scoring, Risky Prospects
View Comments (1)

Comments

  1. dodgerfan711

    8 years ago

    kings should have traded Mcnabb long ago. This has been coming for a while

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

  • Top Stories
  • Recent

Golden Knights Beginning To Work Out Jack Eichel Extension

Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard

NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State

Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement

Flyers Re-Sign Cam York To Five-Year Contract

Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

Bruins Looking Ahead to 2026 Free Agency

Teams Maintain Interest in Penguins’ Rakell and Rust

Golden Knights Beginning To Work Out Jack Eichel Extension

Canucks Sign Braeden Cootes To Entry-Level Contract

Bruins Hire Ryan Bourque As AHL Assistant Coach

PHR Live Chat Transcript: 7/9/25

Stars Re-Sign Antonio Stranges

List Of 2025 Signing Rights Expiring August 15

Flames Re-Sign Sam Morton To Two-Way Deal

William Dufour Signs With KHL’s Lada Togliatti

Rumors By Team

Rumors By Team

  • Avalanche Rumors
  • Blackhawks Rumors
  • Blue Jackets Rumors
  • Blues Rumors
  • Bruins Rumors
  • Canadiens Rumors
  • Canucks Rumors
  • Capitals Rumors
  • Devils Rumors
  • Ducks Rumors
  • Flames Rumors
  • Flyers Rumors
  • Golden Knights Rumors
  • Hurricanes Rumors
  • Islanders Rumors
  • Jets Rumors
  • Kings Rumors
  • Kraken Rumors
  • Lightning Rumors
  • Mammoth Rumors
  • Maple Leafs Rumors
  • Oilers Rumors
  • Panthers Rumors
  • Penguins Rumors
  • Predators Rumors
  • Rangers Rumors
  • Red Wings Rumors
  • Sabres Rumors
  • Senators Rumors
  • Sharks Rumors
  • Stars Rumors
  • Wild Rumors

Latest Rumors & News

Latest Rumors & News

  • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
  • Sam Bennett Rumors
  • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
  • Mitch Marner Rumors
  • Marco Rossi Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors Features

Pro Hockey Rumors Features

  • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
  • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
  • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
  • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
  • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
  • Active Roster Tracker
  • Coaching Staff Directory
  • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
  • Key Offseason Dates
  • Offseason Trade Tracker
  • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
  • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
  • Waiver Claims 2024-25

 

 

 

Navigation

  • Sitemap
  • Archives

PHR Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Commenting Policy

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top

Register

Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version