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Vegas Golden Knights: Mock Draft and Roster Projection

By Matt Duscharme

Feb 19, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; A view of the NHL Centennial logo on an official NHL puck of the Columbus Blue Jackets after being hit into the crowd at Nationwide Arena. The Predators won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; A view of the NHL Centennial logo on an official NHL puck of the Columbus Blue Jackets after being hit into the crowd at Nationwide Arena. The Predators won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Vegas Golden Knights: With the Playoffs Underway, We Re-Assess Who the Vegas Golden Knights May Take in the Expansion as well as Full Team Decisions!

Welcome back to a brand new Vegas Golden Knights mock draft, the season has almost ended meaning a new perspective on exposed players is now available. So who would the following 30 teams protect and leave exposed? Well, you’ll have to look to find out.

In this mock I’m going to be using two protection plans, the 7-3-1 scheme which covers seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie. And a 4-4-1 scheme which covers four forwards, four defensemen and one goalie. I also have a few players waiving their NMC’s (no movement clause) in order for teams to protect someone younger and more influential on the team. At the bottom, I’m going to post the full roster and possible depth chart.

I’ll be doing another mock draft right after the second round of the playoffs and then a lot more afterward so be sure to stay tuned on the latest outlook of the Vegas Golden Knights!

Vegas golden knights
Mar 24, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Winnipeg Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson (34) defends the net from Anaheim Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) in the first period of the game at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Anaheim Ducks:
Protection Plan: 4-4-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Jakob Silfverberg

Protected Players:
Corey Perry (NMC), Ryan Getzlaf (NMC), Ryan Kesler (NMC), Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, John Gibson.

Best Exposed Players:
Jakob Silfverberg, Andrew Cogliano, Antoine Vermette, Patrick Eaves, Kevin Bieksa (NMC Waived), Simon Despres, Jonathan Bernier.

With Anaheim not having a lot of youth needing to be protected up front or on the backend, a 4-4-1 decision is rather easy. I have Kevin Bieksa waiving his NMC so the Ducks can protect Josh Manson, but using a conditional pick, Bieksa can be protected.

Arizona Coyotes:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Jamie McGinn

Protected Players:
Tobias Rieder, Alexander Burmistrov, Peter Holland, Teemu Pulkkinen, Anthony Duclair, Jordan Martinook, Josh Jooris, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski (NMC), Connor Murphy, Mike Smith.

Best Exposed Players:
Shane Doan, Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata, Tyler Gaudet, Jeremy Morin, Luke Schenn, Jarred Tinordi, Jamie McBain, Louis Domingue.

With Arizona going the way of the youth movement, they have a lot of players that need to be protected. I used a 7-3-1 plan in order to do so, and as you can see a lot of vets are left exposed. If the Coyotes still want Domingue, a pick can be used to keep him.

Boston Bruins:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Malcolm Subban

Protected Players:
David Krejci (NMC), Patrice Bergeron, (NMC), David Backes (NMC), Brad Marchand, Jimmy Hayes, Ryan Spooner, David Pastrnak, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Colin Miller, Tuukka Rask.

Best Exposed Players:
Drew Stafford, Matt Beleskey, Zdeno Chara (NMC Waived), Adam McQuaid, Joe Morrow, Linus Arnesson, Malcolm Subban.
Boston has a lot of key players that are left exposed, in this mock I had to do a 7-3-1 in order to keep them protected. I also waived Zdeno Chara’s NMC in order to protect Colin Miller. But if the Bruins want to keep Chara, a conditional pick can be used.

Buffalo Sabres:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Marcus Foligno

Protected Players:
Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo (NMC), Evander Kane, Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, William Carrier, Rasmus Ristolainen, Dmitry Kulikov, Jake McCabe, Robin Lehner.

Best Exposed Players:
Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta, Marcus Foligno, Nicolas Deslauriers, Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson, Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark.

Luckily for the Sabres, they don’t have a lot of prospects or youth players that need protection, all of their current stars do and in this mock, I used a 7-3-1 plan in order to keep them. This ultimately left some solid guys exposed but if wanted the Sabres could use a pick on someone like Moulson or Bogosian.

Calgary Flames:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Michael Frolik

Protected Players:
Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Curtis Lazar, Michael Ferland, Alex Chiasson, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, Brian Elliott.

Best Exposed Players:
Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, Matt Stajan, Lance Bouma, Kris Versteeg, Emile Poirier, Hunter Shinkaruk, Dennis Wideman, Deryk Engelland, Michael Stone, Tyler Wotherspoon, Matt Bartkowski, Chad Johnson.

Calgary’s major offensive players are exposed meaning the only thing they can do is use a 7-3-1 plan in order to protect them. This plan though leaves a few solid d-men exposed but one of them can also be saved with a conditional pick.

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