Vegas Golden Knights: Projecting Team Roster & Full Depth Chart

With the Vegas Golden Knights official inception less than a season away, just how could the team potentially look? I’ve included explanations for 30 picks with a final expansion roster.

It’s been quite awhile since there has been an NHL expansion, 17 years to be exact. A lot of people are excited but not with the fact there is a new team but the fact of wondering who will end up on it. So who could the Vegas Golden Knights go after? Well, there’s a lot of options and quite a few solid players with NMC’s or Limited NMC’s and with the league getting younger, a current NHL team may just ask a player to waive one of theirs in order to keep their team young and competitive.

In this article, we’re going to select a player from each team, show the depth chart from said team. However, the roster has to have at least 20 players under contract going into next year and the Knights have to draft a team of 30.

Anaheim Ducks:

Pick – Jakob Silfverberg

Jakob seems to be the biggest option coming from Anaheim if the team was to do a 4-4-1 scheme in order to protect Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Kevin Bieksa (NMC), Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, and John Gibson. However, the team could always ask Bieksa to waive his NMC in order to protect the likes of Josh Manson.

Arizona Coyotes:

Pick – Mike Smith

With Arizona well underway of a full on youth movement, the team will most likely use a 4-4-1 scheme to hold onto Martin Hanzal (if not dealt before then), Tobias Rieder, Anthony Duclair (if not dealt also), Radim Vrbata, Alex Goligoski (NMC), Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Connor Murphy, Michael Stone, and Louis Domingue. And with young netminder Louis Domingue available all things point to them protecting him thus leaving Smith exposed. So this would be a great pickup for Vegas, they would need a starting goaltender and he’s signed through 2017 as well.

Boston Bruins:

Pick – Matt Beleskey

Matt Beleskey is a solid pick for the Knights, the Bruins are likely to do a 7-3-1 scheme to protect David Krejci (NMC), Patrice Bergeron (NMC), David Backes (NMC), Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Hayes, Zdeno Chara (NMC), Torey Krug, Joe Morrow, and Tuukka Rask. And with the team protecting goaltender Tuukka Rask. Malcolm Subban could always be an option as well, that is if Boston doesn’t use a conditional pick in order to protect him too. So the most likely pick would be a player like Beleskey who would help them reach the cap and has a contract in 2017.

Buffalo Sabres:

Pick – Nicolas Deslauriers

Buffalo has just as much offensive talent available as defensive so a 4-4-1 plan is the safest bet for the club. And with that scheme, they can protect Kyle Okposo (NMC), Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Dmitry Kulikov, Jake McCabe and Robin Lehner. This would leave a few significant players still exposed but that’s the rules of the game, so who would be the best pick of all those players? Nicolas Deslauriers, his salary is only $775 thousand and it runs into next season.

Calgary Flames:

Pick – Lance Bouma

Calgary has only a few defensive players worth protecting and the same goes for the forwards since their top young players are automatically exempt. So this leaves the Flames with a 4-4-1 protection scheme. This plan allows them to protect Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Dougie Hamilton, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Chad Johnson. So a who is left is quite thin and also quite old, so the best choice for the Knights would be someone like Lance Bouma who can play either wing or center.

Carolina Hurricanes:

Pick – Eddie Lack

The Hurricanes are quite thin on the defensive side when it comes to players worth protecting since the majority of their young skilled ones are exempt. So the best plan for the Hurricanes would be a 7-3-1 plan since they have more forwards that are worth picking up than the defenseman. So they would use said plan to protect the likes of Jordan Staal (NMC), Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrej Nestrasil, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy, Klas Dahlbeck, and Cam Ward. And due to the fact Carolina would want to hold onto their star netminder over a goalie who is unproven leaves the Knights with a solid backup in Eddie Lack.

Chicago Blackhawks:

Pick – Trevor Van Riemsdyk

The majority of Chicago’s defense are either pending UFA/RFA’s after this season or have NMC’s that won’t be asked to be waived. However on the offensive end they do have quite a few solid players that need to be protected leaving the team with a 7-3-1 plan and with this plan they will be able to protect Patrick Kane (NMC), Jonathan Toews (NMC), Marian Hossa (NMC), Artem Anisimov (NMC), Ryan Hartman, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Desjardins, Duncan Keith (NMC), Brent Seabrook (NMC), Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC), and Corey Crawford. Since the Hawks would be protecting someone like Crawford over Scott Darling expect them to spend a pick in order to protect him, so the next best player available for the picking would be young defenseman Trevor Van Riemsdyk, he’s signed through next season then becomes an RFA, so the Knights could use him for the year, if he performs well send him a tender offer if he doesn’t allow someone to take him for compensation.

Colorado Avalanche:

Pick – Blake Comeau

Colorado has a significant amount of top forwards up for grabs than they do defenseman which leaves the team with a 7-3-1 protection plan. This plan would allow the team to hold onto players like Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikhail Grigorenko, Carl Soderberg, Matt Nieto, Rocco Grimaldi, Erik Johnson (NMC), Tyson Barrie, Nikita Zadorov, and Calvin Pickard. Now Semyon Varlamov is always an option but his cap hit is quite significant, so in order for the Knights to make future moves and still be competitive their best choice would be a player like Blake Comeau.

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Pick – Dalton Prout

The Blue Jackets are another team that has to fall into a 7-3-1 protection plan due to the fact all of their top defensive players are exempt but their top forwards are not. So they will most likely use said plan to protect Brandon Dubinsky (NMC, Nick Foligno (NMC), Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Boone Jenner, Scott Hartnell (NMC), Seth Jones, Jack Johnson, Ryan Murray, and Sergei Bobrovsky. Though the Jackets could ask Hartnell to waive his NMC in order to protect a young player like William Karlsson or Josh Anderson. But with him protected in the plan, the Knights would need another defenseman, so there’s nothing wrong with taking a young, big and skilled defenseman in Dalton Prout.

Dallas Stars:

Pick – Cody Eakin

Dallas has two strong centers in Jason Spezza (NMC) and Tyler Seguin. They also have some very skilled d-men who need to be protected leaving the team to go 4-4-1 before the expansion. So with Spezza and Seguin already accounted above, this leaves the team to protect Jamie Benn (NMC), Antoine Roussel, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak, Stephen Johns, and Kari Lehtonen. This leaves third line center Cody Eakin exposed but that’s okay since the Stars have a few centers ready to fill that slot.

Montreal Canadiens:

Pick – Phillip Danault

The Canadiens also have a solid group of top offensive talent exposed and a rather weaker defensive core. So their best plan moving forward would be doing a 7-3-1 protection plan. This plan allows the team to protect the likes of Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Andrew Shaw, Alexander Radulov, Sven Andrighetto, Jeff Petry (NMC), Shea Weber, Nathan Beaulieu, and Carey Price. But unfortunately, this would also leave rising forward Phillip Danault up for exposure. And after the season he’s had it’s possible the Canadiens could opt to protect him with a pick. But if they don’t he’s a perfect number two or three center for the Knights.

Nashville Predators:

Pick – Ryan Ellis

Like Minnesota, Nashville also has a massive amount of offensive talent exposed, and since their defensive end is kinda lacking in the top talent department, they fit right into a 7-3-1 protection plan. This way they can save players like Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, James Neal, Viktor Arvidsson, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Calle Jarnkrok, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Mattias Ekholm, and Pekka Rinne. The only decent player left exposed that any team would like to help on their backend is someone like Ryan Ellis, which makes him a perfect fit for the Knights to help them keep building from the back out.

New Jersey Devils:

Pick – Devante Smith-Pelly

New Jersey has just as many solid forwards exposed as they do defenseman, which means some depth players will be left exposed, but that’s not all that bad since they can fill those slots with rising prospects or free agents. So their best bet is to go with a 4-4-1 protection plan so they can keep a hold of Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Mike Cammalleri, Andy Greene, Damon Severson, John Moore, Jon Merrill, goaltender Cory Schneider. This would leave players like Kyle Palmieri, Ben Lovejoy, Kyle Quincey, and Devante Smith-Pelly still exposed, and the better option for the Knights is rounding out their top nine up front while saving cap space at the same time, so the best player to pick in order to so is Devante Smith-Pelly.

New York Islanders:

Pick – Anders Lee

The Islanders probably have the toughest protection plan coming into the expansion. They have a wealth of talent up front and on the defensive end that is exposed. If they go 7-3-1 that leaves the majority of their forwards protected while some of their significant defensemen remain exposed. So their best option is to go a 4-4-1 route, which, unfortunately, will still leave some key guys open for the picking. With a 4-4-1 plan, the Isles can at least hold onto John Tavares (NMC), Andrew Ladd (NMC), Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Johnny Boychuk (NMC), Nick Leddy, Travis Hamonic, Calvin de Haan, and Thomas Greiss. With the current play of Jaroslav Halak, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the Isles leave him open. But due to this plan, there’s still some strong players available, Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas, Josh Bailey, Jason Chimera, Thomas Hickey, and Ryan Pulock. But if the Knights want to round out their top nine (since their defense is already strong) their best pick would be a player like Anders Lee.

New York Rangers:

Pick – Nick Holden

Fortunately for the Rangers, they don’t have a lot of defensive talent up for exposure which leaves them with a solid 7-3-1 plan to protect their key offensive players who are. Said plan would help the club hold onto Rick Nash (NMC), Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Oscar Lindberg, Dan Girardi (NMC), Marc Staal (NMC), Ryan McDonagh, and Henrik Lundqvist (NMC). So for a seventh defenseman who could possibly squeeze into the bottom pairing Nick Holden would be a great choice for the Knights to help keep their d-core competitive and deep.

Ottawa Senators:

Pick – Andrew Hammond

Like the Rangers, Ottawa’s main exposed players are their forwards. So the best plan for them going forward is obviously a 7-3-1 protection scheme. This will allow them to hold onto their key forwards while maintaining control over their three top defensemen. This plan would protect the likes of Bobby Ryan (NMC), Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Curtis Lazar (if not traded at the deadline), Dion Phaneuf (NMC), Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, and Craig Anderson. The Knights would already have a starter in Mike Smith, but he also has a history of up and down play as well as injuries, this is why Andrew Hammond would be a great choice cause it solidifies the net with Eddie Lack as well when the two can split the workload when Smith is either hurt or playing poorly.

Philadelphia Flyers:

Pick – Dale Weise

Another team who has the luxury of having more top forwards exposed than defenseman is the Flyers. So it’s safe to suggest the team will most likely go with a 7-3-1 plan in order to protect the likes of Claude Giroux (NMC), Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Matt Read, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Streit, Brandon Manning, and Anthony Stolarz. Now, this would also leave key goalie Steve Mason unprotected which the Flyers could easily use a pick to help protect him, the reason Anthony is on the main protection list is because he is a much younger goalie with a high potential upside. But with Mason and Stolarz as his backup, the Flyers are in good hands when it comes to the net. This would leave the Knights with a very solid fourth line winger who would provide some much-needed grit and protection to the team, so the choice of Dale Weise is quite obvious.

Pittsburgh Penguins:

Pick – Derrick Pouliot

The Penguins are lucky to have more offense than defense which needs to be protected, however, there are two young defensemen who could very well be up for grabs. But regardless the Penguins need a 7-3-1 in order to protect all the right players. This plan would allow the team to hold onto Sidney Crosby (NMC), Evgeni Malkin (NMC), Phil Kessel (NMC), Patric Hornqvist, Carl Hagelin, Chris Kunitz, Oskar Sundqvist, Kris Letang, Justin Schultz, Olli Maatta, and Matt Murray. The reason Murray is protected over Marc-Andre Fleury (who waives his NMC), is due to the fact his time is numbered in Pittsburgh and is most likely to move before hand. And instead of saving a pick on him they could use that pick to save Brian Dumoulin, which unfortunately will leave Derrick Pouliot still exposed which makes him a perfect fit for the Knights due to the fact he’s still young and is a pending RFA.

San Jose Sharks:

Pick – Brenden Dillon

San Jose is another team who needs to protect their forwards over their defenseman (since they have more talent up front than behind). So their best foot moving forward is a 7-3-1 plan as well. This way the club can protect Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Mikkel Boedker, Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun, and Martin Jones. Players like Joel Ward, Chris Tierney, Paul Martin, and Brenden Dillon still remain exposed but due to not overspending and leaving cap space but also making their defensive end even stronger, the best pick for Vegas would be Brenden Dillon.

St. Louis Blues:

Pick – Dmitrij Jaskin

Since Kevin Shattenkirk is most likely going to be dealt before the expansion takes place, the Blues are quite thin on the defensive end so they need to focus on their front end which leaves the team with a 7-3-1 plan. This plan keeps the team in control of Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, David Perron, Patrik Berglund, Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, and Jake Allen. So who do the Knights have left to choose from? Well, the could go for Carl Gunnarsson, Robert Bortuzzo, Nail Yakupov, Ryan Reaves or Dmitrij Jaskin. But due to cap and not going over and still having space for future moves, their best option is a player like Jaskin.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Pick – Cedric Paquette

Like many other teams before them, the Lightning has more key forwards exposed than they do defenseman. A 4-4-1 plan would leave to three solid forwards exposed in order to save one defenseman. So 7-3-1 is the club’s best option so they can protect Steven Stamkos (NMC), Ryan Callahan (NMC), Valtteri Filppula (NMC), Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Slater Koekkoek, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. With Ben Bishop expected to be dealt before the draft is why Andrei is protected, but with this plan, Braydon Coburn and Andrej Sustr are exposed, but the Bolts will likely use a pick to protect Sustr and let Coburn go. So what’s the best move for the Knights? A depth forward who is also a pending RFA with a high potential ceiling, so who fits that mold, Cedric Paquette.

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Pick – Martin Marincin

The Leafs will be another team subject to a 7-3-1 protection plan in order to hold onto their key forwards over defenseman who often switch every four games or so to allow another some ice time. With this plan the Leafs can hold onto Nazem Kadri, James Van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Leo Komarov, Brendan Leipsic, Matt Martin, Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Connor Carrick, and Frederik Andersen. Luckily for the Maple Leafs, their key stars like William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Nikita Zaitsev are automatically exempt. With some of Toronto’s defensive prospects in the AHL ready to make the jump next season to help push the youth movement. Martin Marincin could very well be picked up by the Knights as a depth defenseman or filling a role in the bottom six.

Vancouver Canucks:

Pick – Jack Skille

Yet again another team has to resort to a 7-3-1 plan for the same reason as the other teams, they have more key players up front that need to be protected than they do on the backend. With this plan, the Canucks can hold onto Daniel Sedin (NMC), Henrik Sedin (NMC), Loui Eriksson (NMC), Bo Horvat, Markus Granlund, Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, Erik Gudbranson, Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom. The reason Markstrom is protected over Miller is due to the fact that he is most likely going to be moved and has had quite the up and down season often leaving the net to Jacob (where he shined). So while the Knights defense has started to round itself out, the team would need another depth forward with the potential of moving up in the lineup and help contribute to the team, so their best pick is Jack Skille.

Washington Capitals:

Pick – Taylor Chorney

Washington falls into a quite precarious situation, they either do a 4-4-1 plan and leave three solid forwards exposed in order to protect another defenseman, or do a 7-3-1 plan to keep those three forwards and use a conditional pick to keep that d-man. So a 7-3-1 plan seems more reasonable for the Capitals this way they can keep a hold of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and Braden Holtby. The conditional pick could be used to hold onto someone like Dmitry Orlov. After that, every move comes down to cap space and depth, which leads the Knights with a solid option in taking Taylor Chorney.

Winnipeg Jets:

Pick – Michael Hutchinson

Since Winnipeg’s key forwards at the moment are automatically exempt, this allows the team to do a 4-4-1 protection plan. Now the is able to hold onto Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry, Dustin Byfuglien (NMC), Tobias Enstrom (NMC), Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba, and Connor Hellebuyck. If the Jets are unable to move Ondrej Pavelec before the deadline, they could re-sign him at a great discount as a backup to Hellebuyck. Which leaves the Knights with another solid depth goalie in Michael Hutchinson.

Final Roster:

Projected Cap Hit: $63,286,667
Projected Cap Space: $9,713,333
Players Under Contract: 28/20

Forwards:
Jakob Silfverberg
Matt Beleskey
Nicolas Deslauriers
Lance Bouma
Blake Comeau
Cody Eakin
Patrick Maroon
Chris Stewart
Phillip Danault
Devante Smith-Pelly
Anders Lee
Dale Weise
Dmitrij Jaskin
Cedric Paquette
Jack Skille

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Defenseman:
Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Dalton Prout
Niklas Kronwall
Jason Demers
Brayden McNabb
Ryan Ellis
Nick Holden
Derrick Pouliot
Brenden Dillon
Martin Marincin
Taylor Chorney

Goalies:
Mike Smith
Eddie Lack
Andrew Hammond
Michael Hutchinson

Depth Chart:
Jakob Silfverberg – Cody Eakin – Matt Beleskey
Patrick Maroon – Phillip Danault – Chris Stewart
Anders Lee – Nicolas Deslauriers – Blake Comeau
Dale Weise – Lance Bouma – Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitrij Jaskin – Cedric Paquette – Jack Skille

Niklas Kronwall – Jason Demers
Ryan Ellis – Dalton Prout
Brenden Dillon – Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Derrick Pouliot – Martin Marincin
Brayden McNabb – Nick Holden
Taylor Chorney

Mike Smith
Eddie Lack
Michael Hutchinson
Andrew Hammond

Next: Week 18 NHL Power Rankings

So either way, you look at things, the Knights are going to have a very competitive well-balanced team right from the get-go. This isn’t including what they decide to do at the trade deadline since the team will be able to start making moves March 1st. Next season should prove quite interesting, but most of the anticipation will happen in the coming months all the way until mid-August. We also have to keep in mind what the teams potential AHL affiliate may look like as well.