Vegas Golden Knights: Mock Draft and Roster Projection, Final Edition

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Apr 12, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena. The Penguins won 3-1.Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Carolina Hurricanes:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Cam Ward

Protected Players:
Jordan Staal (NMC), Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Joakim Nordstrom, Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Faulk, Klas Dahlbeck, Ryan Murphy, Scott Darling, Andrej Nestrasil

Best Exposed Players:
Lee Stempniak, Jay McClement, Cam Ward, Eddie Lack, Philip Di Giuseppe, Connor Brickley, Brock McGinn

When Carolina acquired Scott Darling from the Blackhawks this left options open regarding Eddie Lack and Cam Ward. Now with Carolina and cap space, Cam Ward is the best option moving forward for the Knights and this also gives them a solid A/B starter.

Chicago Blackhawks:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Trevor van Riemsdyk

Protected Players:
Patrick Kane (NMC), Jonathan Toews (NMC), Marian Hossa (NMC), Artem Anisimov (NMC), Marcus Kruger, Richard Panik, Ryan Hartman, Brent Seabrook (NMC), Duncan Keith (NMC), Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC), Corey Crawford (NMC)

Best Exposed Players:
Jordin Tootoo, Andrew Desjardins, Tomas Jurco, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Brian Campbell, Johnny Oduya, Ville Pokka, Viktor Svedberg, Michael Latta, Dennis Rasmussen

Chicago has a ton of players with NMC’s but on the flip side they have the option to replace whoever the Knights pick from within, and Vegas’ best option is Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Colorado Avalanche:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Blake Comeau

Protected Players:
Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Carl Soderberg, Erik Johnson (NMC), Tyson Barrie, Nikita Zadorov, Calvin Pickard, Sven Andrighetto, Matt Nieto, Mikhail Grigorenko

Best Exposed Players:
Joe Colborne, Blake Comeau, Rocco Grimaldi, Rene Bourque, Francois Beauchemin (NMC Waived), Mark Barberio, Cody Goloubef, Fedor Tyutin, Patrick Wiercioch, Duncan Siemens, Eric Gelinas, Semyon Varlamov

If Francois Beauchemin waives his NMC the Aves can protect three promising defenseman. Which leaves the Knights with a solid choice in depth winger Blake Comeau.

Columbus Blue Jackets:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Cam Atkinson

Protected Players:
Brandon Saad, Brandon Dubinsky (NMC), Nick Foligno (NMC), Boone Jenner, Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, Alexander Wennberg, Seth Jones, Jack Johnson, David Savard, Sergei Bobrovsky (NMC)

Best Exposed Players:
Scott Hartnell (NMC Waived), Cam Atkinson, Lukas Sedlak, Ryan Murray, Scott Harrington, Joonas Korpisalo, Anton Forsberg, Oscar Dansk, Josh Anderson, Sam Gagner, Daniel Zaar

Columbus had a terrific year that seen a lot of the young players rise to the occasion, one player they would be willing to let go of would be Cam Atkinson since they’ll likely protect Lukas Sedlak with a conditional pick.

Dallas Stars:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Antoine Roussel

Protected Players:
Jamie Benn (NMC), Jason Spezza (NMC), Tyler Seguin, Cody Eakin, John Klingberg, Stephen Johns, Esa Lindell, Ben Bishop (NMC), Brett Ritchie, Mark McNeill, Radek Faksa

Best Exposed Players:
Antoine Roussel, Curtis McKenzie, Jiri Hudler, Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, Dan Hamhuis, Greg Pateryn, Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Travis Morin, Matej Stransky, Valeri Nichushkin

Ben Bishop was recently acquired which means one of the two past goaltenders is on their way out, now Dallas could likely use a pick to protect Lehtonen to be a backup since Niemi isn’t what he used to be. So with that in mind the best player the Knights could take from Dallas is Antoine Roussel.

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