Vegas Golden Knights: Mock Draft and Roster Projection, Final Edition
Detroit Red Wings:
Protection Plan: 4-4-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Riley Sheahan
Protected Players:
Henrik Zetterberg, Frans Nielsen (NMC), Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha, Danny DeKeyser, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Nick Jensen, Petr Mrazek
Best Exposed Players:
Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Riley Sheahan, Drew Miller, Tomas Tatar, Mike Green, Ryan Sproul, Dylan McIlrath, Jimmy Howard, Jared Coreau, Andreas Athanasiou
With the rise of Nick Jensen this season the Red Wings have to go with a 4-4-1 plan. Now with all of the solid players the Red Wings still have left over the Knights can only pick one player and there best choice is Riley Sheahan who is still young with top six potential.
Edmonton Oilers:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Mark Fayne
Protected Players:
Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic (NMC), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Letestu, Leon Draisaitl, David Desharnais, Andrej Sekera (NMC), Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Cam Talbot (NMC), Zack Kassian
Best Exposed Players:
Benoit Pouliot, Patrick Maroon, Iiro Pakarinen, Tyler Pitlick, Matt Hendricks, Mark Fayne, Griffin Reinhart, Kris Russell, Laurent Brossoit
Minnesota Wild
Edmonton is another team who had a surprising year, especially in the playoffs. This put a huge target on Mark Letestu which means the Oilers have to protect him, but in doing so this leaves someone decent exposed. Now due to cap reasons the best choice for the Knights would be Mark Fayne.
Florida Panthers:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Jason Demers
Protected Players:
Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad, Colton Sceviour, Jonathan Marchessault, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle (NMC), Alex Petrovic, James Reimer
Best Exposed Players:
Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Jason Demers, Mark Pysyk, Jakub Kindl, Roberto Luongo, Thomas Vanek, Jaromir Jagr
Some of the defenseman the Panthers picked up via free agency didn’t quite step up to the plate but are ready for a rebound next season this makes Jason Demers intriguing to the Knights making him a solid choice.
Los Angeles Kings:
Protection Plan: 4-4-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Brayden McNabb
Protected Players:
Anze Kopitar (NMC), Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Kyle Clifford, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, Derek Forbort, Jonathan Quick
Best Exposed Players:
Dustin Brown, Marian Gaborik, Trevor Lewis, Jordan Nolan, Nic Dowd, Nick Shore, Jarome Iginla, Brayden McNabb, Jeff Zatkoff, Jack Campbell, Tanner Pearson, Teddy Purcell
Los Angeles had some solid defenseman step up for the team last season which leaves them with a 4-4-1 plan. Now out of Pearson, Purcell, Brown, Nolan, and Shore one will likely be saved with a conditional pick which leaves defenseman Brayden McNabb or one of those five open for the pickings.
Minnesota Wild:
Protection Plan: 7-3-1
Vegas Draft Pick: Jared Spurgeon
Protected Players:
Zach Parise (NMC), Mikko Koivu (NMC), Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Suter (NMC), Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, Devan Dubnyk, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund
Best Exposed Players:
Jason Pominville (NMC Waived), Eric Staal, Chris Stewart, Tyler Graovac, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Gustav Olofsson, Christian Folin, Darcy Kuemper, Martin Hanzal
Minnesota is in a very tough position, they impressed all year and had great scoring from every single line. Now the question is who do they protect? A 7-3-1 plan is the best idea in my opinion since a lot of that scoring is just going to get better. However, this means a solid defenseman, or two, will be left exposed. And which one would fit the Knights? I would have to say Spurgeon he’s the most skilled out of him and Dumba with the most upside.