For NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, ‘hockey should never be boring’

Mere weeks before they are to select 30 players in the NHL expansion draft, the Vegas Golden Knights are operating at a breakneck pace.

With its professional and amateur scouts evaluating talent across the hockey map, the team signed two players — junior forward Reid Duke and Russian star Vadim Shipachyov — and offered a glimpse into the type of roster it hopes to assemble.

The Golden Knights, Las Vegas’ first major pro sports franchise, expect to entertain. They do not intend to do that by relying solely on players made available by the NHL’s 30 other teams.

“There’s really only one way to build a successful NHL team, and that is through a combination of strong drafting and development, effective trading and free-agent procurement,” General Manager George McPhee said. “It’s not about playing some stripped, sit-back style. Players don’t enjoy that. They want to play a game where they have some freedom in how they can move and how they think. Hockey should never be boring.”

McPhee’s intention to field a speedy, skilled team played considerably into his decision to choose Gerard Gallant as the coach. A favorite among his players, Gallant led a Florida Panthers team that finished atop the Atlantic Division and ranked eighth in offense in 2015-16.

McPhee does not seem interested in emulating the architects of previous expansion teams. He is instead following the precedent he set during 17 years as the general manager of the Washington Capitals. During McPhee’s last five seasons in Washington, only two teams scored more than the Capitals’ 1,121 goals.

“I think you’d have to look at the team that we built in Washington,” McPhee said. “That’s a talented team. It’s got depth; it’s got speed, good-character players. It has size. Really had some exceptional seasons. We’ll do our best to assemble that kind of team.”

The foundation for that roster will come from the expansion draft on June 21 in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights’ front office will receive the league’s list of unprotected players on June 18, after which they will have 72 hours to select their team. The league’s other teams must protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender, or a combination of eight total skaters and a goalie, offering a greater variety of talent than previous expansion drafts.

McPhee and his staff have been meticulously preparing for the big day through monthly mock drafts.

“The mock drafts are valuable in terms of us having some reps in terms of the process,” the assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “They encourage and then facilitate a real healthy discussion on players.”

Those mock drafts have gotten a greater degree of clarity as McPhee has engaged the league’s other general managers. Although the Golden Knights have limited assets with which to leverage trades, McPhee has stayed active. By agreeing to select or pass on certain players in the expansion draft, Vegas could receive assets from teams. Although no such transactions have been completed, negotiations have made McPhee privy to the expansion draft plans of up to a dozen teams.

In previous expansions — most recently the addition of the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000 — teams relied almost entirely on players selected in the expansion draft. In some cases, a top pick in the entry draft made the inaugural roster.

But the Golden Knights’ plan deviates from that. Vegas owns the sixth pick in the entry draft on June 23-24, but McPhee says he does not expect to rush teenage players into the lineup.

“I wouldn’t imagine they’d be ready for opening night,” said McPhee, attending the scouting combine for draft prospects this week in Buffalo. “It’s better to take your time developing players.”

And the signing of Shipachyov is the clearest indication yet that Vegas also plans to add skill through free agency. Shipachyov, 30, finished third in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League last season with 76 points. He also collected 13 points in 10 games at the world championship last month, ranking sixth as Russia finished third.

“Bill Foley will spend whatever we’re allowed to spend to put a good team on the ice,” McPhee said, referring to the team owner. “He wants to win, and he paid half a billion for the franchise and has built a $30 million practice facility. So being able to spend to the cap is not an issue.”

Building through free agency plays to an advantage the NHL has afforded its newest team. Although the terms have yet to be completed, the Golden Knights will have a 48- or 72-hour window around the time of the expansion draft to sign free agents, who cannot be signed by other teams until July 1. Should the Golden Knights sign a free agent during this period, they would be prohibited from selecting anyone from that player’s former team in the expansion draft.

Even with talented players like Ryan Johansen, Tyler Johnson and Evgeny Kuznetsov entering restricted free agency, McPhee said he was unlikely to sign such players and would instead pursue unrestricted free agents.

By targeting established NHL talent, the Golden Knights expect to exceed the modest expectations typically assigned to expansion teams. The hope is that they will soon be Las Vegas’ newest must-see attraction.

“We want to be a real competitive team that develops real strong identity, that plays an up-tempo style and is able to not only entertain our fans but also foster an environment where people will develop and improve as players,” McCrimmon said. “That in general terms will be our focus with respect to how we want to play, what we’re going to look like.”