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March 18, 2024

Blog: Golden Knights ‘delighted’ with results of NHL expansion draft

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury among incoming players in attendance at awards show

Marc-Andre Fleury Knights

L.E. Baskow

Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh is welcomed as the Golden Knights announce their expansion picks off of every NHL roster during the NHL Awards show on at the T-Mobile Arena.

Updated Wednesday, June 21, 2017 | 7:38 p.m.

Marc-Andre Fleury was taken aback as he stepped onto the stage at the NHL Awards and Expansion Draft Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The veteran Pittsburgh Penguins’ goalkeeper was one of the final players revealed as part of the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft, and received a massive roar with a standing ovation.

“I didn’t expect that,” Fluery said. “It’s crazy. I’m very excited to get this started.”

All reviews were positive as Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and general manager George McPhee announced a pick off of every existing team.

Fleury, as expected, should be the immediate face of the franchise but he won’t be alone. Other potential standouts include James Neal, who recently helped the Nashville Predators to the Stanley Cup finals where they lost to the Penguins, and Trevor van Reimsdyk, who was a part of the 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

McPhee also picked up a slew of draft picks including a pair of additional first-round selections for this year’s Entry Draft, which begins Friday in Chicago, as part of deals with the other 30 teams.

“We’re certainly delighted with the way it went,” McPhee said.

Several more trades are surely in the works, as the Golden Knights’ roster is far from being set. But Wednesday night will always be remembered as the starting point.

Read the Golden Knights’ full list of picks from the expansion draft below, and come back to the Sun later for more coverage.

Colorado Avalanche- Calvin Pickard, Goaltender

Vancouver Canucks- Luca Sbisa, Defense

Arizona Coyotes- Teemu Pulkkinen, Left Wing

New Jersey Devils- Jon Merrill, Defense

Buffalo Sabres- William Carrier, Left Wing

Detroit Red Wings- Tomas Nosek, Left Wing

Dallas Stars- Cody Eakin, Center

Florida Panthers- Jonathan Marchessault, Center

Los Angeles Kings- Brayden McNabb, Defense

Carolina Hurricanes- Connor Brickley, Center

Winnipeg Jets- Chris Thorburn, Right Wing

Philadelphia Flyers- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Right Wing

Tampa Bay Lightning- Jason Garrison, Defenseman

New York Islanders- Jean-François Bérubé, Goaltender

Nashville Predators- James Neal Right Wing

Calgary Flames- Derek Engelland, Defenseman

Toronto Maple Leafs- Brendan Leipsic, Left Wing

Boston Bruins- Colin Miller, Defenseman

Ottawa Senators- Marc Methot, Defenseman

San Jose Sharks- David Schlemko, Defenseman

St. Louis Blues- David Perron, Left Wing

New York Rangers- Oscar Lindberg, Center

Edmonton Oilers- Griffin Reinhart, Defenseman

Montreal Canadiens- Elexei Emelin, Defenseman

Anaheim Ducks- Clayton Stoner

Minnesota Wild- Erik Haula

Columbus Blue Jackets- William Karlsson

Chicago Blackhawks-Trevor van Reimsdyk

Pittsburgh Penguins- Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington Capitals- Nate Schmidt

The day is finally here.

From the initial season ticket drive to the NHL’s announcement it would bring a team to Las Vegas, and from naming the team to breaking ground on its state-of-the-art practice facility, it’s all led up to this. No single day so far will mean more in Golden Knights’ franchise history than today.

Golden Knights general manager George McPhee submitted his 30 expansion-draft selections, one off of each existing franchise, to the league at 7 a.m. this morning. They will be made official and announced to the public starting at 5 p.m. tonight at T-Mobile Arena as part of the NHL Awards festivities.

"I think it’s going to be a pretty good team," McPhee said on Tuesday. "We’re happy that, you know, we got a lot of defensemen, we got really good goaltending, we’ve got a lot of centers and we’ve got scoring on the wings. Should have good speed, so it’s going to be a good team."

Wedged between the NHL's biggest stars receiving yearly honors, fans will watch the Golden Knights reveal their roster.

As the selections are announced, keep in mind that McPhee has conducted as many as 15 side deals with other teams. The Golden Knights will be loaded with draft picks for the next three seasons in exchange for not picking some of the better players available.

Here are the players reportedly heading to Las Vegas.

Anaheim Ducks: Vegas will select Clayton Stoner instead of Josh Manson or Sami Vatanen and in return the Ducks will give them Shea Theodore.

Chicago Blackhawks: Vegas will select Marcus Kruger and in return Chicago will give them Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Columbus Blue Jacket: Vegas will take on David Clarkson's contract in exchange for Columbus' 2017 first round pick and a prospect. The Golden Knights will select William Karlsson.

Dallas Stars: Vegas will select Cody Eakin.

Detroit Red Wings: Vegas will select Tomas Nosek.

Los Angeles Kings: Vegas will select Brayden McNabb.

Minnesota Wild: Vegas will select Eric Haula in exchange for also receiving prospect Alex Tuch.

Montreal Canadiens: Vegas will select Alexei Emelin.

Nashville Predators: Vegas is expected to select James Neal.

New York Islanders: Vegas will select Mikhail Grabovski and receive a first round pick in exchange for not selecting certain players. J-F Berube is also believed to be involved in the deal.

Ottawa Senators: Vegas will select Marc Methot, who could be traded to another team.

Philadelphia Flyers: Vegas will select Pierre-Edoardo Bellemare.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Vegas will select Marc-Andre Fleury and is also expected to receive a draft pick.

St. Louis Blues: Vegas will select David Perron.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Vegas will select Jason Garrison in an unknown deal with the Lightning.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Vegas will select Brendan Leipsic.

Follow along with the Sun all night as we post and update every pick in real time, and join in on the fun in one of the biggest nights in our city’s sports history.

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