GM George McPhee is working with both his amateur and pro scouts as he finalizes his strategy for this offseason. Vegas will have holes to fill on its NHL roster and free agency is one way to acquire players. There will also be trade discussions leading up to the draft and there are teams looking to move players for picks and vice versa.
The amateur draft is the lifeblood of a McPhee operated franchise. An elite talent evaluator, McPhee has used the draft during his career as an NHL executive to build the foundation of his rosters. Free agency is a place to finish off the edges of a roster. Certainly a big piece can be acquired from time to time but in a salary cap world - drafting, developing and retaining one's own talent is the most efficient and effective way to build a champion. Free agency can be tempting but it can also be the pursuit of fool's gold. Expensive salary cap mistakes can haunt a franchise for years.
The NHL will hold its awards night in Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Wednesday, June 20 and a handful of Golden Knights types will be in attendance.
William Karlsson has been nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, Deryk Engelland is a candidate for the Mark Messier Leadership Award, coach Gerard Gallant is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award while McPhee is up for the GM of the Year Award.
McPhee will depart for the draft in Dallas following the awards and convene with his scouting staff there.
As busy as all of this seems, it's nothing compared to what the organization was up to this time last year.
Every day in June 2017, it seemed the Golden Knights were breaking new ground. The expansion draft took place on June 21 in Vegas and then on June 23, the team selected Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom in the first round of the amateur draft.
The expansion draft saw McPhee select one player from each of the existing 30 NHL franchises and he also added seven players and 10 draft picks in side deals.
The entire month of June was a leadup to the expansion draft as the team ramped up for its beginnings as an NHL franchise:
June 6 - the club announced the hiring of Kyle Moore as associate head athletic trainer.
June 7 - Vegas hired Rocky Thompson as head coach of AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves.
June 8 - Gerard Gallant hired assistant coach Mike Kelly.
June 9 - Gallant added assistant coach Ryan Craig to his staff.
June 19 - the Golden Knights opened The Amory - a team store at T-Mobile Arena.
June 20 - the Golden Knights unveiled their team jerseys and uniforms.
It's been a busy year for the Golden Knights culminating in the team winning three rounds in the post-season and qualifying for the Stanley Cup Final. So catch your breath now but don't take too much time.
It all starts again next week.
