LAS VEGAS - A decade ago, when defenseman Deryk Engelland was playing for Las Vegas of the ECHL, he never imagined the NHL would one day come to this city.

"I wouldn't even have thought of someone trying to bring a team here then," Engelland said.

CHICAGO -- In the 2 1/2 days Nashville Predators general manager David Poile spent at the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas, he talked to just about all of his counterparts around the League. He had nothing to announce when he left Saturday, but that could change soon.

The Western Conference champions have a hole to fill after losing left wing James Neal to the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL Expansion Draft. They could have another if Mike Fisher, their captain and second-line center, retires.

"If we could get a top-six forward, that would probably be my first choice," Poile said.

CHICAGO -- No sooner had the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas ended Saturday than teams turned their attention to next year.

There should be no shortage of impact talent available in the 2018 draft.

CHICAGO -- It was over. Not just the busy week, but the busy year launching the Vegas Golden Knights -- hiring the staff, scouting professionals and amateurs, preparing for the NHL Expansion Draft and the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas, and finally executing the plan.

George McPhee said as a general manager, you know when you've done a good job and when you haven't. When he stood up from the Vegas table on the floor of United Center on Saturday, he told his staff members they had done an excellent job.

CHICAGO -- The stage is being broken down, the hanging video boards removed, the 31 team draft tables and all the chairs folded up and the phones and all the wires put away. The 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas is over, but the NHL offseason is just beginning.

The window for teams to begin interviewing prospective unrestricted free agents begins Sunday. The free agent market opens at noon ET on July 1. In between, there will be plenty of trade talk and likely plenty of trades, considering the market is active.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes look drastically different than they did when the hockey world woke up on draft day.

The Blackhawks traded two-time 30-goal scorer Artemi Panarin and three-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson in separate trades Friday, the same day they hosted the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas. 

CHICAGO -- Cody Glass has been to Las Vegas once before. He was 10 years old, playing for a team called the Junior Steelers in a summer tournament at a community rink. He walked The Strip, looked at the lights, felt the heat and thought it was nothing like at home in Winnipeg.

CHICAGO -- The Columbus Blue Jackets entered the offseason seeking a dangerous scoring forward. They found their guy in Artemi Panarin, but he didn't come cheap.

The Blue Jackets acquired Panarin on Friday with forward Tyler Motte and a sixth-round pick (No. 170) in the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Brandon Saad, goalie Anton Forsberg and a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft.

CHICAGO -- The aggressive remake of the Arizona Coyotes continued Friday with two trades that landed a No. 1 center, a top-pair defenseman and a potential No. 1 goaltender.

In the first deal, made hours before the start of the 2017 NHL Draft, the Coyotes traded for defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson from the Chicago Blackhawks. In the second deal, announced less than an hour after the first, the Coyotes obtained center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta from the New York Rangers.

CHICAGO -- The Vegas Golden Knights took advantage of the NHL Expansion Draft to put themselves in a great position for the 2017 NHL Draft presented by adidas.

Now they must take advantage of that to put themselves in a great position to contend for the Stanley Cup someday.