The Vegas Golden Knights waited until the NHL Awards on Wednesday evening to announce their expansion draft picks. Beforehand, the roster slowly leaked out to beat reporters and national writers hours before the expansion draft is slated to begin.
Of course, nothing is 100 percent official until Vegas takes the stage. And this roster might not even stick after this evening, as the Golden Knights seem to have flip deals in place for more than a few of the guys they are slated to pick. However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t get share the latest reports.
So, here is every possible rumor we can find on which players will be taken in Wednesday evening’s expansion draft. As official picks are announced, they will be posted here, and we will update this post as well.
Anaheim Ducks: Defenseman Clayton Stoner. The Golden Knights also receive defenseman prospect Shea Theodore.
Arizona Coyotes: Forward Teemu Pulkkinen.
Boston Bruins: Defenseman Colin Miller.
Buffalo Sabres: Forward William Carrier. The Golden Knights also receive a sixth-round pick.
Calgary Flames: Defenseman Deryk Engelland.
Carolina Hurricanes: Forward Connor Brickley. The Golden Knights also receive a fifth-round pick.
Chicago Blackhawks: Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Colorado Avalanche: Goaltender Calvin Pickard.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Forward William Karlsson. The Golden Knights also receive a 2017 first-round pick, 2019 second-round pick, and the contract of David Clarkson.
Dallas Stars: Forward Cody Eakin.
Detroit Red Wings: Forward Tomas Nosek.
Edmonton Oilers: Defenseman Griffin Reinhart.
Florida Panthers: Forward Jonathan Marchessault. The Panthers also traded forward Reilly Smith to the Golden Knights for a 2018 fourth-round pick.
Los Angeles Kings: Defenseman Brayden McNabb.
Minnesota Wild: Forward Erik Haula (RFA). The Golden Knights also acquire forward prospect Alex Tuch for a third-round pick.
Montreal Canadiens: Defenseman Alexei Emelin.
Nashville Predators: Forward James Neal.
New Jersey Devils: Defenseman Jon Merrill.
New York Islanders: Goaltender Jean-Francois Berube. The Golden Knights also acquired forward Mikhail Grabovski, defenseman Jake Bischoff, a 2017 first-round pick (No. 15 overall), and a 2019 second-round pick.
New York Rangers: Forward Oscar Lindberg.
Ottawa Senators: Defenseman Marc Methot.
Philadelphia Flyers: Forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights also receive a 2020 second-round pick.
San Jose Sharks: Defenseman David Schlemko.
St. Louis Blues: Winger David Perron.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Defenseman Jason Garrison. The Golden Knights also receive rights to forward Nikita Gusev, a 2017 second-round pick, and a 2018 fourth-round pick from Tampa Bay.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Forward Brendan Leipsic.
Vancouver Canucks: Defenseman Luca Sbisa.
Washington Capitals: Defenseman Nate Schmidt.
Winnipeg Jets: Forward Chris Thorburn (UFA). The Golden Knights also swapped picks with the Jets, sending the Blue Jackets’ first-rounder (No. 24 overall) to Winnipeg for No. 13 overall and a third-round pick.