NHL Expansion Draft: Washington Capitals lose Philipp Grubauer

The Vegas Golden Knights get a proven defenseman who Joel Quenneville has grown to trust quite a bit. Trevor van Riemsdyk gets a well deserved chance to get more playing time with the Golden Knights.

Vegas goes with three young goalies, getting their third one from the Colorado Avalanche. The Golden Knights could easily flip one of them for even more assets because young goalies are worth a lot in today’s NHL. Grubauer is likely a keeper, while Ullmark and Pickard should fight for a backup spot.

Dallas is probably going to lose a defenseman in the expansion draft. Stephen Johns will be the most likely candidate to be unprotected and picked. He’s proven to be quite capable, handling a second pairing role at times.

Jonas Brodin is a perfect pick for the Vegas Golden Knights. He has top pairing potential and he’s under contract at a very reasonable cap hit. Brodin gets a break, as he was stuck behind Ryan Suter and Jason Spurgeon in Minnesota.

A quality center who has a ridiculously cheap cap hit for the foreseeable future? This is an early Christmas present for the Vegas Golden Knights. Calle Jarnkrok should be a fan favorite with his versatility and quality two-way play.

Even if he’s the worst one in recent memory, how many times can you get a first overall pick? Nail Yakupov gets a fresh start in Vegas, perhaps getting some chemistry with fellow Russian Vadim Shipachyov.

Adam Lowry has proven to be a very capable bottom six forward. Best of all, he’s relatively cheap as well. Vegas gets a quality forward, one who could grow into a long-term asset for them.