Looking back at Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Draft four years ago

On Wednesday night, the Seattle Kraken will make their selections in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft as the 32nd franchise in the League. As the Kraken start to build out their roster ahead of Friday’s 2021 NHL Draft, we’re going to look back at what happened the first time around when the Vegas Golden Knights were built.

Back in 2017, George McPhee was able to craft a lineup that made the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season. The Golden Knights were initially built through multiple trades and bargains due to friendlier rules for the expansion team catching much of the league off guard. We’ll see if Seattle will find the same success when they enter their picks heading into the 2021-22 season.

Let’s take a look at how the Golden Knights were built:

Calvin Pickard, G, Colorado Avalanche
Luca Sbisa, D, Vancouver Canucks
Teemu Pulkkinen, LW, Arizona Coyotes
Jon Merrill, D, New Jersey Devils
William Carrier, LW, Buffalo Sabres
Cody Eakin, C, Dallas Stars
Tomas Nosek, LW, Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Marchessault, C/W, Florida Panthers
Brayden McNabb, D, Los Angeles Kings
Connor Brickley, C, Carolina Hurricanes
Chris Thorburn, RW, Winnipeg Jets
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, RW, Philadelphia Flyers
Jason Garrison, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jean-Francois Berube, G, New York Islanders
James Neal, LW, Nashville Predators
Deryk Engelland, D, Calgary Flames
Brendan Leipsic, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Colin Miller, D, Boston Bruins
Marc Methot, D, Ottawa Senators
David Schlemko, D, San Jose Sharks
David Perron, LW, St. Louis Blues
Oscar Lindberg, C, New York Rangers
Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton Oilers
Alexei Emelin, D, Montreal Canadiens
Clayton Stoner, D, Anaheim Ducks
Erik Haula, C, Minnesota Wild
William Karlsson, C, Columbus Blue Jackets
Trevor van Reimsdyk, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Pittsburgh Penguins
Nate Schmidt, D, Washington Capitals

Here’s a list of the trades the Golden Knights made prior to the draft:

• Acquired a 2017 sixth-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres to select Carrier.
• Traded a 2018 fourth-round pick and agreed to select Marchessault from the Panthers for RW Reilly Smith.
• Acquired D Shea Theodore from Ducks and agreed to select Stoner.
• Traded a conditional third-round pick and agreed to select Haula from the Wild for F Alex Tuch.
• Acquired a 2020 second-round pick from Penguins to agree to select Fleury.

Here’s a list of player traded after the expansion draft:

• Schlemko, Methot, Emelin, Pickard, van Reimsdyk

Here’s a list of players who didn’t make the Golden Knights roster for the season:

• Brickley, Thorburn, Berube