Expansion Draft

Vegas Golden Knights wouldn’t let Capitals keep Nate Schmidt despite ‘good offers’

CHICAGO — Leading up to the Vegas Golden Knights’ Expansion Draft Wednesday, it seemed like the whole league was working on deals with Knights general manager George McPhee to keep players away from the new club. The Capitals, however, were unable to work out a deal to keep rising top-four defenseman Nate Schmidt in DC.

The 25-year-old restricted free agent, who will likely more than double his $812,500 salary from last season, was one of the league’s top possession defensemen and a smooth skating puck mover, something prized in today’s NHL. In the Capitals’ quest for the Stanley Cup in the 2017 playoffs, perhaps their best chance ever at capturing the iconic, franchise defining trophy, Schmidt was one of the team’s best players. Now he is gone from the roster, with nothing in return.

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George McPhee says the Golden Knights have made ‘at least’ six trades

LAS VEGAS — A strip mall located next to a golf course is the center of hockey universe. There Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is selecting his team for 2017-18 season when the new franchise begins play. On Saturday morning here, McPhee gave his daily press briefing as his team began to fall into place.

“Three days ago, we had a whiteboard with no names on it and now it looks like we’ve got a hockey team,” McPhee said. NHL teams released their list of players protected from the Golden Knights Sunday morning.

McPhee will have a glut of players, picking one from each of the other 30 teams. He must pick at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders. McPhee is always coy with reporters, often toying with them in his public comments. While he wouldn’t get into the exact number of trades he has worked out, he did say there were “at least” six.

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