Shoring up the defence
Las Vegas drafts Methot, Emelin to bolster blue line during NHL awards gala
St. Louis forward David Perron, Tampa Bay defenceman Jason Garrison, Ottawa defenceman Marc Methot and Montreal defenceman Alexei Emelin are among the next wave of choices by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
The expansion franchise welcomed its first veteran players during the NHL’s annual awards show, and they chose from a fairly deep pool of talent. While some of their choices are unrestricted free agents, they’ve got the potential to build a tough, young lineup.
The Golden Knights’ blue line is looking particularly healthy. Emelin has been with Montreal for the past five seasons, while Methot has spent the last five years with the Senators as the longtime defensive partner of Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson.
“I feel like we have created a great team initially, and we can grow from here,” Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said. Nashville general manager David Poile has been named the NHL’s top executive, and Columbus coach John Tortorella has won the Jack Adams Award as the top coach.
Poile was recognized after the Predators’ first Western Conference title and Stanley Cup Final appearance. Poile is the only GM in Predators history, patiently building the Sun Belt franchise into a powerhouse with a solid foundation in the community.
In his first full season in Columbus, Tortorella led the Blue Jackets’ revival for their best record ever and their first playoff appearance since 2014, even leading the overall NHL standings earlier in the season. The American coach also won the Adams award in 2004. Toronto forward Auston Matthews is the runaway winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.
Matthews claimed the honour during the NHL’s annual awards show, easily outdistancing Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine and Columbus’ Zach Werenski. Matthews had 40 goals and 29 assists in his rookie season after going to the Maple Leafs as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft. The Arizona-raised centre didn’t miss a game while propelling Toronto back into the Stanley Cup playoffs for just the second time since 2004. Jonathan Marchessault, Cody Eakin and Brayden McNabb are among the first players joining the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
The NHL revealed the first several picks during the first hour of the league’s annual awards show, and the Golden Knights appear to be making good on owner Bill Foley’s vow to impress their new fans. Vegas claimed Marchessault after he racked up 30 goals and 21 assists for Florida last year. Eakin is a solid two-way centre, and McNabb is a rising defenceman who broke through last season for the Los Angeles Kings.
Vegas also took Colorado goalie Calvin Pickard, Vancouver defenceman Luca Sbisa and New Jersey defenceman Jon Merrill.
The rest of the expansion draft picks will be sprinkled in during the telecast of the awards show.
Boston forward Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the fourth time, and San Jose’s Brent Burns has won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman. Bergeron joins Bob Gainey as the only players to win the Selke four times. Bergeron also claimed the trophy in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
He has been nominated for the Selke six straight times, joining Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk for the longest streak in the award’s history.
Burns is a first-time winner of the Norris. The heavily bearded big man with an aggressive offensive game scored 76 points to lead all defencemen. Burns beat out Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson, who scored 71 points. The first trophy of the NHL awards show has been handed out to Connor McDavid. The Edmonton captain won the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player chosen in a vote by NHL players association members. The 20-year-old NHL scoring champion also is a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. The 91-year-old Lindsay was in attendance for the presentation, flanked by Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier.
The results of the expansion draft also will be revealed throughout the two-hour awards show. The Vegas Golden Knights begin play in the fall as the NHL’s 31st franchise. The annual awards show got underway with a performance by a Canadian rock band and a few jokes from emcee Joe Manganiello, who got laughs from a comedy bit in which he stepped into the crowd to move Sidney Crosby up to an improved seat - by asking a grinning NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to switch seats.
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley is eager to reveal the roster that his franchise is building through the expansion draft.
When asked to give a sneak peek at that roster before the NHL awards show, Foley grinned and replied: “Can you keep a secret? Well, so can I.” The hockey world will know the results of general manager George McPhee’s machinations over the next few days, although numerous reports already have leaked out through the teams giving up players to the Golden Knights.
Even after the expansion draft results are revealed Wednesday night, that’s only part of the story, because McPhee’s additional trades can’t be announced until Thursday morning and beyond. Many teams have swung deals with McPhee to dissuade him from choosing players that they want to keep. “What surprised me was the quality of some of our forwards that we were able to get out of this situation,” Foley said. “The people of Las Vegas are going to be happy with what we did. They’re going to be pleasantly surprised.” Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL will look to enforce slashing penalties more next season and is not interested in more expansion at this time.