Devils on clock with No. 1 pick
The NHL stage belongs to Ray Shero and the New Jersey Devils. Then it goes right back to George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights.
In the wake of Vegas’ expansion draft, New Jersey is on the clock with the No. 1 pick of the amateur draft beginning tonight at the United Center in Chicago. The only other time the franchise had the first pick was in 1979, when the thenColorado Rockies selected Rob Ramage.
“I think it’s been exciting for our franchise, exciting time for our scouts,” said Shero, who was hired as New Jersey’s general manager in May 2015. “In addition obviously to the first overall pick we’ve got the nine other picks, which are going to be very important on Day 2.
“But this is, I think, once the dust has settled now with expansion in terms of Vegas making all the selections or trades, whatever they’ve done, it really puts into focus again OK, the draft itself, which is important for every team.”
After New Jersey makes its pick — Shero said the Devils know who they are going to take, but he was keeping that to himself for now — Philadelphia, Dallas, Colorado and Vancouver round out the top five. Then Vegas makes the first pick in franchise history.
Knights still dealing
The Golden Knights announced two more trades yesterday, running their total to 13 selections for this year’s draft. Vegas sent defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and a 2018 seventh-round draft pick to Carolina for a secondround selection tomorrow. The team also shipped defenseman David Schlemko to Montreal for a fifthround pick in 2019.
Vegas, which selected 30 players in its expansion draft Wednesday night, has three picks in each of the first two rounds. It also has two selections in the fifth and sixth.
“It’s a hard draft,” said McPhee, the franchise’s GM. “Going through it today, it’s been a harder draft that most so it’s taking some time . . . three picks, it’s a lot to manage and you really have to focus. When you have one pick in the first round, you’re looking for one guy. When you’ve got three, it’s harder. But it’s a good problem to have.”
Isles pick up Eberle
The Edmonton Oilers traded forward Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders for forward Ryan Strome. Eberle has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past four seasons, and had a career-high 34 in 2011-12. But he had just two assists in 13 playoff games this spring and was criticized for his lackluster play.
Eberle, 27, is entering the fifth year of a six-year contract worth $36 million and had been a frequent subject of trade rumors.
Tippett out in Ariz.
The Arizona Coyotes and coach Dave Tippett have mutually agreed to part ways after eight seasons. The 55-year-old Tippett was 282-257-83 in the desert. . . .
The NHL is considering issuing a minor penalty for a failed coach’s challenge for offside. The penalty would be instead of losing a timeout for a failed challenge. . . . Former NHL MVP Chris
Pronger joined the Florida Panthers front office as senior adviser to the president of hockey operations.