Wealth of talent available to Vegas

Las Vegas general manager George McPhee has to determine his draft selections over a three-day stretch during which the expansion Golden Knights are the only team allowed to make trades and sign pending free agents.

Sunday, the league released the list of players who weren’t protected by their teams. There’s a threetime Stanley Cup champion goalie (Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury) available and several 20-plus-goal-scorers, including Nashville’s James Neal and Minnesota’s Eric Staal. And there’s a number of top defensemen exposed, such as Anaheim’s Sami Vatanen and Ottawa’s Marc Methot.

Aside from Fleury, other goalies available are Florida’s Roberto Luongo, Detroit’s Petr Mrazek and Philadelphia’s Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth.