TEAM SCHEDULES
Oscar Lindberg once had a strong performance in an exhibition game for the Rangers in Las Vegas at the end of the 2013 preseason, when he was still two years away from becoming a full-time NHL player.
He will now ply his trade in Sin City and hope to take his NHL career to new heights. The Vegas Golden Knights plucked Lindberg from the Rangers in the expansion draft, perhaps giving the 25-year-old center a chance for more minutes while leaving the Blueshirts with a void at center.
Lindberg, a restricted free agent, was exposed to the expansion draft and Vegas GM George McPhee must’ve liked what he saw from Lindberg in the playoffs, when the Swede played well on the fourth line in 12 games, finishing with four points and working hard all over the ice. He has shown off impressive skill and doesn’t appear to have yet hit his ceiling.
The Rangers currently have Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes as their top three centers. Depending on what happens in free agency, an internal candidate for the fourth center job could be Boo Nieves. Alain Vigneault seemed high on the 23-year-old before the start of last season.
After a slow start to the 2016-17 season while coming off bilateral hip labral repair, Lindberg finished with 20 points in 65 games. He had 28 points in 68 matches as a rookie the season prior.
Vegas decided on Lindberg instead of players like Michael Grabner, Antti Raanta and Jesper Fast, who is set to miss the start of the season after undergoing labral repair in his left hip. Fast is a restricted free agent, while Grabner and Raanta each have one year left on their contracts.
The Rangers protected Stepan; Zibanejad; Hayes; Rick Nash; Chris Kreider; Mats Zuccarello; J.T. Miller; Ryan McDonagh; Marc Staal; Nick Holden and Henrik Lundqvist from the expansion draft.
All 30 NHL teams had to submit a list of protected players to the league by last Saturday. Teams could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie.
The Islanders lost goalie J.F. Berube, as they protected Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee, John Tavares, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and Thomas Greiss.
The Devils lost defenseman Jon Merrill, while protecting Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller, Damon Severson and Cory Schneider.
HOME SWEET GARDEN: The Rangers’ home opener will be on Oct. 5 against the Avalanche, which will also be their season-opener. Their first road game will be on Oct. 7 against the Maple Leafs. The full NHL schedule will be revealed Thursday. Marchessault and forwards David Perron and James Neal are among the veterans selected by the Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and general manager George McPhee announced their choices during the NHL’s annual postseason awards show at T-Mobile Arena, where Vegas will begin play in the fall.
Fleury took the stage in a Golden Knights jersey to wild cheers from his new home fans. The three-time Cup winner lost his starting job with the back-to-back champion Penguins, but he’ll get to start over in the desert with two years on his contract.
The Golden Knights also announced additional acquisitions of a handful of veterans and free agents, including Anaheim defenseman Shea Theodore and Florida forward Reilly Smith.
The NHL wrote its draft rules to give the Golden Knights more opportunities to compete early in their existence, and their expansion draft choices certainly appear to form a solid core that could make noise in the Pacific Division.
“They’re way past getting off the ground,” Nashville general manager David Poile said. “I think this is by far the best expansion team ever.”
The Golden Knights will make their regular-season debut on the road in Dallas on Oct. 6 and host the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 10 in the first home game in franchise history.
NHL teams announced their home openers with the full, 1,271-game schedule for the 2017-18 season set to be released Thursday.
Vegas will play its first two games on the road, visiting Arizona on Oct. 7 before the second leg of an early back-to-back for coach Gerard Gallant’s club.
The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will raise another banner and begin their quest for a three-peat Oct. 4 against the St. Louis Blues. The Penguins visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 5 in a matchup of the only teams to win the Cup three times in the salary-cap era.
The Western Conference-champion Nashville Predators open the season Oct. 5 at Boston. — With the Associated Press