Blue Goose
Registered User
After originally doing mock drafts in hopes of icing the best team possible, I’ve changed course and now focused my attention on players with the best trade value to help Vegas get extra picks in the next few drafts. McPhee keeps talking about wanting to build through the draft, and I think too many of us chose our mock draft from the perspective of a “fan†instead of an “executiveâ€.
As a result, here is my final mock draft – with emphasis on veterans with 1-2 years left on their contracts, making some immediate trades (for picks/prospects to shed salary down from the expansion draft cap hit), and trying to factor in as many of the rumored side deals as possible. I call it the “3-Year Realist†plan, as I believe the team could be very mediocre for the first two years while they shed many of the contracts taken in the expansion draft, but then make the playoffs in Year 3. I think there will only be about 12-15 of the expansion draft selections on the team in Year 3, possibly less.
2017-18 LINEUP:
Bobby Ryan – Tomas Plekanec – Michael Grabner
Nikolai Kulemin – Vadim Shipachyov – Evgeni Dadonov
Michael Raffl – Colton Sissons – Lee Stempniak
Matt Calvert – Marcus Kruger – Trevor Lewis
Marko Dano, Joel Ward
Dan Hamhuis – Jake Dotchin (RFA)
Marco Scandella – Colin Miller
Luca Sbisa – Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Jon Merrill
Marc-Andre Fleury
Philipp Grubauer (RFA)
2017-18 AHL:
Jamie McGinn
Brett Kulak (RFA)
Jujhar Khaira
Linus Ullmark
Jaycob Megna (RFA)
Kerby Rychel
Reid Duke
Tomas Hyka
EXPANSION DRAFT CAP HIT: $71.8M
2017 IMMEDIATE TRADES: (shedding $13.25M)
Calvin Pickard
Petr Mrazek
Jason Demers
David Perron
2017 BRIBE DEALS:
Anaheim (to not pick Vatanen/Manson): 2018 1st + prospect
Chicago (to take Kruger with TVR): 2019 4th
Columbus (to not take Anderson/Korpisalo/Johnson): 2017 1st + prospect + Clarkson contract
Florida (to not take Marchessault/Smith): 2018 2nd
Minnesota (to not take Dumba): 2019 1st
Montreal (to take Plekanec): 2019 4th
Nashville (to not take Neal): 2017 1st
New York Islanders (to not take Nelson/Strome/De Haan): 2017 1st + prospect (?) + Grabovski contract
Ottawa (to not take Methot): 2017 2nd
Pittsburgh (to take Fleury)?: 2019 5th
Washington (to not take Schmidt): 2019 4th
Winnipeg (to not take Enstrom): 2018 3rd
2018 DEADLINE TRADES:
Stempniak
Calvert
Hamhuis (@ 50%)
Plekanec (@ 50%)
Kulemin (?)
Grabner
Ward
Sbisa (@ 50%)
2018 POST-DEADLINE LINEUP
Raffl – Shipachyov – Dadonov
Ryan – Sissons – Dano
Khaira – Lewis – Hyka
Rychel – Kruger – McGinn
Scandella – C. Miller
Kulak – Dotchin
Merrill – TVR
Megna
Fleury
Grubauer
2019 DEADLINE TRADES:
McGinn (@ 50%)
Kruger (@ 50%)
Raffl
Fleury (@ 50%)
As a result, here is my final mock draft – with emphasis on veterans with 1-2 years left on their contracts, making some immediate trades (for picks/prospects to shed salary down from the expansion draft cap hit), and trying to factor in as many of the rumored side deals as possible. I call it the “3-Year Realist†plan, as I believe the team could be very mediocre for the first two years while they shed many of the contracts taken in the expansion draft, but then make the playoffs in Year 3. I think there will only be about 12-15 of the expansion draft selections on the team in Year 3, possibly less.
2017-18 LINEUP:
Bobby Ryan – Tomas Plekanec – Michael Grabner
Nikolai Kulemin – Vadim Shipachyov – Evgeni Dadonov
Michael Raffl – Colton Sissons – Lee Stempniak
Matt Calvert – Marcus Kruger – Trevor Lewis
Marko Dano, Joel Ward
Dan Hamhuis – Jake Dotchin (RFA)
Marco Scandella – Colin Miller
Luca Sbisa – Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Jon Merrill
Marc-Andre Fleury
Philipp Grubauer (RFA)
2017-18 AHL:
Jamie McGinn
Brett Kulak (RFA)
Jujhar Khaira
Linus Ullmark
Jaycob Megna (RFA)
Kerby Rychel
Reid Duke
Tomas Hyka
EXPANSION DRAFT CAP HIT: $71.8M
2017 IMMEDIATE TRADES: (shedding $13.25M)
Calvin Pickard
Petr Mrazek
Jason Demers
David Perron
2017 BRIBE DEALS:
Anaheim (to not pick Vatanen/Manson): 2018 1st + prospect
Chicago (to take Kruger with TVR): 2019 4th
Columbus (to not take Anderson/Korpisalo/Johnson): 2017 1st + prospect + Clarkson contract
Florida (to not take Marchessault/Smith): 2018 2nd
Minnesota (to not take Dumba): 2019 1st
Montreal (to take Plekanec): 2019 4th
Nashville (to not take Neal): 2017 1st
New York Islanders (to not take Nelson/Strome/De Haan): 2017 1st + prospect (?) + Grabovski contract
Ottawa (to not take Methot): 2017 2nd
Pittsburgh (to take Fleury)?: 2019 5th
Washington (to not take Schmidt): 2019 4th
Winnipeg (to not take Enstrom): 2018 3rd
2018 DEADLINE TRADES:
Stempniak
Calvert
Hamhuis (@ 50%)
Plekanec (@ 50%)
Kulemin (?)
Grabner
Ward
Sbisa (@ 50%)
2018 POST-DEADLINE LINEUP
Raffl – Shipachyov – Dadonov
Ryan – Sissons – Dano
Khaira – Lewis – Hyka
Rychel – Kruger – McGinn
Scandella – C. Miller
Kulak – Dotchin
Merrill – TVR
Megna
Fleury
Grubauer
2019 DEADLINE TRADES:
McGinn (@ 50%)
Kruger (@ 50%)
Raffl
Fleury (@ 50%)
