I see no problem with Vegas’ expansion ‘benefits’. Every single pundit claimed they’d be terrible, even after they saw the roster they’d assembled through the expansion draft process. But they did a hell of a job if assembling a team and getting the right coach for what that roster could do. They were more than the sum of their parts.Yeah I have absolutely nothing against Petro. It's Vegas with their extremely unfair expansion benefits and then subsequently being immune from Seattle expansion while other teams don't get that benefit. Screw that team, I hope they fail hard.
But I think they’ve made some roster mistakes now. They’re kind of going the opposite direction from the Blues’ philosophy. The Blues look to cultivate depth of good players. Vegas seems to be willing to sacrifice depth to acquire top talent (most recently with Pietro). They’re still in need of a move to open Cap just to get the salary under the limit EVEN IF they go with a smaller than full roster. It will be very interesting what that team actually looks like when they drop the puck.
I also have no problem with Vegas being exempt from the expansion draft by Seattle. Seattle paid $650 million. Vegas doesn’t get a share of that money. I think most teams would rather take the money and expose some players. Seems pretty fair to me.
I dislike Vegas because I don’t like the way their management treated Gallant. Or Fleury. And they bought our AHL franchise out from under us. And their fans haven’t really had to endure much disappointment yet. But I admire what they did with their own expansion draft.