to a degree, I feel it's too soon to really speculate too much. There's probably a ton of activity that's going to come before LV drafts that the landscape is going to look vastly different.
My money is on killorn.
cap friendly has a build your own vegas team already lol https://www.capfriendly.com/expansion-draft
Most likely a forward, as Vegas will have a much easier time filling its defensive corps than they will putting together a decent top six and we will almost certainly be exposing at least one quality forward worth taking (the only way we don't would be if we move either both Filppula and Callahan or one of them plus whichever top six forward we have to lose to the cap - in that event Namestnikov would probably be our last forward protected leaving only fourth liners and older AHL forwards to choose from.)
Another possibility however is that Vegas goes after a defenseman like Garrison or Sustr with the idea of flipping him.
I would offer Johnson to Vegas. Not as who they pick in the draft though. I would say if you select Erik Condra we will trade you Johnson for some forward they select from another team plus a pick or two. Diminishes the value a Johnson slightly but let's us keep Namestnikov, Killorn and Sustr, frees up money in Condra as well as the Johnson raise. Depends on if Namestnikov or Point are ready to be a 2C.
Interesting if Vegas signs say bishop agrees with him on terms during the fa talk window they forfeit there pick of picking from our team I read today from the gm meetings.
I'm sure there's a team that'll pay Bishop and won't have a gongshow of a roster.
They don't forfeit their pick, they just make Bishop the pick and sign him to a contract right after. I just don't think Bishop would want to sign in Vegas unless he's all about money.
Blind faith in Yzerman protecting all the young assests.
Stamkos, Kucherov, Drouin, Palat, Johnson, Killorn, Namestnikov
Hedman, Sustr, Koekkoek
Vasilevski
I don't know how he'll negotiate around the NMCs of Filppula and Callahan, but, I believe he will. Whether trade, buyout, jedi mind trick, or asking nicely; Yzerman will find a way to protect his best long term assets. Las Vegas can only take one. Protecting the above leaves them taking from...
Callahan (maybe)
Filppula (same)
Stralman
Garrison
Coburn
Boyle
Brown
Paquette
Nesterov
Bishop
It forces Las Vegas in to fixing our cap crunch. It makes it as enticing as possible. None of that list (nor the omitted minor leaguers available) stands out as the obvious selection. Whereas if anybody on my expected protect list is exposed they are easily the obvious choice among the rest.
Yzerman will figure it out.
Disclaimer: plenty of time for the roster to change and maybe in unexpected manner.
They don't forfeit their pick, they just make Bishop the pick and sign him to a contract right after. I just don't think Bishop would want to sign in Vegas unless he's all about money.
A player like Bishop in Vegas, depending on if they get some decent to good pieces in front of him(which will be bound to happen with the protection rules) will make them an instant contender for a playoff spot.
Will vegas get a top 5 draft pick in the 2017 nhl draft how does that work ?
How will the 2017 draft lottery work?
The Las Vegas franchise will be given the same odds in the 2017 draft lottery as the team finishing with the third-fewest points during the 2016-17 regular season. This means it will choose no lower than sixth in the first round. Las Vegas then will select third in each subsequent round of the draft unless there is a trade.