Way-Too-Late Mock Vegas Expansion Draft

I had hoped to do this a few days ago but wasn't in the cards. Well, better late than never. Here is my best shot at drafting Las Vegas
 

I ignored all pre-draft deals except for the acquisition of Malkin and Johnson's UFA rights. I probably wouldn't have went with Johnson but he is a solid complimentary piece who shouldn't break the bank. In hindsight Ekholm would have been a good target but hindsight is always 50/50 and I doubt I would have had the patience to wait out the market and land Malkin plus Ekholm on the cheap.

With 1 UFA slot to use, and a few pretty high end options to use it on like Radulov, Mike Smith, and Burns, I elected to go with Nino Niederreiter. The alternative option for that spot was Matt Roy, and this roster wasn't really in need of another #5 defenseman. Nino can be a middle 6 scoring winger on this team and will be a strong 2nd liner this year. He shouldn't cost a ton to sign, probably 5M ish?

Roster Outlook:

Perron-Malkin-Bjorkstrand
Niederreiter-Eriksson Ek-Rakell
McGinn-Bonino-Appleton
Compher-Laughton-Johnson
Spares: Erne, Bishop, Kuraly, Sherwood, Lindblom

Suter-Spurgeon
Severson-Goligoski
McNabb-Hakanpaa
Spares: Jensen, Kampfer, Walker

Korpisalo
Petersen
Spares: Allen, Vladar, Delia

Breakdown of Picks:
There were a few no-brainers here for me: Severson, McGinn, Hakanpaa, Compher, Petersen, Lindblom, Appleton, Spurgeon, Goligoski, Perron, and Clark Bishop (yes Arizona's list is that bad, there was no one else). With this group pretty much locked in, the team adds a young starting goalie, a top line winger, three established top 4 defensemen, and four NHL-ready forwards, and a good reclamation project in Oskar Lindblom who I think we all expect to have a better year next year.

One unique scenario was Buffalo, who exposed no one of value and only mid-tier UFA's. I went with Kevan Miller, the best of a pile of nothing. I wouldn't use a pre-sign on him so this is a wasted pick.

David Perron is an absolute beast this year so he was a must-have even on a 1 year deal. At 32 he is young enough to be worth re-signing next year if he has a similar season. He gives this team a top line winger capable of complimenting Malkin. The top line of Perron, Malkin, and Bjorkstrand has the potential to do some real damage.

The middle six forwards: Niederreiter, Eriksson Ek, Rakell, McGinn, Bonino, and Appleton is not elite but it is it is definitely among the top half of the league. Nino and Rakell can score 20-30 goals a season. Eriksson Ek and Bonino are great defensive centres with some offense in their games;This is a legitimately great duo. McGinn and Appleton are hard workers with enough skill to fit here. They're great complimentary players.

There are six players left to duke it out for the three remaining forward spots, but the leg up has got to go to Compher as a great defensive player. He fits on a fourth line and either PK unit, if needed. Tyler Johnson was worth investing a pre-sign in so might as well use the guy. The last spot has got to go to Laughton, another solid defensive player who can chip in a few goals. That leaves a few good players in the stands, so this team can afford to move at least two forwards without impacting the roster very much.

The goalie tandem of Petersen and Korpisalo is young and skilled enough that you can keep both, flip one, or flip both. Petersen I would peg as the starter of the future, and Korpisalo is a strong plan B. The selection of Jake Allen might seem strange with these two already on the roster, but having three strong goalies opens up a lot of options and Colorado didn't have a lot else to choose from. Vladar was selected over Nick Merkley because I believe in his strong track record at lower levels. He has all the makings of a potential #1a type goalie. Not a 65 game starter, but a guy who you can feel confident about in the net. Delia is a total flier of a pick, but I think he can be an NHL backup and picking the only viable alternative, Jake Virtanen, felt both pointless and distasteful.

The defense, led by Suter, Spurgeon, Severson, and Goligoski is rock solid. Add in McNabb, Hakanpaa, Jensen, Kampfer, and Walker and you've got a deep group of sturdy defensive defensemen with some puck moving ability. There is enough depth here that you'd want to explore trading a player or two for picks and prospects to invest in the currently non-existent farm. I debated going for Connor Murphy over Sean Walker but elected to save some cap. Adding Murphy instead, though, would give the team six defensemen with 74 overall or better. *Whistles*

Overall this roster is a little heavy on the present for a team without a top-end goalie, and depending on how RFA's it may be knocking on the cap, but the stacked defense, deep group of forwards, and trio of #1a/#1b type goalies should be capable of guiding this team to a playoff spot in year #1 without totally screwing the team over in year #2.

Oh and as an added bonus, this team won the lotto and holds the first overall pick in the draft. Not a bad start to this franchise.

Congrats to Dan for selecting the first expansion team in MRFHL history. I'm excited to see how our 31st team evolves through the offseason and to see how they compete in year #1.

Cheers everyone, thanks for reading!