It’s been nearly a week since the Nashville Predators lost James Neal to the expansion draft. On June 21st, the same day that David Poile was declared NHL’s GM of the Year—an award he most definitely deserved—the Preds front office allowed the Vegas Golden Knights to steal a top six forward off their team.
I say “allowed” because that’s exactly what happened. Regardless of how much hardball George McPhee was playing when discussing the trading of assets to “protect” Neal (rumor is that he was asking for a LOT), Vegas can’t select Neal off the Predators if he is protected.