Through a nifty bit of dealing, Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher avoided losing one of one of his coveted young defensemen to the expansion draft Wednesday night.
Speedy forward Erik Haula agreed to a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights during an exclusive free agency period that began Sunday and ended Wednesday at 7 a.m., a transaction that counts as Vegas’ Wild selection in the expansion draft.
In a technically separate transaction, the Wild agreed to trade prospect Alex Tuch to Vegas for a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Entry Draft, ensuring that the Golden Knights would sign Haula rather than select an exposed player like Matt Dumba or Eric Staal in the expansion draft.