Way back in June, the Vegas Golden Knights held their expansion draft at the NHL Awards. The expansion franchise picked one player from each NHL club, but they also acquired draft picks and other players for essentially making promises they wouldn’t select a specific player at the draft. Key players such as Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch, Reilly Smith moved to Vegas in these deals.
Those trades have paid off in a big way for the Golden Knights. A future top pairing defenseman, a future top-six forward and one of the most balanced players in the league.