New York Islanders Offseason: Updated Roster Moves, Trades, Draft Picks, and More

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Stephen Gionta
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Stephen Gionta /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 21: The crowd watches as the newest members of the Las Vegas Golden Knights are interviewed on stage during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft Roundtable at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 21: The crowd watches as the newest members of the Las Vegas Golden Knights are interviewed on stage during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft Roundtable at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Expansion Draft

After the coaching vacancy was filled, the elephant in the room to address was the NHL Expansion Draft.

More from Empire Writes Back

The Vegas Golden Knights had rights to mandatory unprotected players. Each NHL team had to release them so the Knights could build their new team.

On the list the team released of “unprotected” players:

There was an immense amount of talent on the list, but Vegas selected goalie Jean-Francois Berube, for reasons we will get into.