The NHL’s free agent frenzy officially commenced at noon Saturday. The Vegas Golden Knights have yet to sign any available players, but that isn’t stopping them from making moves.
The Golden Knights are set to trade defenseman Alexei Emelin, whom the team claimed from the Montreal Canadiens in the expansion draft, to the Nashville Predators for a future third-round pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.
Vegas confirmed that the pick coming from Nashville will be a 2019 third-round selection.
Emelin, 31, is coming off a two-goal, 10-point campaign for the Canadiens.
George McPhee selected a total of 13 defensemen in the expansion draft. Emelin is now the fourth among those blueliners (along with Trevor van Riemsdyk, David Schlemko and Marc Methot) the Knights have traded in exchange for future assets.
Vegas currently owns an astounding 26 draft picks over the next three years and figure to be build within as opposed to taking a “win-now” approach.