The draft picks keep coming in for the Vegas Golden Knights.
According to a report from Arthur Staple of Newsday Sports, the New York Islanders have agreed to send their first-round selection (No. 15 overall) in this year’s draft to the Golden Knights in an effort to retain the core pieces they were forced to leave unprotected in the expansion draft.
The Isles have designated a particular player for Vegas to select in the expansion draft, but that player is currently unknown.
But that’s not all. Staple added the Islanders are also expected to be sending a player to Vegas as well, who Staple believes is likely 33-year-old center Mikhail Grabovski.
Grabovski’s $5-million cap hit is on the books for one more season for the Islanders, who are already within $4 million and change of the coming season’s $75-million salary cap.
Prior to his injury, Grabovski scored nine goals and 25 points for the Islanders two years ago. He sat out this past season due to ongoing concussion issues.
Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is doing everything in his power to acquire draft picks from teams worried about their unprotected players. Last week, it was reported that Vegas would receive the Blue Jackets’ first round pick. Now with potentially three picks in the first round of the amateur draft, the Golden Knights are certainly in a good place. And it doesn’t seem the influx of picks will stop.