Three expansion draft picks for the Vegas Golden Knights were not re-signed by the start of free agency.
Goaltender J-F Berube, and forwards Connor Brickley and Chris Thorburn, hit the open market this morning, general manager George McPhee announced Saturday.
Berube, selected from the New York Islanders, signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. Thorburn, from the Winnipeg Jets, is now a member of the St. Louis Blues to replace Ryan Reaves, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 23.
“We certainly had discussions, but did not sign any free agents,” McPhee said Saturday.
A quiet period was expected for Vegas, seeing how it still is far away from the 23-man minimum it was hoping to achieve after the draft was completed. Slowly but surely, the Golden Knights have done that, starting with the trade of Marc Methot to the Dallas Stars earlier this week.
Don’t expect any big splashes during this time, which means we can all go to bed and get ready for this next year, instead.