The Vegas Golden Knights will find out what type of roster they’ll be able to concoct after 5 p.m. ET on June 17 when the 30 current NHL teams submit their exemption lists.
There will be a slew of transactions leading up to that deadline but at the end of the day the initial Golden Knights roster will likely be heavy with veterans and light on young talent—which might suit new coach Gerard Gallant’s style just fine.
“We should be ahead of the other expansion teams with the ways it’s going to work with the protection lists,” Gallant told Hockey Central at Noon Friday. “I think we’re going to have a fairly competitive, hard-working hockey team. You try to build your hockey team with great leaders and characters, so we’ll go from there.”
A recent mock expansion draft by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox resulted in a roster with an average age of 28.1 (goalies were 24.6, defence corps was 27.2, forwards were 29.2), which would put them among the oldest rosters in the league. Now, the actual roster will no doubt differ from the mock draft results but it’s safe to assume the average age of the roster will be in the same ballpark based on the players likely to be left off the exemption lists.
Many of the players chosen by Vegas could enter the 2017-18 season with chips on their shoulders—a crew of castoffs, misfits, those perceived to be over the hill and deemed expendable. Players who fit that mould should enjoy playing for Gallant.
“I always think about the guys on your third and fourth line sometimes you don’t play enough and that’s a big part of my coaching,” Gallant said. “I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to have success you have to have 23 guys on your team that’s going to be a big part of it.
“I try to make everybody feel good. I know that’s not possible every night, but that’s the way I try to coach. People will say I’m a players’ coach and I agree with that.”
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Gallant was officially introduced by the Golden Knights on Thursday. The 53-year-old former coach of the Florida Panthers explained he was first approached by Vegas general manger George McPhee in mid-December. He had an official interview in mid-January where he sat down with McPhee, assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, director of hockey operations Misha Donskov and owner Bill Foley. From that point on Gallant and Vegas management spoke every week or two about the job and the hiring process.
He added that he spoke with two other teams about coaching vacancies but Vegas was the first team to reach out with an offer, which he happily accepted.
