Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee was the centre of attention at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo on Saturday, and while the top prospects in this year’s draft were sweating it out through gruelling tests, McPhee was being grilled by the press about his plans.
Early in the day, McPhee joined Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino and Jeff Marek to discuss how he might approach the Expansion Draft, from the possibility of selecting up to seven goalies to his outlook at the entry draft ahead. You can read more on those questions here.
McPhee also spoke to a larger contingent of media later in the day and was asked specifically about how the Vegas Golden Knights might target star players in the NHL, most likely via trade rather than plucking them off another team’s roster at the draft.
The Golden Knights GM downplayed his team’s need to get a superstar for the nascent franchise.
“The face of our franchise will be our logo,” McPhee said. “That’s the way we’re going to try and do things and be team-centric. We’ll get as many good players as we can, but as we all know it’s about building the right team, the right chemistry, all these cliches, but that’s real.
“We don’t feel the need to go get names.”
He was also questioned about the rumours in Washington about a possible Alex Ovechkin trade. Capitals GM Brian MacLellan made headlines this week when he didn’t completely eliminate the idea that Ovechkin could be moved this summer. While MacLellan did say he didn’t think a move like that is in the organization’s best interests, he left the door open when he said: “Maybe at some point if there’s a legitimate hockey deal that came available.”
McPhee, of course, is very familiar with Ovechkin from his time as Capitals GM. He signed Ovechkin to his current contract, which still has four years left with a $9.538 million cap hit, before the team let him go in 2014.
So would the Vegas GM be interested in reuniting with his star player in an effort to get towards the salary cap floor and give the expansion team a push forward?
“That’s not going to happen. Too many No. 8 jerseys in Washington,” McPhee told Golden Knights beat writer Steve Carp.
That wasn’t the only Russian sniper McPhee was asked about. With rumours swirling that Ilya Kovalchuk could return to the NHL, some have wondered if the Golden Knights would make a trade with New Jersey to acquire his rights.
“We haven’t had any discussion and I don’t imagine we’d go down that path,” McPhee said. “We’ll be looking for younger players and people who will be with us three to four years from now.”
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