On June 21, GM George McPhee and his staff will unveil the inaugural roster for the Vegas Golden Knights, who will begin play in the fall.
To get an idea of what to expect, we asked our writers to each draft a team made up of the best players expected to be exposed in the expansion draft.
A few caveats: In the real expansion draft, the Knights likely won't be taking the best possible players, but rather will optimize the entire process in terms of acquiring assets. In other words, they might agree not to take some of the players we've listed in exchange for a side deal that nets them a draft pick and/or prospect. Or McPhee might work a deal to take an exposed player with a bigger contract, provided he gets other assets in return.
But for this exercise, the 23-man rosters below are strictly from the pool of players we don't expect to be protected and don't include possible trades. Which team do you think is the best?
Scott Burnside
Forwards
William Karlsson, Columbus Blue Jackets
Mikhail Grigorenko, Colorado Avalanche
Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres
Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets
Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers
James Neal, Nashville Predators
Joel Ward, San Jose Sharks
Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes
Devante Smith-Pelly, New Jersey Devils
Jimmy Hayes, Boston Bruins
Defensemen
Nick Holden, New York Rangers
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings
Trevor van Riemsdyk, Chicago Blackhawks
Brian Dumoulin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Petrovic, Florida Panthers
Marc Methot, Ottawa Senators
Goalies
Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
Mike Smith, Arizona Coyotes
Carter Hutton, St. Louis Blues
Craig Custance
Forwards
Andrew Cogliano, Anaheim Ducks
Matt Moulson, Buffalo Sabres
Matt Stajan, Calgary Flames
Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes
Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche
Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers
Craig Smith, Nashville Predators
Alex Burrows, Ottawa Senators
Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
Mikkel Boedker, San Jose Sharks
Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings
Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Matt Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs
Defensemen
Adam McQuaid, Boston Bruins
Stephen Johns, Dallas Stars
Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Brandon Davidson, Montreal Canadiens
Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils
Thomas Hickey, New York Islanders
Goalies
Antti Raanta, New York Rangers
Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
Pierre LeBrun
Forwards
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres
Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames
Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes
Sven Andrighetto, Colorado Avalanche
Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers
Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
Luke Glendening, Detroit Red Wings
Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Eric Fehr, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jonathan Marchessault, Florida Panthers
Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets
Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Defensemen
David Schlemko, San Jose Sharks
Stephen Johns, Dallas Stars
Josh Manson, Anaheim Ducks
Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils
Matt Irwin, Nashville Predators
Goalies
Antti Raanta, New York Rangers
Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
Joe McDonald
Forwards
Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings
Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Oscar Lindberg, New York Rangers
Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes
Matt Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs
Michael Raffl, Philadelphia Flyers
Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers
Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames
Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Defensemen
Josh Gorges, Buffalo Sabres
Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils
Patrick Wiercioch, Colorado Avalanche
Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Marc Methot, Ottawa Senators
Alex Petrovic, Florida Panthers
Goalies
Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals
Malcolm Subban, Boston Bruins