To Ve or Not To Ve

By Tyler Santana

The day of the expansion draft is nearly upon us as on Wednesday, June 21^st, the Tampa Bay Lightning will lose someone to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. While we could protect a few of our stars, the depth of our team means we had to leave a few good players unprotected. This article will provide reasoning for the Golden Knights to select one of these players to ultimately be wearing the Black and Gold next year in Vegas.

Slater Koekkoek– The Bolts 10^th overall pick from 2012 could join a growing list of 1^st round selections that are no longer with the team if Vegas snatches him up. Koekkoek is a smooth skating 2-way defenseman who has struggled to stay healthy as he has been battling shoulder problems throughout his young career. The young left-handed defenseman has yet to find a permanent spot in the Bolts Top 6, but his potential is there for him to be a productive Top 4 player. If Vegas believes Koekkoek can stay healthy, they may be enticed by his potential and pluck him from the Lightning’s defense pool. However, the shoulder problems may scare away a team who is looking for reliable young players to build around and would expect Koekkoek to be in their Top 6 this year despite his lack of NHL time here in Tampa. Ultimately his upside is there if he can just stay healthy, making him an intriguing option for Vegas.

Jake Dotchin– Jake is a big, physical, stay at home D-man whose style complimented Hedman’s style very well. Dotchin will never wow anyone with his offensive talent but his biggest thing is that he brings is grit. While his style leads to some bad hits and penalties, if he can learn to better control these problems, he could slot in nicely next to a, let’s say…Justin Schultz, an unprotected Offensive D-man from Pittsburgh who could take risks knowing Dotchin is behind him. Dotchin will never be a true Top 4 Defenseman like Koekkoek can be, but he has proven to be solid in his time with the Lightning and would be a safer take for Vegas as his injury history is much less of a problem than Koekkoek’s. Dotchin is a solid penalty killing and responsible stay home D-man and a sure bet to play in the NHL next year. However, the Knights would inherit all Dotchin’s penalty minutes as well, which could hurt them in their formative years if they are constantly killing off his calls.

Yanni Gourde– Yanni burst into the Lightning scene last season, scoring his first of the year against Chicago in a thrilling OT comeback game. Yanni has speed and decent offensive skill to boot. He plays hard both ends of the ice and could help the Golden Knights forward core. However, Yanni is not a 1^st or 2^nd line player, but rather a solid 3^rd line forward who uses speed to his advantage. Yanni is also 25, meaning he doesn’t have that same potential to grow as that of Dotchin and Koekkoek. Another concern that may keep Vegas away is that this 25 is still spending more time in the AHL than the NHL. At 25 you’d probably want the player who will help shape your organization to be a young player or an established NHLer, and Yanni is not yet an established player, and he isn’t getting younger.

Jason Garrison–  We all know Garrison is a bad contract for an aging D-man on a team with limited cap room. Garrison could be a veteran presence for the Knights and help them reach the cap floor. However, with all the talent Tampa has exposed, Vegas will likely look to a team with less talent exposed for their cap cow. The only way Garrison goes is if Yzerman looks to protect his assets by trading Vegas picks and prospects to keep Yanni, Dotchin, and Koekkoek. This is a longshot as Yzerman tends to value his picks and prospects very highly, but if he loves the other guys Vegas may take, I could see Yzerman attempting to provoke GM McPhee of the Knights into taking Garrison for pennies.

Ultimately, I believe the Knights will take Jake Dotchin. He is the most NHL sure thing and they want young players to build around. Koekkoek is too injury prone to mortgage your future on his dilapidated shoulder, and Gourde is too old and too much of a question mark for the Knights. Garrison would only be taken in a trade to relieve the Lightning’s cap bind, but I don’t believe Yzerman wants to give up picks and prospects to do this as a buyout could help the team as well. So, buckle up and enjoy a wild week for the NHL and as always Bolts fans, TRUST THE YZERPLAN.

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June 19th, 2017