MiHockey’s real expansion mock draft, and one ridiculously biased Michigan verison

By @MichaelCaples and @StefanKubus –

So we’re sitting here waiting for the actual Expansion Draft to start tonight, and we decided we should do our own instead.

We’re doing two versions – a legitimate one and a ‘dude, let’s just pick all our Michigan boys’ one.

The fun one to examine, obviously, is our Michigan-centric selections. Let’s take a look.

 

The absurdly biased MiHockey Expansion Draft

First off – we’re not compliant.

We tried real hard, but, according to Capfriendly, we didn’t meet the requirements for necessary players under contract for this coming season (but let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to sign with this incredible team we have constructed).

The chemistry of this team would be off the charts, and The D casino would certainly jump on board as a major, major sponsor.

Vernor’s and coneys (with Better Made chips on the side) for every postgame meal. Let’s do it.

We started at $21 million and had to work our way up a little bit, so, we’ll spell out some of the swaps we had to make as we go.

 

Forwards

Bobby Ryan (Ottawa) – We had Patrick Sieloff, but we needed Ryan (a Honeybaked alum so he kind of counts) and his absurd cap hit of $7.2 million to get to the cap floor).

James Neal (Nashville) – Tried to pick Austin Watson, but, like the aforementioned swap, we needed Neal’s cap hit. The former Whalers star would fit right in on our team, though.

Mike Cammalleri (New Jersey) – Started with Jon Merrill, but had to get up to the cap, so we’re going with the former University of Michigan star.

Eric Staal (Minnesota) – You know, there’s always that rumor that Minnesota is biased against Michigan, and if you go with how their NHL team is formed, you could be onto something. We originally had NTDP alum Jordan Schroeder, but we’re breaking our own rules to add more $$$ to our roster.

Erik Condra (Tampa Bay) – If you follow MiHockey on Twitter, you get picked. Done.

Jordin Tootoo (Chicago) – Not much to pick from – Michigan-biased or not. We’re going with the former Red Wing here (we know, we know, it’s a bit of a stretch).

Bryan Rust (Pittsburgh) – Mr. Clutch…how could we say no to the two-time Stanley Cup champ and Michigan boy.

Corey Tropp (Anaheim) – Love that speed on the wing from Grosse Pointe Woods guy.

Derek Grant (Buffalo) – A Michigan State alum, we think Grant could hit another level in Vegas.

Stephen Gionta (New York Islanders) – Slim pickings out on the Island, so we’re going with an NTDP alum here.

Chris Mueller (Arizona) – A MSU alum ready to head up and left to Vegas.

Chris Conner (Philadelphia) – Feisty with puck skills, we want the Westland native on our squad.

Landon Ferraro (St. Louis) – Hey St. Louis, pick some more Michigan boys, why don’t ya. We’ll take the former Red Wings prospect.

Jiri Hudler (Dallas) – Greg Pateryn got swapped out for Jiri Hudler…the former Red Wing is still collecting a rather substantial paycheck, and we need it for cap issues.

John Mitchell (Colorado) – Had to pass on Jeremy Smith because of money issues (pay him more and it wouldn’t be an issue, Avs management). Enter Whalers alum John Mitchell.

 

Defense

Paul Martin (San Jose) – Cap issues…are you seeing a theme here? At least Paul Martin’s an American product. Need his $4.8 million on the blueline tab.

Niklas Kronwall (Detroit) – Sorry Luke and Drew, Nik’s payday is required here.

Jack Johnson (Columbus) – A great cap hit (for us needing to spend a whole bunch of money) and a great Michigan hockey product (both youth-wise and college-wise).

Mark Stuart (Winnipeg) – Since Winnipeg likes holding onto their Michigan boys (looking at you, Connor Hellebuyck), we’ll take NTDP alum Mark Stuart.

Steven Kampfer (New York Rangers) – The Michigan and Michigan alum native is a steady presence on the blueline.

John-Michael Liles (Boston) – The MSU alum is a smooth-skating defenseman, necessary in today’s NHL.

Matt Tennyson (Carolina) – The three-time letterwinner from Western Michigan could be a steal for Vegas.

Jordan Oesterle (Edmonton) – Why only take one WMU product when you can take two? Bonus points for Oesterle hailing from Dearborn Heights.

Steven Oleksy (Toronto) – Now that Vegas has an NHL team, they need an elite summer league, too. How could we not take Steven Oleksy here?

Jakub Kindl (Florida) – Yeah…

Kevin Shattenkirk (Washington) – The rock of the blue line for our new squad, he’s an NTDP alum so he counts.

 

Goaltenders

Al Montoya (Montreal) – What’s up, UM alum previously stuck behind Carey Price.

Jeff Zatkoff (Los Angeles) – Detroit knows how to produce top-notch goaltenders.

Tom McCollum (Calgary) – Not a lot of Michigan availability out of Calgary, so we’re taking the former Red Wings’ first-round pick.

Ryan Miller (Vancouver) – Saved the best for last. He may 36, but he’s our starting goaltender for at least a season or two.

 

 

The real draft

The MiHockey team decided to play general manager for a moment.

We took a stab at the expansion team as if we were in Las Vegas GM George McPhee’s shoes. And to take it one step further, we’re going to follow this team as the season goes on, checking in at the season’s halfway point and again at the end to compare how our squad produced compared to the real Las Vegas roster.

We managed to assemble a cap-compliant roster, also taking the necessary minimum 20 players who have a contract in 2017-18. Our breakdown is as follows: 16 forwards, ten defensemen and four netminders – one of which we’ve planned to move one in a deal (Philadelphia is reportedly in the market for a starting netminder).

Up front, there’s plenty of firepower with the likes of Bobby Ryan, James Neal and Mike Cammalleri. David Perron, William Karlsson and Radim Vrbata could pack a powerful punch as a second line, while the likes of Ryan Strome, Kerby Rychel and Mikkel Boedker could easily turn things around with a change of scenery.

Rounding out the bottom six, there’s plenty of grit and heart, with Kyle Clifford, Jay Beagle, J.T. Brown.

Wild cards include 30-goal scorer Jonathan Marchessault from Florida, but even if he doesn’t produce at the same pace he did in 2016-17, it’s a low-risk one-year deal at $750,000. From Detroit, we’ve selected Tomas Nosek for how he has produced in Grand Rapids, especially in the Calder Cup run his Griffins just had.

On the back end, Sami Vatanen was an easy pick for Anaheim. At 26, he has proven he can be a top-pairing defenseman for the Ducks and will slide into that role with our Golden Knights. Additionally, Toby Enstrom, Matt Dumba and Trevor van Riemsdyk will round out the top-four on the blue line.

Between the pipes, Marc-Andre Fleury is the guy. Signed for two seasons, the 32-year-old netminder has won three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh and should provide instant stability between the pipes. Behind him are more-than-capable backup goaltenders Calvin Pickard, Antti Raanta and Linus Ullmark – all younger and will have the chance to learn from Fleury before eventually one steps into the starting role.

 

Forwards

Bobby Ryan (OTT)

James Neal (NSH)

Mike Cammalleri (NJ)

Mikkel Boedker (SJ)

David Perron (STL)

Matt Read (PHI)

Ryan Strome (NYI)

Kyle Clifford (LA)

Jay Beagle (WSH)

Joakim Nordstrom (CAR)

Jonathan Marschessault (FLA)

J.T. Brown (TB)

William Karlsson (CBJ)

Tomas Nosek (DET)

Radim Vrbata (ARZ)

 

Defense

Toby Enstrom (WPG)

Sami Vatanen (ANA)

Luca Sbisa (VAN)

Matt Dumba (MIN)

Brandon Davidson (MTL)

Colin Miller (BOS)

Trevor van Riemsdyk (CHI)

Matt Bartkowski (CGY)

Jamie Oleksiak (DAL)

Kris Russell (EDM)

 

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)

Calvin Pickard (COL)

Antti Raanta (NYR)

Linus Ullmark (BUF)