LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been nearly two weeks since the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Days after the historic win, general manager Kelly McCrimmon said the front office would only have a short time to celebrate before going back to work.
"The focus now is the draft, which is right ahead of us here. Our amateur staff remained in town. They did their final year-end meetings," McCrimmon said. "Free agency starts on July 1 so that falls to the responsibilities of our pro staff. We've got our own free agents that we'll work towards here over the next little while to sort out where we're at with those situations."
Some of those free agents include Adin Hill, Ivan Barbashev, Phil Kessel, Jonathan Quick, Teddy Blueger, and Brett Howden. Multiple reports state Hill is close to signing a two-year extension with the Golden Knights although nothing has been confirmed by the team as of Monday morning. The Athletic spoke to Barbashev's agent 10 days ago and he said "[Barbashev] really enjoyed his time in Vegas. I'm sure at some point in time here we will talk to [VGK]. He would love to stay but I don't know if they can afford the market."
UPDATE: Vegas Golden Knights sign Ivan Barbashev to five-year contract extension
McCrimmon said that players deserve to make more when they perform.
"Players need to be recognized and rewarded when their careers continue to progress. We'll work our way through that. I think our guys do an absolutely fantastic job managing our salary cap," McCrimmon said. "We don't have any dead money on our books. We don't buy anybody out. We don't attach assets to trades."
McCrimmon added that he expects many will return next season.
"When you take a step back and look at where you want to go, winning was a priority for us after that year one success. To do that, we have to improve personnel and I think we've done that every year," McCrimmon said. "One of the things I feel about this team, we're going to be able to keep the core of our Stanley Cup championship team together better than a lot of the previous winners. We're pretty good in terms of players locked up for next season. We'll have work to do. We'll have things we need to manage, but I think a significant core of this team will return."
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Looking ahead, the 2023 National Hockey League Draft starts on Wednesday — and there is one major characteristic that owner Bill Foley said the team always looks for.
"Early on, back before we even had a team, the pro and amateur scouts came in and they had eight criteria of what they looked for. I told them, at that time, the number one criteria is character," Foley said. "If we build a team with character and they depend on each other, I think about it like a platoon and everyone's working with each other, we'll be successful."
McCrimmon said they're taking a game plan into the draft and are ready to build on VGK's success.
"We have five picks in the draft. We continue to try to be in a position where we can have good teams," McCrimmon said. "There's no question we want to win."
The NHL Draft starts on Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. Round 1 will be broadcast on ESPN on Wednesday night at 4 p.m. while Rounds 2 through 7 will be broadcast on the NHL Network beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday. The Vegas Golden Knights have the following picks:
- Round 1, Pick 32
- Round 3, Pick 77
- Round 3, Pick 96
- Round 6, Pick 192
- Round 7, Pick 224