Projecting which Vegas D-men will stay, and which will go

The Vegas Golden Knights selected a lot of defensemen on Wednesday night. Including trades and expansion picks, they ended up with 15 blue-liners, to be exact.

Golden Knights general manager George McPhee is a smart man. He knows that several teams around the league are looking for quality defensemen who can play top-four minutes, and now he has a surplus of them he can dangle on the trade market.

He will certainly move some of these rearguards almost immediately, or he may end up waiting until the 2018 trade deadline. Others could wind up being a part of Vegas' long-term future.

Who will go?

• Marc Methot: Methot is a sure bet to be traded, and it could be as soon as Thursday. He's a stable, rock-solid blue-liner who can be trusted logging big minutes.

• Alexei Emelin: The analytics community isn't a big fan of Emelin, but he's one of the most physical defenders in the league. The 31-year-old has one year left on his deal with a cap hit of $4.1 million, so Vegas may need to retain some salary in order to move him. Nonetheless, any contending team would take him on their bottom pair.

• Jason Garrison: Garrison could very well end up starting the season in a Golden Knights uniform, but with just a year remaining on his contract, he's a strong candidate to be moved at the deadline, although Vegas will need to eat a big chunk of his $4.6 million cap hit. He still has a rocket of a shot.

• Colin Miller: Miller, 24, is one of the lone youngsters who could be on the move. The former Bruin has plenty of upside, but McPhee may be tempted to move him if a team like Toronto comes calling.

• David Schlemko: Schlemko posted an impressive 53.6 Corsi For percentage this past season. He's an above-average skater and an adequate puck-mover. With a cap hit of just $2.1 million over the next three seasons, Vegas should easily find a trade partner, even if it's at the deadline.

• Trevor van Riemsdyk: TSN's Bob McKenzie has already speculated that Van Riemsdyk could be moved to Carolina as early as Thursday. There's a market for right-handed shooting D, and while TVR is solid, he doesn't have that 'wow' factor to make Vegas hang on to him.

Who will stay?

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• Shea Theodore: The Knights passed up the chance to draft Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson from the Ducks, and were willing to take on Clayton Stoner's contract just to acquire Theodore, so you can bet Vegas' brass holds him in high regard.

• Nate Schmidt: Schmidt was stuck behind an abundance of proven rearguards in Washington, but in a more prominent role in Vegas, he has the potential to become one of the game's best puck-movers. He's an elite skater.

• Brayden McNabb: McNabb attended the expansion draft ceremony and was the first to player to don a jersey. That's as good of an indicator as any that they don't intend to move him.

• Jake Bischoff: Bischoff, 22, was acquired in a trade with the Islanders. He had an impressive 32 points in 38 games with the University of Minnesota this past year, so he will likely develop in the AHL next season.

• Deryk Engelland: Engelland is 35, and frankly isn't that good, so teams won't exactly be lining up to obtain his services. However, Engelland has lived in Vegas for the past 13 years, and would certainly embrace being a part of the team and the community. He's a dark horse candidate to be the club's inaugural captain.

Something to prove

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• Griffin Reinhart: Reinhart was the fourth overall pick back in 2012 by the Islanders, and the Oilers gave up a first-rounder to acquire him in 2015. So far in his career, he's been labeled a bust, but the 6-foot-4 defender obviously has upside. He has a lot to prove, and playing for an expansion team is a great spot in which to do it.

• Luca Sbisa: Sbisa, like Reinhart, is a former first-round pick who hasn't panned out. He'll be given a chance, but at 27, his leash will be much shorter than Reinhart's.

• Jon Merrill: Merrill, 25, offers nice size at 6-foot-3, but Vegas essentially took him because New Jersey had little to offer. He'll have to earn his minutes.

• Clayton Stoner: Stoner is 31 years old, isn't very good, and makes too much money for a team to want him. He'll likely be stashed in the minors until the Knights can let him walk as a free agent after this coming season.