McPhee 'may have to go around the clock' in assembling Golden Knights
It's heating up in Vegas.
Golden Knights general manager George McPhee isn't expecting to get much - if any - sleep early next week, given that he and his staff will have only a few days to make their expansion draft selections.
"We may have to go around the clock because we will only have 72 hours to put our team together," McPhee told Kevin Allen of USA TODAY Sports. "And there is going to be a lot of negotiating with teams and players and a lot of debate and discussion among ourselves about who is the right fit."
The other 30 teams have until 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to hand in their protected lists, and the Golden Knights will receive them at 10 a.m. ET the next morning after they've been vetted by the league for adherence purposes.
From that point, Vegas will make its selections - one player from each team - and that list must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Already, McPhee and his staff have been putting in long days, not that anyone is complaining.
"It is non-stop," McPhee said. "There aren't many lulls, and if there are lulls, we need that time to go back and review teams and anticipate moves.
"We want to do a really good job, and that’s important," he added. "But it’s been a fantastic experience from Day 1. We hired intelligent, experienced people and it’s been a pleasure to work with them. We are very well-prepared. So the process has been enjoyable. There’s an intensity to it, but we have great chemistry in the room so it’s been fun."
The official roster reveal will be made at the NHL Awards ceremony on June 21, hours after Vegas submits its list to the league.