George McPhee is simply telling it like it is, even if might sound like a threat from a "James Bond" villain or a fictional mob boss.

The Vegas Golden Knights general manager had a message for his colleagues after the protected lists were revealed.

"You can negotiate your way out of this if you wish," he told reporters Sunday, according to The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno. "Every team in this league has a chance to protect their roster."

Several teams were forced to leave key players exposed to potential selection by the Golden Knights ahead of Wednesday night's expansion draft, but as McPhee amusingly made clear, the clubs are welcome to arrange side deals to prevent Vegas from picking players the original teams don't want to lose.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have reportedly agreed to send the Golden Knights a first-round pick and a prospect to ensure none of Jack Johnson, David Savard, Josh Anderson, or Joonas Korpisalo are chosen, while the New York Islanders will reportedly surrender a first-round pick to keep Vegas away from their slew of talented forwards.

McPhee confirmed Sunday that he's already fielding calls from teams interested in drafting players for the Golden Knights, but he said the clubs need to give him something better than the players Vegas can claim from those teams.

For the time being, it's the Golden Knights' world, and the 30 other teams are just living in it.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.