While the Vegas Golden Knights are set to put together their inaugural roster in just a few days, it has been 25 years since the Tampa Bay Lightning conducted their expansion draft prior to the 1992-93 season.

The Lightning and Ottawa Senators, who joined the league the same year, each chose 21 players - two goaltenders, seven defensemen, and 12 forwards. The pickings were slim, as teams were allowed to protect two netminders and 14 skaters each (the second-year San Jose Sharks were exempt from the expansion draft).

The Lightning made out considerably better than their Canadian brethren, winning 23 games while compiling 53 points in their inaugural season. Brian Bradley was the offensive catalyst, scoring an incredible 42 goals while finishing with 86 points en route to a spot in the NHL All-Star Game - his first of two consecutive All-Star appearances.

Here are the 21 players the Lightning selected in the expansion draft:

Goaltenders

Wendell Young (selected from Pittsburgh)

Young went from backup duty in Pittsburgh to a similar role with the expansion Lighting, playing behind Pat Jablonski. He actually posted slightly better numbers, but it wasn't enough to earn him more playing time the following season. He was dealt back to the Penguins in 1995, and played his final seven years with Chicago of the International Hockey League.

Frederic Chabot (selected from Montreal)

*Played with AHL's Fredericton Canadiens

Montreal wasn't thrilled with losing Chabot, so it made a deal with Tampa the day after the expansion draft and sent fellow netminder Jean-Claude Bergeron to the Lightning. Bergeron actually asserted himself well in Tampa - recording a 3.65 goals-against average in 53 career games - while Chabot appeared in just two more games with Montreal and 32 for his NHL career.

Defensemen

Joe Reekie (selected from N.Y. Islanders)

Reekie was a dependable defense-first blue-liner that had one of the best seasons of any Lightning player in their inaugural season. He was so good, in fact, that Tampa Bay was able to deal him to Washington for bruiser Enrico Ciccone and a pair of draft picks in a March 1994 trade. Reekie went on to play parts of nine seasons with the Capitals.

Shawn Chambers (selected from Washington)

Chambers was a revelation for Tampa Bay - at least on the offensive end. Despite finishing with the fourth-worst plus-minus on the team, he established career bests in goals and assists while leading the team in scoring among defensemen. He played parts of three seasons with the Lightning before being traded to New Jersey in March 1995.

Peter Taglianetti (selected from Pittsburgh)

Taglianetti's bruising style complemented the Lightning's skill players well. He not only led the team in plus-minus, but was also second in penalty minutes. But Tampa Bay decided against holding onto him, swapping him back to the Penguins in exchange for a third-round pick. Taglianetti would remain with the Pens until 1995 before wrapping up his career with Providence of the AHL.

Bob McGill (selected from Detroit)

*Played with Toronto Maple Leafs

McGill didn't even appear in a game with the Lightning, who placed him on waivers in early September. He was subsequently claimed by the Maple Leafs, reuniting him with the team that selected him 26th overall in the 1980 draft. McGill retired as a player in 1996 with an odd statistical anomaly to his credit: He played in 49 NHL playoff games without registering a single point.

Jeff Bloemberg (selected from N.Y. Rangers)

*Played with AHL's Cape Breton Oilers

Bloemberg was another player selected by the Lightning in the expansion draft and subsequently moved without playing a game with the team. He was sent to Edmonton for future considerations, and had a solid season with the Oilers' AHL affiliate. But despite stints with the Hartford and Detroit organizations, Bloemberg never played in the NHL again.

Doug Crossman (selected from Quebec)

Crossman brought a veteran pedigree to Tampa, and was the team's top blue-line point producer on a per-game basis. In January 1993, the Lightning made him the centerpiece of a deal with St. Louis that landed them promising forward Jason Ruff. But Ruff did nothing with the Lightning, while Crossman's offense fell off a cliff in 1993-94 (nine points in 50 games played).

Rob Ramage (selected from Minnesota)

Ramage in his prime was one of the top dual-threat defensemen in hockey, capable of racking up points and rearranging opponents' dental work. But as a 34-year-old whose best days were clearly behind him, he didn't offer much of anything on the offensive end. Tampa dealt him to Montreal for Eric Charron, Alain Cote, and Donald Dufresne in March.

Forwards

Michel Mongeau (selected from St. Louis)

Mongeau has an interesting HockeyDB page, even without much NHL content on there. He played just four games with the Lightning, spending the majority of that season in the IHL (65 points in 45 games with Peoria). That was his last NHL action, as he closed out his playing career with stints in the AHL, the Italian League, and the Quebec Senior Professional Hockey League.

Anatoli Semenov (selected from Edmonton)

Semenov came to the Lightning with plenty of promise after racking up 73 points over two seasons with the Oilers following a 10-year run with Moscow Dynamo. But he played in just 13 games with Tampa before being traded to Vancouver, and was claimed by Anaheim in its 1993 expansion draft - just over one year after being nabbed by the Lightning.

Mike Hartman (selected from Winnipeg)

Hartman provided a big part of the muscle for the expansion Lightning, collecting 154 penalty minutes over just 58 games with the team. After Tampa Bay traded him to the New York Rangers for Randy Gilhen, Hartman finished his NHL career on Broadway before spending the majority of his non-NHL time from there with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL.

Basil McRae (selected from Minnesota)

Coming off a five-season stint with the Minnesota North Stars in which he averaged more than 313 penalty minutes per season, McRae wasn't coming in to score 30 goals. But his time in Tampa Bay was short, as he was shipped to St. Louis as part of the transaction to acquire Ruff. Even so, he still managed 71 PIMs in just 14 games with the Lightning.

Rob DiMaio (selected from N.Y. Islanders)

DiMaio provided a nice boost in Tampa Bay's first season. His point total jumped by 17 compared to his final year with the Islanders, though it wasn't enough to keep him with the Lightning, as he was traded to Philadelphia the following season for Jim Cummins and a fourth-round pick. DiMaio would play 10 more NHL seasons, including a return to Tampa for his final campaign.

Dan Vincelette (selected from Chicago)

*Played with IHL's Atlanta Knights and San Diego Gulls

Tabbed as a future power forward, Vincelette had no trouble racking up the PIMs as a pro but couldn't match his offensive production from junior hockey. He never appeared in a game with Tampa Bay, as he was dealt to the Flyers for Steve Kasper in December 1992. Vincelette finished his career with 22 points and 155 PIMs in 27 games with Acton Vale of the QSPHL in 1996-97.

Steve Maltais (selected from Quebec)

Maltais' NHL footprint is small - he had just nine goals and 18 assists in 120 games with five teams. But his lone season with the Lightning stands out, as it was his only NHL campaign with more than 26 games played. He was shipped out of Tampa Bay the following summer, sent to Detroit for Dennis Vial. He returned to the NHL seven years later with Columbus.

Tim Bergland (selected from Washington)

Bergland had bounced between the NHL and AHL with the Capitals organization since 1989-90 prior to being selected by the Lightning. That pattern continued in his Tampa Bay tenure, as he played 78 games with the Lightning and another 68 with the Atlanta Vipers of the IHL before being reacquired by Washington via waivers in March 1994. He retired in 1999.

Brian Bradley (selected from Toronto)

No one could have seen this coming - particularly not the Maple Leafs, for whom Bradley had scored just 10 goals in 85 games over parts of two season. Bradley's sensational 1992-93 campaign propelled him to the first of two All-Star berths, and he finished with 300 points over 328 games as a member of the Lightning. His 42 goals stood as the team record until 2007.

Keith Osborne (selected from Toronto)

Osborne was an elite player for North Bay and Niagara Falls of the Ontario Hockey League but couldn't match that success in the NHL, finishing with just four points in 16 games. Following several successful seasons in the IHL and UHL, he ended his playing career with the hilariously-named Macon Whoopee of the Central Hockey League in 2000-01.

Shayne Stevenson (selected from Boston)

Stevenson will go down as one of the biggest first-round busts of the 1980s. The 17th overall pick in 1989 had a promising junior career but managed just two assists in 27 career NHL games. He toiled in a variety of minor leagues until the end of his playing days in 2000-01, including a two-season stint with Port Huron and Toronto of Major League Roller Hockey.

Tim Hunter (selected from Calgary)

*Played with Quebec Nordiques

Hunter's tenure with the expansion Lightning lasted exactly one day. He was dealt to Quebec on June 19 for future considerations that wound up being forward Martin Simard, who finished with the same number of points in a Tampa Bay uniform as Hunter did. Meanwhile, Hunter played five more NHL seasons with the Nordiques, Canucks, and Sharks.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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With one year remaining on his contract with the Buffalo Sabres, winger Evander Kane hears his name mentioned in trade rumors.

He seems quite used to it, in fact.

"My name seems to create a buzz with some reporters and radio stations. I wonder if I have some thank-you cards coming," Kane said to Steve Ewen of The Province at a reunion for the Vancouver Giants' 2007 Memorial Cup champions.

The chatter isn't something he seems to be losing sleep over.

"Do I worry about the rumours? No. The funny part about rumours is that if you don't know something is going on, then nobody else does," he said. "I have an agent (Don Meehan) who is knowledgeable and tapped in. He gives me updates when I need updates. I'd like to think I'm well informed when I need to be."

The rumors aren't entirely out of place, though, seeing as Kane's deal expires next summer and he's set to command a hefty raise, especially if he can replicate his 28 goals in 70 games from this past season.

Sabres general manager Jason Botterill is new on the job and will no doubt assess the roster from top to bottom, and Kane's off-ice issues may play a role in any decision to jettison him out of Buffalo.

For his part, Kane has expressed a desire to remain a Sabre, and believes he was able to bring his all to the team in 2016-17 despite facing charges of disorderly conduct and harassment - which were eventually dismissed - stemming from an incident last summer.

"I thought I did a pretty good job of that last season," Kane said of staying focused on his game. "I'm just going to continue to let my play on the ice do all the negotiating and talking and answering for me.

"I'm getting prepared to start another NHL season," he added. "Hopefully it's in Buffalo."

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While the Vegas Golden Knights are set to put together their inaugural roster in just a few days, it has been 25 years since the Ottawa Senators conducted their expansion draft prior to the 1992-93 season.

The Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, who joined the league the same year, each chose 21 players - two goaltenders, seven defensemen, and 12 forwards. The pickings were quite slim, as non-expansion teams were allowed to protect two netminders and 14 skaters each. (The second-year San Jose Sharks were exempt from the expansion draft.)

Ottawa didn't get much from the players it selected; only Sylvain Turgeon (pictured above) finished in the top three in team scoring, and was the only expansion pick to record more than 15 goals. That might explain why the Senators went an abysmal 10-70-4 in their first year, setting an NHL record for fewest road wins in a season (one).

Here are the 21 players the Senators selected in the expansion draft:

Goaltenders

Peter Sidorkiewicz (selected from Hartford)

Sidorkiewicz, a one-time Calder Trophy finalist, had a dreadful season in the Canadian capital, winning just eight of his 64 appearances while leading the NHL in goals against. He was dealt to New Jersey the following summer in a five-player deal that netted the Senators netminder Craig Billington, among others, and played just four more NHL games after that.

Mark Laforest (selected from N.Y. Rangers)

* played for AHL's New Haven Senators

Laforest was solid in back-to-back seasons for the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate before being plucked by the Senators; he made just two appearances for Ottawa, both during the 1993-94 season, before bolting for the International Hockey League during the 1994-95 lockout. He wrapped up his playing career in 1997 with Utica of the Colonial Hockey League.

Defensemen

Brad Shaw (selected from New Jersey)

It was a rough two years in Ottawa for Shaw, who finished with the league's fourth-worst plus-minus in the Senators' inaugural campaign. Shaw was made team captain in 1993-94, posted a 4-19-23 line with a -41 rating in 66 games, and spent the majority of the next four seasons in the IHL. He retired in 1999 and has been an NHL assistant/associate coach since 2006.

Darren Rumble (selected from Philadelphia)

Like Shaw, Rumble spent just two seasons with the Senators - and like Shaw, they were difficult campaigns. Rumble posted nine goals, 31 points, and a -74 rating in 139 games with the Senators before rediscovering his offensive touch in the AHL, recording three straight 50-point seasons. It never did translate to the NHL, however, as he had just 36 points in 193 career games.

Dominic Lavoie (selected from St. Louis)

Lavoie's playing days in North America were nearly spent by the time he arrived in Ottawa; he spent most of his only season with the Sens in the AHL, recording 43 points in 53 games. Stints with Boston and Los Angeles preceded a move overseas, where Lavoie split the final 10 years of his career between Felkirch VEU of the Austrian League and the Hannover Scorpions of the German League.

Brad Miller (selected from Buffalo)

Many sports fans know about former NBA center Brad Miller, and current Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brad Miller - but they may not know there was an NHL version, too. He made more of an impact with his fists, recording just one goal, five assists, and 321 penalty minutes in 82 career NHL games; he spent his final six seasons in the IHL, where he also punched faces.

Ken Hammond (selected from Vancouver)

Hammond, an eighth-round pick of the Kings in 1983, had played for the expansion Sharks the year before being plucked by the Senators, so being on a first-year team had kind of become his thing. Ottawa represented his final taste of NHL action; he played with Providence of the AHL in 1993-94 before wrapping up his career with the IHL's Kansas City Blades.

Kent Paynter (selected from Winnipeg)

Paynter didn't make much of an impact in his NHL career, recording one goal and adding three assists in 37 games. His Senators tenure was equally drab - one assist and a -13 rating in 15 games before he fled for the IHL for the final four years of his career. His only NHL goal came against Daniel Berthiaume, who also played for the Sens during their inaugural season.

John Van Kessel (selected from Los Angeles)

* played for AHL's New Haven Senators

Never heard of Van Kessel? It's okay; most hockey fans haven't. He never played in an NHL game, spending 1992-93 between the AHL and IHL and kicking around the minors for a few more seasons before wrapping up his career in Germany. Fun fact: Van Kessel was selected 49th overall in 1988, ahead of Mark Recchi, Rob Blake, and Alex Mogilny, among others. Oops!

Forwards

Sylvain Turgeon (selected from Montreal)

Turgeon was expected to be the centerpiece of Ottawa's offense; the former No. 2 overall pick had two 40-goal seasons in Hartford to his credit, and was still in his prime when the Senators selected him. But he topped out at a high of 25 goals in three seasons with Ottawa, then left the NHL in 1995-96 for stings in the IHL, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.

Mike Peluso (selected from Chicago)

It's fair to say the Senators knew what they were getting from a guy who had led the entire NHL with 408 penalty minutes the season before. But even though Peluso pretty much did as expected - racking up 318 PIMs in 81 games - he also showed some scoring touch, finishing fifth on the team in goals. He would net just 13 more tallies over his final five campaigns.

Rob Murphy (selected from Vancouver)

A second-round pick of the Canucks in 1987, Murphy never did reach his full potential following four impressive campaigns in the QMJHL. The Senators couldn't get much out of him, either, and cut him loose after one season. He spent the next four seasons in the IHL before a six-year stint in Germany and one year in the Quebec Senior Men's Hockey League.

Mark Lamb (selected from Edmonton)

Lamb was by no means flashy, but he was a serviceable depth option for a Senators team that was woefully short on experience. Lamb finished with 18 goals and 55 points in parts of two seasons with Ottawa before being traded to Philadelphia for Claude Boivin in March 1994. He finished playing in 2000, then spent time as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.

Jim Thomson (selected from Los Angeles)

Thomson was another bruising forward with a penchant for dropping the gloves; the 6-foot-1 winger had racked up 162 penalty minutes in just 45 games with the Kings the season before. But he was a pivotal piece for the Sens, who sent him back to L.A. in December in a four-player deal that allowed them to acquire perennial 20-goal scorer Bob Kudelski.

Lonnie Loach (selected from Detroit)

Loach had turned heads in 1991, racking up 131 points in 81 games with Fort Wayne to win the International Hockey League scoring title by 11 points over linemate and future NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau. But Loach couldn't duplicate his success in the NHL, posting just 23 points in 56 games before plying his trade in the AHL, Switzerland, the Alpenligue, and the UHL.

Laurie Boschman (selected from New Jersey)

Boschman was one of the Senators' most established players; the former first-round pick had nearly 1,000 NHL games on his resume with the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Jets, and Devils. He reached the 1,000-game plateau in an Ottawa uniform but called it quits at season's end, returning for a seven-game stint with the British Hockey League's Fife Flyers in 1994-95.

Mark Freer (selected from Philadelphia)

Freer wasn't much of an offensive threat, but still managed an NHL personal-best 10 goals despite a -35 rating with the Senators. He signed with the Calgary Flames the following offseason but spent the majority of 1993-94 in the AHL, averaging better than a point per game. He played the next five seasons in the IHL before returning to the Philadelphia organization with the Phantoms.

Chris Lindberg (selected from Calgary)

* played for Calgary Flames

The Flames really didn't want to part with Lindberg, whom they had signed as a free agent in 1991. So, they dealt defenseman Mark Osiecki to the Senators in order to reacquire their prized forward. The deal didn't really work out for either side; Lindberg departed for Quebec as a free agent the following offseason, while Ottawa placed Oseicki on waivers in February 1993.

Jeff Lazaro (selected from Boston)

The Waltham, Mass., native was nothing more than a depth forward with the Bruins, but Lazaro showed decent offensive promise between Ottawa and New Haven (12 goals, 13 assists in 27 games). Yet, his Senators stint represented the last of his NHL playing experience, as he spent his final nine seasons between the AHL, ECHL, Germany, and Austria.

Darcy Loewen (selected from Buffalo)

Power forwards were all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s, which explains how Loewen was a third-round pick; he averaged a point per game over his final two WHL seasons while racking up 425 penalty minutes in that span. But he was all fists, no hands in the NHL, registering 12 points and 211 PIMs in 135 games. He finished his playing career in the West Coast Hockey League.

Blair Atcheynum (selected from Hartford)

Atcheynum, a third-round pick of the Whalers in 1989, had 138 points in his final junior season but never saw the ice with Hartford and barely featured for Ottawa. He rejuvenated his career in 1997-98, playing 61 games with the St. Louis Blues before being claimed by Nashville in the Predators' expansion draft. he was later dealt back to St. Louis before finishing his career with Chicago.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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We're so close.

The protected and available players lists for the expansion draft are public, which means it's time to finally take our best shot at filling out the Vegas Golden Knights' roster.

We've listed the roster by position, and broken down each selection by team, including the player's age, salary cap hit, and contract status.

Forwards

• Josh Bailey
• Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
• Beau Bennett
• Mikkel Boedker
• William Carrier
• Marko Dano
• Mikhail Grigorenko
• William Karlsson
• Jujhar Khaira
• Brendan Leipsic
• Trevor Lewis
• Jonathan Marchessault
• James Neal
• David Perron
• Teemu Pulkkinen
• Hunter Shinkaruk
• Lee Stempniak
• Chris Wagner

Defense

• Brandon Davidson
• Jake Dotchin
• Matt Dumba
• Marc Methot
• Colin Miller
• Jamie Oleksiak
• Luca Sbisa
• Trevor van Riemsdyk

Goalies

• Marc-Andre Fleury
• Philipp Grubauer
• Petr Mrazek
• Antti Raanta

Projected Cap Hit: $52,515,000*

*Not including restricted free agents

Picks by team

Anaheim Ducks

• Player: Chris Wagner (RW)
• Age: 26
• Cap hit: $637,500
• Signed through: 2017-18

All signs point to an agreement between the Ducks and Vegas that ensures the Golden Knights don't select Sami Vatanen or Josh Manson, and beyond those two, it's slim pickings. Like, super slim.

Arizona Coyotes

• Player: Teemu Pulkkinen (LW)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: RFA ($812,500 in 2016-17)

It's either Pulkkinen or Alex Burmistrov, and Pulkkinen's 2014-15, when he had 34 goals and 61 points in 46 games in the AHL, remains too impressive to pass up, even two years later.

Boston Bruins

• Player: Colin Miller (D)
• Age: 24
• Cap hit: $1M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Miller's age, cap hit, and experience - he's played 103 regular-season games, averaging almost 16 minutes in ice time - make him an easy choice.

Buffalo Sabres

• Player: William Carrier (LW)
• Age: 22
• Cap hit: $689,167
• Signed through: 2017-18

If you've got a better suggestion than Carrier, we're all ears.

Calgary Flames

• Player: Hunter Shinkaruk (C)
• Age: 22
• Cap hit: $863,333
• Signed through: 2017-18

There are veteran and more expensive options - like Troy Brouwer - but Shinkaruk, a former first-round pick, had 15 goals and 35 points in 52 games in the A last season, and our Vegas roster is being built with youth in mind.

Carolina Hurricanes

• Player: Lee Stempniak (RW)
• Age: 34
• Cap hit: $2.5M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Stempniak will score, provides veteran experience, is well-traveled, and can be flipped at the trade deadline. That's basically his specialty.

Chicago Blackhawks

• Player: Trevor van Riemsdyk (D)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: $825K
• Signed through: 2017-18

Another no-brainer. The kid averaged 18:25 on the Blackhawks' blue line last season and chipped in with 16 points. This could be a great move for his career, which already includes a Stanley Cup ring.

Colorado Avalanche

• Player: Mikhail Grigorenko (C)
• Age: 23
• Cap hit: RFA ($1.3M in 2016-17)

While Grigorenko hasn't lived up to his 12th overall selection in 2012, he's had back-to-back 20-point seasons and has played over 200 games at only 23 years old. That counts for something.

Columbus Blue Jackets

• Player: William Karlsson (C)
• Age: 24
• Cap hit: $1M
• Signed through: 2017-18

A reported deal is in place that will see Vegas not select Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo, Jack Johnson, or David Savard, but all is not lost. Karlsson's a decent consolation prize, especially considering a first-round pick is reportedly headed the Golden Knights' way. It'll be interesting to see what the kid can do given more of an opportunity.

Dallas Stars

• Player: Jamie Oleksiak (D)
• Age: 24
• Cap hit: RFA ($918,750 in 2016-17)

The Stars' list of available players may be the most underwhelming in the NHL. No offense, Mr. Oleksiak.

Detroit Red Wings

• Player: Petr Mrazek (G)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: $4M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Mrazek being left exposed is a surprise, especially considering Jimmy Howard's contract. Vegas must take advantage. It gives the Golden Knights a large salary to help get to the cap floor, and he can be used as a potential trade chip.

Edmonton Oilers

• Player: Jujhar Khaira (LW)
• Age: 22
• Cap hit: $675K
• Signed through: 2018-19

Khaira is young and signed for two more years. Worth a shot.

Florida Panthers

• Player: Jonathan Marchessault (C)
• Age: 26
• Cap hit: $750K
• Signed through: 2017-18

Dude had 30 goals and 51 points last season, and is a no-brainer at his salary.

Los Angeles Kings

• Player: Trevor Lewis (C)
• Age: 30
• Cap hit: $2M
• Signed through: 2019-20

A veteran with a couple of rings to play up the middle. Nothing wrong with that.

Minnesota Wild

• Player: Matt Dumba (D)
• Age: 22
• Cap hit: $2.55M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Eric Staal's tempting, but Dumba's age, experience, and the fact he's coming off a career season make him the selection.

Montreal Canadiens

• Player: Brandon Davidson (D)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: $1.425M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Davidson's a sixth-round pick done good, and can fill out the defense corps.

Nashville Predators

• Player: James Neal (LW)
• Age: 29
• Cap hit: $5M
• Signed through: 2017-18

A proven goal scorer who could be dangled at the deadline, should Vegas go that route.

New Jersey Devils

• Player: Beau Bennett (RW)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: RFA ($725K in 2016-17)

Not a whole lot of tantalizing options out of Newark, so Bennett gets the nod because he was more productive than Devante Smith-Pelly.

New York Islanders

• Player: Josh Bailey (LW)
• Age: 27
• Cap hit: $3.3M
• Signed through: 2017-18

A reported trade has Vegas banking another first-round pick for not plucking exposed Brock Nelson or Ryan Strome. While Bailey could also be included in that agreement, we're going to assume that he's not. He had 56 points last season.

New York Rangers

• Player: Antti Raanta (G)
• Age: 28
• Cap hit: $1M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Raanta had a .922 save percentage last season. That'll do, especially at a million bucks.

Ottawa Senators

• Player: Marc Methot (D)
• Age: 31
• Cap hit: $4.9M
• Signed through: 2018-19

Blame Dion Phaneuf, who refused to waive his no-movement clause, leaving Methot exposed.

Philadelphia Flyers

• Player: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (LW)
• Age: 32
• Cap hit: $1.45M
• Signed through: 2018-19

Bellemare's a bit cheaper than Michael Raffl, and is a durable bottom-six forward who can provide some leadership on a young team.

Pittsburgh Penguins

• Player: Marc-Andre Fleury (G)
• Age: 32
• Cap hit: $5.75M
• Signed through: 2018-19

There are some interesting names on the Pens' available list, including Carl Hagelin, Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust, and Scott Wilson, but Fleury to Vegas has to happen. It's been discussed far too much for it not to.

San Jose Sharks

• Player: Mikkel Boedker (LW)
• Age: 27
• Cap hit: $4M
• Signed through: 2019-20

Boedker's first season in San Jose was a disaster, but he's proven he can score in double digits and is a two-time 50-point scorer.

St. Louis Blues

• Player: David Perron (LW)
• Age: 29
• Cap hit: $3.75M
• Signed through: 2017-18

Perron brings a little bit of everything on an expiring deal.

Tampa Bay Lightning

• Player: Jake Dotchin (D)
• Age: 23
• Cap hit: RFA ($616,667 in 2016-17)

A young D-man who averaged 18:26 on Jon Cooper's blue line in 35 games last season, in which he had 11 assists. There's something here.

Toronto Maple Leafs

• Player: Brendan Leipsic (LW)
• Age: 23
• Cap hit: RFA ($653,333 in 2016-17)

Leipsic has nothing left to prove in the AHL, he's ripped it up, and is a casualty of too much young talent in Toronto (when was the last time you could say that?).

Vancouver Canucks

• Player: Luca Sbisa (D)
• Age: 27
• Cap hit: $3.6M
• Signed through: 2017-18

He played 19 minutes a night and didn't miss a game last season. And, really, Vancouver's list of available players is downright ghastly.

Washington Capitals

• Player: Philipp Grubauer (G)
• Age: 25
• Cap hit: RFA ($750K in 2016-17)

Grubauer could be a long-term option as a No. 1. It's worth finding out.

Winnipeg Jets

• Player: Marko Dano (C)
• Age: 22
• Cap hit: $850K
• Signed through: 2017-18

Dano's still living on potential.

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It was only a matter of time before Roberto Luongo chimed in.

The Florida Panthers' 38-year-old goalie was left exposed by the club ahead of the expansion draft, and took to Twitter to sympathize with the Vegas Golden Knights' tough decision ahead:

Vegas must select one player from each team, and Luongo crossed himself off the list.

Considering the 'tender's $4,533,333 salary-cap hit through 2021-22, it's a safe bet Luongo will be in Florida next season and beyond. But you can't fault the guy for making sure. Or trying to, at least.

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One of the most noticeable names left unprotected for expansion selection on Sunday was Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek, but the reasoning behind it may not be what you expected.

Many NHL pundits expected the Wings to leave the less desirable 33-year-old Jimmy Howard exposed, so when it was Mrazek's name left unprotected, those same experts began to speculate whether Detroit general manager Ken Holland had a side deal in place with Vegas to ensure Mrazek stayed in red and white.

However, that appears to not be the case.

"We had a tough year. We're trying to build our team," Holland said, according to Ansar Khan of MLive.com. "I'm not spending any future assets to hang onto players."

Related: Expansion Draft: A list of all players available to Vegas

If no side deal exists to protect Mrazek from becoming a Knight, then why is Holland so dead set on making his former No. 1 available?

Mrazek did have a lackluster season in 2016-17 - the 25-year-old posted an 18-21-9 record to go along with a 3.04 GAA and .901 save percentage - but, as Khan points out, the former fifth-round pick could be heading elsewhere due to poor behavior and a cocky approach.

As such, a GAA above 3.00 and a save percentage barely above .900 apparently isn't enough to make up for a sour attitude.

According to Khan, Mrazek has always carried a "swagger and air of confidence" with him, something that initially attracted the Wings. But if head coach Jeff Blashill's benching of Mrazek in favor of rookie Jared Coreau at the Centennial Classic is any indication, the Czech native has seemingly worn out his welcome in Motown.

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The protected lists are in.

We know who the Golden Knights can't select. On the flipside, below is a comprehensive list - broken down by team - of all the players George McPhee can have join him in Vegas.

Anaheim Ducks

• Spencer Abbott (F)
• Jared Boll (F)
• Sam Carrick (F)
• Patrick Eaves (F)
• Emerson Etem (F)
• Ryan Garbutt (F)
• Max Gortz (F)
• Nicolas Kerdiles (F)
• Andre Petersson (F)
• Logan Shaw (F)
• Nick Sorensen (F)
• Nate Thompson (F)
• Corey Tropp (F)
• Chris Wagner (F)
• Nate Guenin (D)
• Korbinian Holzer (D)
• Josh Manson (D)
• Jaycob Megna (D)
• Jeff Schultz (D)
• Clayton Stoner (D)
• Sami Vatanen (D)
• Jonathan Bernier (G)
• Jhonas Enroth (G)
• Ryan Faragher (G)
• Matt Hackett (G)
• Dustin Tokarski (G)

Arizona Coyotes

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

• Alexander Burmistrov (F)
• Shane Doan (F)
• Tyler Gaudet (F)
• Peter Holland (F)
• Josh Jooris (F)
• Jamie McGinn (F)
• Jeremy Morin (F)
• Mitchell Moroz (F)
• Chris Mueller (F)
• Teemu Pulkkinen (F)
• Brad Richardson (F)
• Garret Ross (F)
• Branden Troock (F)
• Radim Vrbata (F)
• Joe Whitney (F)
• Kevin Connauton (D)
• Jamie McBain (D)
• Zbynek Michalek (D)
• Jarred Tinordi (D)
• Louis Domingue (G)

Boston Bruins

• Matt Beleskey (F)
• Brian Ferlin (F)
• Jimmy Hayes (F)
• Alex Khokhlachev (F)
• Dominic Moore (F)
• Tyler Randell (F)
• Zac Rinaldo (F)
• Tim Schaller (F)
• Drew Stafford (F)
• Linus Arnesson (D)
• Chris Casto (D)
• Tommy Cross (D)
• Alex Grant (D)
• John-Michael Liles (D)
• Adam McQuaid (D)
• Colin Miller (D)
• Joe Morrow (D)
• Anton Khudobin (G)
• Malcolm Subban (G)

Buffalo Sabres

• William Carrier (F)
• Nicolas Deslauriers (F)
• Brian Gionta (F)
• Derek Grant (F)
• Justin Kea (F)
• Matt Moulson (F)
• Cal O'Reilly (F)
• Cole Schneider (F)
• Brady Austin (D)
• Mathew Bodie (D)
• Zach Bogosian (D)
• Justin Falk (D)
• Taylor Fedun (D)
• Cody Franson (D)
• Josh Gorges (D)
• Dmitry Kulikov (D)
• Anders Nilsson (G)
• Linus Ullmark (G)

Calgary Flames

• Brandon Bollig (F)
• Lance Bouma (F)
• Troy Brouwer (F)
• Alex Chiasson (F)
• Freddie Hamilton (F)
• Emile Poirier (F)
• Hunter Shinkaruk (F)
• Matt Stajan (F)
• Kris Versteeg (F)
• Linden Vey (F)
• Matt Bartkowski (D)
• Ryan Culkin (D)
• Deryk Engelland (D)
• Michael Kostka (D)
• Brett Kulak (D)
• Ladislav Smid (D)
• Michael Stone (D)
• Dennis Wideman (D)
• Tyler Wotherspoon (D)
• Brian Elliott (G)
• Tom McCollum (G)

Carolina Hurricanes

• Bryan Bickell (F)
• Connor Brickley (F)
• Patrick Brown (F)
• Erik Karlsson (F)
• Danny Kristo (F)
• Jay McClement (F)
• Andrew Miller (F)
• Andrej Nestrasil (F)
• Joakim Nordstrom (F)
• Lee Stempniak (F)
• Brendan Woods (F)
• Klas Dahlbeck (D)
• Dennis Robertson (D)
• Philip Samuelsson (D)
• Matt Tennyson (D)
• Daniel Altshuller (G)
• Eddie Lack (G)
• Michael Leighton (G)
• Cam Ward (G)

Chicago Blackhawks

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

• Kyle Baun (F)
• Andrew Desjardins (F)
• Marcus Kruger (F)
• Pierre-Cedric Labrie (F)
• Michael Latta (F)
• Brandon Mashinter (F)
• Dennis Rasmussen (F)
• Jordin Tootoo (F)
• Brian Campbell (D)
• Dillon Fournier (D)
• Shawn Lalonde (D)
• Johnny Oduya (D)
• Ville Pokka (D)
• Michal Rozsival (D)
• Viktor Svedberg (D)
• Trevor van Riemsdyk (D)
• Mac Carruth (G)
• Jeff Glass (G)

Colorado Avalanche

• Troy Bourke (F)
• Gabriel Bourque (F)
• Rene Bourque (F)
• Joe Colborne (F)
• Turner Elson (F)
• Felix Girard (F)
• Mikhail Grigorenko (F)
• Samuel Henley (F)
• John Mitchell (F)
• Jim O'Brien (F)
• Brendan Ranford (F)
• Mike Sislo (F)
• Carl Soderberg (F)
• Mark Barberio (D)
• Mat Clark (D)
• Eric Gelinas (D)
• Cody Goloubef (D)
• Duncan Siemens (D)
• Fedor Tyutin (D)
• Patrick Wiercioch (D)
• Joe Cannata (G)
• Calvin Pickard (G)
• Jeremy Smith (G)

Columbus Blue Jackets

• Josh Anderson (F)
• Alex Broadhurst (F)
• Matt Calvert (F)
• Zac Dalpe (F)
• Sam Gagner (F)
• Brett Gallant (F)
• William Karlsson (F)
• Lauri Korpikoski (F)
• Lukas Sedlak (F)
• T.J. Tynan (F)
• Daniel Zaar (F)
• Marc-Andre Bergeron (D)
• Scott Harrington (D)
• Jack Johnson (D)
• Kyle Quincey (D)
• John Ramage (D)
• Jaime Sifers (D)
• Ryan Stanton (D)
• Oscar Dansk (G)
• Anton Forsberg (G)
• Joonas Korpisalo (G)

Dallas Stars

• Adam Cracknell (F)
• Justin Dowling (F)
• Cody Eakin (F)
• Ales Hemsky (F)
• Jiri Hudler (F)
• Curtis McKenzie (F)
• Mark McNeill (F)
• Travis Morin (F)
• Patrick Sharp (F)
• Gemel Smith (F)
• Matej Stransky (F)
• Mattias Backman (D)
• Andrew Bodnarchuk (D)
• Ludwig Bystrom (D)
• Nick Ebert (D)
• Justin Hache (D)
• Dan Hamhuis (D)
• Patrik Nemeth (D)
• Jamie Oleksiak (D)
• Greg Pateryn (D)
• Dustin Stevenson (D)
• Henri Kiviaho (G)
• Maxime Lagace (G)
• Kari Lehtonen (G)
• Antti Niemi (G)
• Justin Peters (G)

Detroit Red Wings

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

• Louis-Marc Aubry (F)
• Mitch Callahan (F)
• Colin Campbell (F)
• Martin Frk (F)
• Luke Glendening (F)
• Darren Helm (F)
• Drew Miller (F)
• Tomas Nosek (F)
• Riley Sheahan (F)
• Ben Street (F)
• Eric Tangradi (F)
• Adam Almquist (D)
• Jonathan Ericsson (D)
• Niklas Kronwall (D)
• Brian Lashoff (D)
• Dylan McIlrath (D)
• Xavier Ouellet (D)
• Ryan Sproul (D)
• Jared Coreau (G)
• Petr Mrazek (G)
• Edward Pasquale (G)
• Jake Paterson (G)

Edmonton Oilers

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

• David Desharnais (F)
• Justin Fontaine (F)
• Matt Hendricks (F)
• Roman Horak (F)
• Jujhar Khaira (F)
• Anton Lander (F)
• Iiro Pakarinen (F)
• Tyler Pitlick (F)
• Zach Pochiro (F)
• Benoit Pouliot (F)
• Henrik Samuelsson (F)
• Bogdan Yakimov (F)
• Mark Fayne (D)
• Andrew Ference (D)
• Mark Fraser (D)
• Eric Gryba (D)
• David Musil (D)
• Jordan Oesterle (D)
• Griffin Reinhart (D)
• Kris Russell (D)
• Dillon Simpson (D)
• Laurent Brossoit (G)
• Jonas Gustavsson (G)

Florida Panthers

• Graham Black (F)
• Tim Bozon (F)
• Jaromir Jagr (F)
• Jussi Jokinen (F)
• Derek MacKenzie (F)
• Jonathan Marchessault (F)
• Colton Sceviour (F)
• Michael Sgarbossa (F)
• Reilly Smith (F)
• Brody Sutter (F)
• Paul Thompson (F)
• Shawn Thornton (F)
• Thomas Vanek (F)
• Jason Demers (D)
• Jakub Kindl (D)
• Brent Regner (D)
• Reece Scarlett (D)
• MacKenzie Weegar (D)
• Reto Berra (G)
• Sam Brittain (G)
• Roberto Luongo (G)

Los Angeles Kings

• Andy Andreoff (F)
• Justin Auger (F)
• Dustin Brown (F)
• Kyle Clifford (F)
• Andrew Crescenzi (F)
• Nic Dowd (F)
• Marian Gaborik (F)
• Jarome Iginla (F)
• Trevor Lewis (F)
• Michael Mersch (F)
• Jordan Nolan (F)
• Teddy Purcell (F)
• Devin Setoguchi (F)
• Nick Shore (F)
• Matt Greene (D)
• Vincent Loverde (D)
• Brayden McNabb (D)
• Cameron Schilling (D)
• Rob Scuderi (D)
• Zach Trotman (D)
• Jack Campbell (G)
• Jeff Zatkoff (G)

Minnesota Wild

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

• Brady Brassart (F)
• Patrick Cannone (F)
• Ryan Carter (F)
• Kurtis Gabriel (F)
• Martin Hanzal (F)
• Erik Haula (F)
• Zack Mitchell (F)
• Jordan Schroeder (F)
• Eric Staal (F)
• Chris Stewart (F)
• Ryan White (F)
• Victor Bartley (D)
• Matt Dumba (D)
• Christian Folin (D)
• Guillaume Gelinas (D)
• Alexander Gudbranson (D)
• Gustav Olofsson (D)
• Nate Prosser (D)
• Marco Scandella (D)
• Mike Weber (D)
• Johan Gustafsson (G)
• Darcy Kuemper (G)
• Alex Stalock (G)

Montreal Canadiens

• Daniel Carr (F)
• Connor Crisp (F)
• Jacob De La Rose (F)
• Bobby Farnham (F)
• Brian Flynn (F)
• Max Friberg (F)
• Charles Hudon (F)
• Dwight King (F)
• Stefan Matteau (F)
• Torrey Mitchell (F)
• Joonas Nattinen (F)
• Steve Ott (F)
• Tomas Plekanec (F)
• Alexander Radulov (F)
• Chris Terry (F)
• Brandon Davidson (D)
• Alexei Emelin (D)
• Keegan Lowe (D)
• Andrei Markov (D)
• Nikita Nesterov (D)
• Zach Redmond (D)
• Dalton Thrower (D)
• Al Montoya (G)

Nashville Predators

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

• Pontus Aberg (F)
• Cody Bass (F)
• Vernon Fiddler (F)
• Mike Fisher (F)
• Cody McLeod (F)
• James Neal (F)
• PA Parenteau (F)
• Adam Payerl (F)
• Mike Ribeiro (F)
• Miikka Salomaki (F)
• Colton Sissons (F)
• Craig Smith (F)
• Trevor Smith (F)
• Austin Watson (F)
• Colin Wilson (F)
• Harry Zolnierczyk (F)
• Taylor Aronson (D)
• Anthony Bitetto (D)
• Stefan Elliott (D)
• Petter Granberg (D)
• Brad Hunt (D)
• Matt Irwin (D)
• Andrew O'Brien (D)
• Adam Pardy (D)
• Jaynen Rissling (D)
• Scott Valentine (D)
• Yannick Weber (D)
• Marek Mazanec (G)

New Jersey Devils

• Beau Bennett (F)
• Michael Cammalleri (F)
• Carter Camper (F)
• Luke Gazdic (F)
• Shane Harper (F)
• Jacob Josefson (F)
• Ivan Khomutov (F)
• Stefan Noesen (F)
• Marc Savard (F)
• Devante Smith-Pelly (F)
• Petr Straka (F)
• Mattias Tedenby (F)
• Ben Thomson (F)
• David Wohlberg (F)
• Seth Helgeson (D)
• Viktor Loov (D)
• Ben Lovejoy (D)
• Andrew MacWilliam (D)
• Jon Merrill (D)
• Dalton Prout (D)
• Karl Stollery (D)
• Alexander Urbom (D)
• Keith Kinkaid (G)
• Scott Wedgewood (G)

New York Islanders

• Josh Bailey (F)
• Steve Bernier (F)
• Eric Boulton (F)
• Jason Chimera (F)
• Casey Cizikas (F)
• Cal Clutterbuck (F)
• Stephen Gionta (F)
• Ben Holmstrom (F)
• Bracken Kearns (F)
• Nikolay Kulemin (F)
• Brock Nelson (F)
• Shane Prince (F)
• Alan Quine (F)
• Ryan Strome (F)
• Johan Sundstrom (F)
• Calvin de Haan (D)
• Matthew Finn (D)
• Jesse Graham (D)
• Thomas Hickey (D)
• Loic Leduc (D)
• Scott Mayfield (D)
• Dennis Seidenberg (D)
• Jean-Francois Berube (G)
• Christopher Gibson (G)
• Jaroslav Halak (G)

New York Rangers

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

• Taylor Beck (F)
• Chris Brown (F)
• Daniel Catenacci (F)
• Jesper Fast (F)
• Tanner Glass (F)
• Michael Grabner (F)
• Marek Hrivik (F)
• Nicklas Jensen (F)
• Carl Klingberg (F)
• Oscar Lindberg (F)
• Brandon Pirri (F)
• Matt Puempel (F)
• Adam Clendening (D)
• Tommy Hughes (D)
• Steven Kampfer (D)
• Kevin Klein (D)
• Michael Paliotta (D)
• Brendan Smith (D)
• Chris Summers (D)
• Magnus Hellberg (G)
• Antti Raanta (G)
• Mackenzie Skapski (G)

Ottawa Senators

• Casey Bailey (F)
• Mike Blunden (F)
• Alexandre Burrows (F)
• Stephane Da Costa (F)
• Christopher DiDomenico (F)
• Nikita Filatov (F)
• Chris Kelly (F)
• Clarke MacArthur (F)
• Max McCormick (F)
• Chris Neil (F)
• Tom Pyatt (F)
• Ryan Rupert (F)
• Bobby Ryan (F)
• Viktor Stalberg (F)
• Phil Varone (F)
• Tommy Wingels (F)
• Mark Borowiecki (D)
• Fredrik Claesson (D)
• Brandon Gormley (D)
• Jyrki Jokipakka (D)
• Marc Methot (D)
• Patrick Sieloff (D)
• Chris Wideman (D)
• Mikael Wikstrand (D)
• Mike Condon (G)
• Chris Driedger (G)
• Andrew Hammond (G)

Philadelphia Flyers

• Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (F)
• Greg Carey (F)
• Chris Conner (F)
• Boyd Gordon (F)
• Taylor Leier (F)
• Colin McDonald (F)
• Andy Miele (F)
• Michael Raffl (F)
• Matt Read (F)
• Chris VandeVelde (F)
• Jordan Weal (F)
• Dale Weise (F)
• Eric Wellwood (F)
• Mark Alt (D)
• TJ Brennan (D)
• Michael Del Zotto (D)
• Andrew MacDonald (D)
• Will O'Neill (D)
• Jesper Pettersson (D)
• Nick Schultz (D)
• Steve Mason (G)
• Michal Neuvirth (G)

Pittsburgh Penguins

(Courtesy: Getty Images)

• Josh Archibald (F)
• Nick Bonino (F)
• Matt Cullen (F)
• Jean-Sebastien Dea (F)
• Carl Hagelin (F)
• Tom Kuhnhackl (F)
• Chris Kunitz (F)
• Kevin Porter (F)
• Bryan Rust (F)
• Tom Sestito (F)
• Oskar Sundqvist (F)
• Dominik Uher (F)
• Garrett Wilson (F)
• Scott Wilson (F)
• Ian Cole (D)
• Frank Corrado (D)
• Trevor Daley (D)
• Tim Erixon (D)
• Cameron Gaunce (D)
• Ron Hainsey (D)
• Stuart Percy (D)
• Derrick Pouliot (D)
• Chad Ruhwedel (D)
• Mark Streit (D)
• David Warsofsky (D)
• Marc-Andre Fleury (G)

San Jose Sharks

• Mikkel Boedker (F)
• Barclay Goodrow (F)
• Micheal Haley (F)
• Patrick Marleau (F)
• Buddy Robinson (F)
• Zack Stortini (F)
• Joe Thornton (F)
• Joel Ward (F)
• Dylan DeMelo (D)
• Brenden Dillon (D)
• Dan Kelly (D)
• Paul Martin (D)
• David Schlemko (D)
• Aaron Dell (G)
• Troy Grosenick (G)
• Harri Sateri (G)

St. Louis Blues

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

• Kenny Agostino (F)
• Andrew Agozzino (F)
• Kyle Brodziak (F)
• Jordan Caron (F)
• Jacob Doty (F)
• Landon Ferraro (F)
• Alex Friesen (F)
• Evgeny Grachev (F)
• Dmitrij Jaskin (F)
• Jori Lehtera (F)
• Brad Malone (F)
• Magnus Paajarvi (F)
• David Perron (F)
• Ty Rattie (F)
• Scottie Upshall (F)
• Nail Yakupov (F)
• Robert Bortuzzo (D)
• Chris Butler (D)
• Morgan Ellis (D)
• Carl Gunnarsson (D)
• Jani Hakanpaa (D)
• Petteri Lindbohm (D)
• Reid McNeill (D)
• Jordan Binnington (G)
• Carter Hutton (G)

Tampa Bay Lightning

• Carter Ashton (F)
• Michael Bournival (F)
• J.T. Brown (F)
• Cory Conacher (F)
• Erik Condra (F)
• Gabriel Dumont (F)
• Stefan Fournier (F)
• Byron Froese (F)
• Yanni Gourde (F)
• Mike Halmo (F)
• Henri Ikonen (F)
• Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (F)
• Tye McGinn (F)
• Greg McKegg (F)
• Cedric Paquette (F)
• Tanner Richard (F)
• Joel Vermin (F)
• Dylan Blujus (D)
• Jake Dotchin (D)
• Jason Garrison (D)
• Slater Koekkoek (D)
• Jonathan Racine (D)
• Andrej Sustr (D)
• Matt Taormina (D)
• Luke Witkowski (D)
• Peter Budaj (G)
• Kristers Gudlevskis (G)
• Jaroslav Janus (G)
• Mike McKenna (G)

Toronto Maple Leafs

• Brian Boyle (F)
• Eric Fehr (F)
• Colin Greening (F)
• Seth Griffith (F)
• Teemu Hartikainen (F)
• Brooks Laich (F)
• Brendan Leipsic (F)
• Joffrey Lupul (F)
• Milan Michalek (F)
• Kerby Rychel (F)
• Ben Smith (F)
• Andrew Campbell (D)
• Matt Hunwick (D)
• Alexey Marchenko (D)
• Martin Marincin (D)
• Steve Oleksy (D)
• Roman Polak (D)
• Antoine Bibeau (G)
• Curtis McElhinney (G)
• Garret Sparks (G)

Vancouver Canucks

• Reid Boucher (F)
• Michael Chaput (F)
• Joseph Cramarossa (F)
• Derek Dorsett (F)
• Brendan Gaunce (F)
• Alexandre Grenier (F)
• Jayson Megna (F)
• Borna Rendulic (F)
• Anton Rodin (F)
• Drew Shore (F)
• Jack Skille (F)
• Michael Zalewski (F)
• Alex Biega (D)
• Philip Larsen (D)
• Tom Nilsson (D)
• Andrey Pedan (D)
• Luca Sbisa (D)
• Richard Bachman (G)
• Ryan Miller (G)

Washington Capitals

• Jay Beagle (F)
• Chris Bourque (F)
• Paul Carey (F)
• Brett Connolly (F)
• Stanislav Galiev (F)
• Tyler Graovac (F)
• Garrett Mitchell (F)
• Liam O'Brien (F)
• T.J. Oshie (F)
• Zach Sill (F)
• Chandler Stephenson (F)
• Christian Thomas (F)
• Nathan Walker (F)
• Justin Williams (F)
• Daniel Winnik (F)
• Karl Alzner (D)
• Taylor Chorney (D)
• Cody Corbett (D)
• Darren Dietz (D)
• Christian Djoos (D)
• Tom Gilbert (D)
• Aaron Ness (D)
• Brooks Orpik (D)
• Nate Schmidt (D)
• Kevin Shattenkirk (D)
• Pheonix Copley (G)
• Philipp Grubauer (G)

Winnipeg Jets

• Marko Dano (F)
• Quinton Howden (F)
• Scott Kosmachuk (F)
• Tomas Kubalik (F)
• JC Lipon (F)
• Shawn Matthias (F)
• Ryan Olsen (F)
• Anthony Peluso (F)
• Chris Thorburn (F)
• Ben Chiarot (D)
• Toby Enstrom (D)
• Brenden Kichton (D)
• Julian Melchiori (D)
• Paul Postma (D)
• Brian Strait (D)
• Mark Stuart (D)
• Michael Hutchinson (G)
• Ondrej Pavelec (G)

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

The Vegas Golden Knights will have some intriguing options to choose from both up front and on the back end Wednesday night.

That's when the NHL's newest franchise will begin plucking players from the other 30 teams in the expansion draft, using the lists of the protected and available players revealed Sunday morning.

Related: The 7 best goalies made available to the Golden Knights

The New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets have reportedly agreed to side deals to prevent the Golden Knights from taking certain players the clubs don't want to lose, and there could certainly be more of these arrangements in the works.

Here are the best unprotected forwards and defensemen who are ripe for the picking barring more expansion-draft assurances:

Jonathan Marchessault

This one's a bit of a head-scratcher. The Florida Panthers elected to protect restricted free-agent defensemen Mark Pysyk and Alex Petrovic instead of their leading scorer this past season.

Marchessault's 30-goal campaign came out of nowhere, but considering his breakout season and his incredibly affordable cap hit of $750,000 next season, it's surprising that the Panthers would leave him prone to selection by the expansion franchise.

Even if he doesn't match 2016-17's offensive explosion, he's shown he has the tools to score consistently over an 82-game schedule.

Sami Vatanen

The Anaheim Ducks had to protect Kevin Bieksa because of his no-movement clause and had to limit themselves to three protected blue-liners because of their forward depth, so that left Vatanen prime for the taking.

It would be a mild shock if Ducks general manager Bob Murray didn't work out a side deal before Wednesday to keep his steady Finnish D-man, but Vatanen is out there for now.

James Neal

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Neal hit the 20-goal mark for the ninth consecutive season, and he's only one year removed from a 31-goal, 58-point campaign.

The Nashville Predators winger could be a nice addition for the Golden Knights, who can thank the Predators' depth on defense and faith in younger forward Calle Jarnkrok for Neal being available.

Eric Staal

The veteran center erupted for 28 goals and 65 points with the Minnesota Wild after struggling to find his game in his final foray with the Carolina Hurricanes and a disappointing post-trade turn with the New York Rangers.

Who knows which Staal the Golden Knights would get if they picked him, but it might be worth finding out considering how well he played this past season.

Matt Dumba

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Staal's teammate is a solid defenseman at both ends of the ice, and the Wild would probably keep Dumba if they didn't have to account for Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, as well as a deep forward group.

He's also only 22 years old, and is coming off his most productive season from a production standpoint.

Michael Grabner

Like Marchessault, there's no guarantee Grabner will replicate his 2016-17 efforts, and the New York Rangers appear to be betting against the 29-year-old forward by leaving him available.

Still, Grabner scored 27 goals this past season - the most he's notched since his first full campaign in 2010-11 - and Chris Kreider was the only member of the high-powered Rangers offense who lit the lamp more than Grabner in the regular season.

David Perron

The Golden Knights might be able to land Perron without having to give up a draft pick, and the St. Louis Blues winger could be a nice fit in Nevada.

Perron is coming off his best offensive season since 2013-14, and he's repeatedly proven capable of scoring 15-20 goals per campaign.

Nate Schmidt

Schmidt worked his way into the Washington Capitals' lineup and proved he belongs, finishing the season as John Carlson's defense partner.

He'd be a solid pick for the Golden Knights given that he's only 25 and promising left-shot blue-liners aren't easy to find.

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