It's crunch time for every team hoping to deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.
That includes the Columbus Blue Jackets, who (along with 29 other teams) submitted their protected list over the weekend and officially started the 72-hour clock for Vegas to make its expansion draft selections.
As we all know by now, the Golden Knights are in "wheel and deal" mode; GM George McPhee issued a public statement for his colleagues yesterday, letting them know they can negotiate with him to avoid certain players and keep their rosters intact. The price will be high, but for some teams, it will be worth it.
This is Monday. The selections are due Wednesday morning, and now McPhee says the deadline for making a side deal is rapidly approaching (as in, Tuesday). Here's video, courtesy of the Golden Knights, from his media availability today in Las Vegas:
"We're going to pick our team tomorrow." --George McPhee#VegasDraft pic.twitter.com/VBVAl7ySBo
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 19, 2017
So, in other words: if you're thinking about a trade, pitch the idea now. Otherwise, we'll decide on the selection from your club and let you know prior to making it official. The Blue Jackets have quality players on their unprotected list, but are reportedly in talks with Vegas to keep them away from players like Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo.
Don't expect any trades to be made official until Wednesday night -- and if that's the case, it will be the busiest weeknight news dump we've ever seen in hockey.
