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DALLAS -- It was a predictably quiet Day 1 of the Draft for George McPhee and the Golden Knights.

Without a pick -- traded to Detroit for Tomas Tatar -- most of the excitement surrounding Vegas was their purported pursuits of Erik Karlsson and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Detroit -- with the Vegas 1st-round pick they received for Tatar -- has selected Joe Veleno. Veleno might be a steal, thought by some to be a mid-1st rounder

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018

McPhee threw some cold water on both stories.

Yesterday, he called the Karlsson rumors "wild speculation."

George McPhee joked, on his conversation with Pierre Dorion before Draft: "We did that on purpose to get you guys [excited]."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018

Today, he countered highly-placed reports that he had met with Kovalchuk's agent, J.P. Barry.

Expectation is that J.P. Barry, agent for Ilya Kovalchuk, will meet with the top four contenders for the UFA's services today _ Boston, L.A., SJ and Vegas _ to advance proceedings along.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2018

George McPhee, on if he's had discussions with J.P. Barry on Kovalchuk: "I haven't."

This seems to contradict earlier reports that they had met today. Of course, the night is young.

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018

The Kovalchuk denial is interesting, as there isn't any particular reason for McPhee to lie about speaking with a KHL UFA's agent. Both LA and San Jose have admitted to meeting Barry.

McPhee's post-Draft presser lasted literally two minutes and was filled with gems like these:

"There's nothing to talk about."

"What would you ask me?"

"Wish I had more for you guys, but I don't want to waste your time."

SP: Tip the runner well! He did a lot of work today.

George McPhee: More than us. pic.twitter.com/dKNXCvCQ4U

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018

Hopefully, there's more excitement from the Golden Knights tomorrow!

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