|
Brent Burns wins Norris Trophy Vegas style + more |
|
|
|
|
|
Since word came down that Las Vegas would be home to the NHL's newest franchise it has been the hub of the hockey world. Much more so last nught when all hockey eyes were on the the sweltering desert city as it hosted both the NHL Awards and expansion draft.
It was a good night for the league - even if there was little intrigue for both events. For the last several days there have been so many leaks that even the little dutch boy wouldn't have been of much help. No worries though because a good time was had by all, especially Sharks' defenseman Brent Burns.
When Burnsy wasn't out pretending to be a pirate or sporting a man-bun and flip flops he was telling jokes and winning some hardware.
That's rightb the bearded swashbuckler is your 2016-17 James Norris Memorial Trophy recipient as the league’s best defenseman.
The Sharks season may not have ended as planned, but at least the newly annointed face of the franchise was being showcased and for all the right reasons.
Burns scorched the San Jose record books for a defenseman with franchise high in goals (29) and points (76). Burns was the only nominee that received points on all the Professional Hockey Writers Association ballots.
Burns was gracious while accepting the award, thanking both Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman. He gave much love to his teammates, basically saying without them he cannot effectively do what he does best - Score!
Video courtesy of the Sharks twitter account.
...
The expansion draft was interesting. The Vegas Golden Knights built its roster by picking through the other 30 franchises clearance rack.
San Jose lost defenseman David Schlemko. It was a best case scenerio for San Jose. By selecting Schlemko guys like Brenden Dillon, Mikkel Boedeker, Joel Ward and Paul Martin were spared.
Schlemko was in the first year with San Jose. He ended the season with two goals and 16 assists in 62 games. The loss of the veteran dman means new opportunities for guys like Dylan DeMelo.
Interestingly, the Knights took defenseman from all three California teams. I don't know the significance of that, but interesting nonetheless.
UPDATE: Vegas shipped Schlemko to Montreal in exchange for a 5th round pick in 2019.
Here is the Vegas roster in its entirety....
Forwards
Teemu Pulkkinen (selected from Arizona Coyotes)
William Carrier (Buffalo Sabres)
Cody Eakin (Dallas Stars)
Tomas Nosek (Detroit Red Wings)
Jonathan Marchessault (Florida Panthers)
Reilly Smith (via trade with Florida Panthers)
Connor Brickley (Carolina Hurricanes)
Chris Thorburn (Winnipeg Jets)
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Philadelphia Flyers)
Nikita Gusev (via trade with Tampa Bay Lightning)
Mikhail Grabovski (via trade with New York Islanders)
James Neal (Nashville Predators)
Brendan Leipsic (Toronto Maple Leafs)
David Perron (St. Louis Blues)
Oscar Lindberg (New York Rangers)
Erik Haula (Minnesota Wild)
Alex Tuch (via trade with Minnesota Wild)
William Karlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets)
David Clarkson (via trade with Columbus Blue Jackets)
Defensemen
Luca Sbisa (Vancouver Canucks)
Jon Merrill (New Jersey Devils)
Brayden McNabb (Los Angeles Kings)
Jason Garrison (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Jake Bischoff (via trade with New York Islanders)
Deryk Engelland (Calgary Flames)
Colin Miller (Boston Bruins)
Marc Methot (Ottawa Senators)
David Schlemko (San Jose Sharks)
Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oilers)
Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens)
Clayton Stoner (Anaheim Ducks)
Shea Theodore (via trade with Anaheim Ducks)
Trevor van Riemsdyk (Chicago Blackhawks)
Nate Schmidt (Washington Capitals)
Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury (Pitt)
Calvin Pickard (Col)
Jean-Francois Berube (NYI)
...
Finally, the NHL released the opening night matchups for all 31 teams and for the first time in five seasons the Sharks and Kings won't meet on opening night. The change sparked a humorous exchange between the two clubs official twitter accounts. Enjoy!
Wait...was that a cheap shot?
The rest of the schedule comes out later today.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»