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
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
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."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018
This seems to contradict earlier reports that they had met today. Of course, the night is young.
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.
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 23, 2018
George McPhee: More than us. pic.twitter.com/dKNXCvCQ4U
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