Golden Knights sign Wild forward Erik Haula: report
Minnesota to send forward prospect, conditional pick Alex Tuch to Vegas
The first of what will be a plethora of player news from the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft Wednesday night leaked in the morning from Minnesota.
Wild fans worried about losing defencemen Matt Dumba or Marco Scandella to the expansion franchise can exhale as forward Erik Haula reportedly will become the first, or one of the first, free-agent signings in Golden Knights history.
The NHL will announce the expansion draft results at Wednesday's awards ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
In exchange for Vegas steering clear of Dumba and Scandella, Golden Knights general manager George McPhee will receive forward prospect Alex Tuch and a conditional future draft pick.
Haula, 26, scored a career-high 15 goals last season but at times was relegated to a fourth-line role, averaging 13 minutes 48 seconds of ice time.
In 266 regular-season games for Minnesota, he scored 42 goals and 89 points. The former University of Minnesota pivot led the Gophers in scoring in two of his three seasons.
Tuch is a 21-year-old whom the Wild drafted 18th overall in 2014 out of Boston College.
The 2016-17 season was his first professional campaign and he collected 18 goals and 37 points in 57 games for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. He failed to register a point in six games for Minnesota.