SAN JOSE — Pete DeBoer recognized his team’s good fortune when the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft wrapped up on June 21.
As the Pittsburgh Penguins watched star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury join the expansion Vegas Golden Knights and the Nashville Predators waved goodbye to former-40 goal scorer James Neal, the Sharks coach accepted the loss of defenseman David Schlemko, believing his squad has the organization depth on the blue line to fill his spot on the third pairing.
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“Everyone went in knowing they were going to lose a good player, or pay not to, and we felt fortunate to get out with (minimal damage),” DeBoer said.