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All talk, few trades before NHL’s expansion roster freeze

Mike Smith went from Arizona to Calgary and a couple of defensemen traded places as NHL teams made last-minute moves before the Vegas expansion draft roster freeze.

None of those defensemen came from the Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators or Anaheim Ducks, leaving big questions with the Vegas Golden Knights poised to acquire some serious talent in their expansion draft window from Sunday through Wednesday. General manager George McPhee’s phone was already ringing Saturday afternoon as his 30 colleagues did their best to shuffle the deck and protect themselves.

”With the expansion process upcoming, it forces you to make some decisions,” Coyotes GM John Chayka said.