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NHL teams credit Knights for circumventing expansion draft rules

Hey, Seattle, this wasn’t as easy as it looked.

The Golden Knights made it appear simple in building a team that has reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. But the Knights’ success was the result of meticulous planning and working within the parameters of a set of rules designed to give them a chance to be competitive.

Granted, nothing was guaranteed. No one forced teams to make side deals with general manager George McPhee that boomeranged on them. (Yes, you Florida, Minnesota and Columbus.)

But the consensus among NHL team owners and executives is things will be a little different when the time comes for Seattle to stock its franchise for the 2020-21 season.