Vegas Golden Knights Select Luca Sbisa from Vancouver Canucks in Expansion Draft

After months of waiting, the Vancouver Canucks found out which of their players they’d lose to the league’s newest expansion franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights selected Luca Sbisa with their second pick in the Expansion Draft during the NHL Awards Show.

Sbisa, 27-years-old, originally joined the Canucks as a key piece in the Ryan Kesler trade. In three seasons with the Canucks, Sbisa never quite lived up to his billing as a potential top four defenceman. Sbisa’s turnovers made him the brunt of fan anger and his nickname as the ‘pizza man’. In 199 games with the Canucks, Sbisa scored 32 points (seven goals and 25 assists).

It almost goes without saying that the Canucks front office feels this loss more than their fans. Whether fans, writers or analysts felt Sbisa was playing well or not, it never seemed to matter. No Canuck played more at five-on-five last season than Sbisa and his 1334:02.

The Golden Knights will take on the final year of Sbisa’s contract and the $3.6-million cap charge attached to it. According to Ryan Biech, that leaves the Canucks with $19.5-million in space.