Once again, the Vegas Golden Knights took the NHL spotlight, signing a quintet of young players to contracts on Saturday.
Vegas general manager George McPhee used the expansion draft to harvest two additional first round picks on June 23, and now all three players have signed with the new team.
In addition to inking the trio of first-rounders, the club also signed restricted free-agent forward Brendan Leipsic to a two-year, two-way deal and restricted free agent defenseman Griffin Reinhart to a two-year, one-way contract. Leipsic was taken from the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Reinhart was plucked from the Edmonton Oilers in the expansion draft.
The New Jersey Devils signed the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, Nico Hischier, to a bonus-laden, three-year, entry-level contract. Hischier is the first Swiss player to be taken at the top of the draft.
In other signings, the Edmonton Oilers re-signed defenseman Dillion Simpson to a one-year, two-way deal. The Philadelphia Flyers did the same with forward Cole Bardreau, and the Tampa Bay Lightning re-upped forward Michael Bournival from one more year.