Nashville Predators trade for Golden Knights’ defenseman Alexei Emelin, per report

Going back to the Vegas Golden Knights is a third-round pick.

The Vegas Golden Knights were oddly silent as NHL free agency opened on Saturday. The NHL’s newest team, however, did eventually make a deal later in the afternoon, as they have sent defenseman Alexei Emelin to the Nashville Predators for a 2018 third-round pick.

TSN’s Darren Dreger first reported the late-breaking trade.

Emelin was a surprise expansion-draft pickup for the Golden Knights. The Montreal Canadiens had other, more tempting players exposed in the expansion draft, but Vegas ultimately took the 31-year-old defenseman.

With the logjam of blue liners in Vegas, the Golden Knights have shed yet another defenseman in Emelin. The 31-year-old had 10 points in 76 games for the Canadiens last season, and was also a break-even possession player at 50 percent Corsi, according to Hockey-Reference.

It’s hard not to wonder if this move, considering the Predators’ current makeup at the defensive position, is a setup to grab a higher caliber player. Nashville has been linked to 26-year-old Avalanche center Matt Duchene for a while now, and adding depth to their defense could allow them to deal someone to Colorado.

Emelin has one year left on his four-year, $16.4 million contract and will cost the Predators $4.1 million against the cap this season.