George McPhee got an important clarification from the NHL recently that should be noted by every general manager in the league.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Vegas Golden Knights GM that other teams will not be allowed to retain salary on players selected in the expansion draft, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.
Salary retention on expansion-draft picks would've made it easier for McPhee to choose players with large or simply unfavorable contracts, but the Golden Knights can still explore that route in trades.
Once the franchise has made its final expansion payment, it could be given the go-ahead to begin making deals, according to LeBrun.
That's expected to happen around March 1 - coincidentally the trade deadline - which would give the Golden Knights a much earlier trade window than previous expansion clubs.
The expansion draft is scheduled to run June 18-20, and selections will be announced June 21.
Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.