Vegas....it's more than a perfect storm. The GM absolutely fleeced the NHL.
How do you figure?
Vegas did the following: (1) selected players
that other teams chose to leave unprotected; and (2) acquired draft picks and other players by agreeing to select or not select particular players in the expansion draft.
Look at the list of players drafted:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NHL_Expansion_Draft#Draft_results As of June 21, 2017, did you look at this list and say, "Oh my god! This team is going to be one of the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final"? I bet you didn't.
Vegas's top scoring player, William Karlsson, scored 43-35-78. Karlsson was selected in the expansion draft from Columbus after having scored a total of 18 goals in 183 prior NHL games. Not only did Columbus make Karlsson available in the expansion draft, the team also traded to Vegas a second round pick in 2019 and David Clarkson (in a salary dump by Columbus) in exchange for Vegas agreeing to take Karlsson in the expansion draft. That's how much Columbus didn't want the guy.
One of Vegas's better defensemen, Shea Theodore, was acquired in a similar deal. Anaheim traded Theodore to Vegas in exchange for Vegas agreeing to take Clayton Stoner in the expansion draft (again, a salary dump).
I could go on and on.
While it's true that the expansion draft rules were set up to make Vegas
competitive right out of the box, no one could have foreseen this.
By the way, I looked up previous expansion drafts to see just how much the rules had changed.
In 1998 (Nashville), 1999 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Columbus and Minnesota), existing teams were allowed to protect
either (a) one goalie, five d-men and nine forwards
or (b) two goalies, three d-men and seven forwards.
In 1999, any team who lost a goalie in the prior expansion draft did not have to expose any goalies. In 2000, except that there were requirements in place relating to recent NHL experience of unprotected players.
The 2017 rules for Vegas allowed existing teams to protect one goalie and either (a) three d-men and seven forwards or (b) eight skaters regardless of position. Players with less than two years of pro experience (NHL or AHL) were excluded from the draft, and teams were required to protect players with no move clauses. 23 of the 30 teams went with option (a).