On June 21, GM George McPhee and his staff will unveil the inaugural roster for the Vegas Golden Knights, who will begin play in the fall.

To get an idea of what to expect, we asked our writers to each draft a team made up of the best players expected to be exposed in the expansion draft.

A few caveats: In the real expansion draft, the Knights likely won't be taking the best possible players, but rather will optimize the entire process in terms of acquiring assets. In other words, they might agree not to take some of the players we've listed in exchange for a side deal that nets them a draft pick and/or prospect. Or McPhee might work a deal to take an exposed player with a bigger contract, provided he gets other assets in return.

But for this exercise, the 23-man rosters below are strictly from the pool of players we don't expect to be protected and don't include possible trades. Which team do you think is the best?

Are the Golden Knights eyeing Antti Raanta? Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Expansion draft primer The Vegas Golden Knights, who will begin play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in 2017-18, will select one player from each of the 30 other teams in an expansion draft that begins on June 17, 2017. Here are the basics of how the draft will work: Each team will protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender. All players with no-movement clauses must be protected. All players with two years or less of NHL/AHL service time will be automatically exempt from the draft. The Knights must pick at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. At least 20 of the players must be under contract for the 2017-18 season. The total cap hit of all players selected must be between $43.8 million and $73 million.

Scott Burnside

Forwards

William Karlsson, Columbus Blue Jackets

Mikhail Grigorenko, Colorado Avalanche

Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres

Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens

Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets

Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers

James Neal, Nashville Predators

Joel Ward, San Jose Sharks

Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks

Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes

Devante Smith-Pelly, New Jersey Devils

Jimmy Hayes, Boston Bruins

Defensemen

Nick Holden, New York Rangers

Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild

Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings

Trevor van Riemsdyk, Chicago Blackhawks

Brian Dumoulin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Petrovic, Florida Panthers

Marc Methot, Ottawa Senators

Goalies

Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals

Mike Smith, Arizona Coyotes

Carter Hutton, St. Louis Blues

Craig Custance

Forwards

Andrew Cogliano, Anaheim Ducks

Matt Moulson, Buffalo Sabres

Matt Stajan, Calgary Flames

Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes

Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche

Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers

Craig Smith, Nashville Predators

Alex Burrows, Ottawa Senators

Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks

Mikkel Boedker, San Jose Sharks

Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings

Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Matt Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs

Defensemen

Adam McQuaid, Boston Bruins

Stephen Johns, Dallas Stars

Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings

Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild

Brandon Davidson, Montreal Canadiens

Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils

Thomas Hickey, New York Islanders

Goalies

Antti Raanta, New York Rangers

Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals

Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets

Could Carl Hagelin be heading to Vegas? Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire

Pierre LeBrun

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens

Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres

Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames

Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes

Sven Andrighetto, Colorado Avalanche

Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers

Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks

Luke Glendening, Detroit Red Wings

Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Eric Fehr, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jonathan Marchessault, Florida Panthers

Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets

Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Defensemen

David Schlemko, San Jose Sharks

Stephen Johns, Dallas Stars

Josh Manson, Anaheim Ducks

Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings

Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild

Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils

Matt Irwin, Nashville Predators

Goalies

Antti Raanta, New York Rangers

Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals

Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets

Joe McDonald

Forwards

Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks

Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks

Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings

Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Oscar Lindberg, New York Rangers

Lee Stempniak, Carolina Hurricanes

Matt Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs

Michael Raffl, Philadelphia Flyers

Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets

Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens

Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers

Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames

Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Defensemen

Josh Gorges, Buffalo Sabres

Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils

Patrick Wiercioch, Colorado Avalanche

Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings

Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild

Marc Methot, Ottawa Senators

Alex Petrovic, Florida Panthers

Goalies

Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets

Philipp Grubauer, Washington Capitals

Malcolm Subban, Boston Bruins