LAS VEGAS — The past, present and future for Marc-Andre Fleury converged late Wednesday night at a place that serves $4 hot dogs for happy hour and 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

After the expansion draft, when the Vegas Golden Knights claimed Fleury from the Penguins, Fleury and his wife, Veronique, dined with a few of his new teammates and one of his old ones, Sidney Crosby.

The conversation wasn’t anything terribly serious, but in the coming weeks it could be. Fleury is the face of the Vegas Golden Knights, whether he likes it or not, the same role Crosby has played for years in Pittsburgh.

Those three teammates – Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb and Jason Garrison – will inevitably look at Fleury the way those in Pittsburgh view Crosby.

“It’s a little weird,” Fleury said Thursday. “I’ve always had Sid to step behind. It’s obviously a little different. I think I’m up for the challenge. This is a good organization, a good team. I’m looking forward to see what we can do.”

This isn’t an easy thing for Fleury. Fading into the background behind Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and other prominent Penguins was never a problem, but that’s not going to be possible in Vegas. Everywhere Fleury goes, he draws a crowd.

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“With Sid and Geno in Pittsburgh, Fleury wasn’t as much of a focal point, but he still was a huge part of that organization, a big face there,” said Engelland, a former Penguins teammate. “For him to come here, for him to be that guy, it’s great. He’s a guy you want to have for that.

“He’s a great leader, a great guy on and off the ice. He’s fun to be around every day. He never has a bad day, it seems. He’s always happy. I’m excited to play with him.”

Fleury said he may pick Crosby’s brain to learn how he has carried himself so impeccably, the daily dealings with media, the constant attention and the pressure to perform.

But this is also hard for Fleury because it’s against his DNA to elevate himself over the team.

“He handles himself so well on and off the ice,” Fleury said of Crosby. “I’m not looking for this. I don’t want to talk about this. I just want to contribute, do my job, stop the puck and win some games. I think that’s what’s important.”

NHL DRAFT: The NHL stage belongs to Ray Shero and the New Jersey Devils. Then it goes right back to George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Vegas stocked its roster in the expansion draft Wednesday night, and now New Jersey is on the clock with the No. 1 pick of the amateur draft beginning Friday night at the United Center. The only other time the franchise had the first pick was in 1979, when the then-Colorado Rockies selected Rob Ramage.

“I think it’s been exciting for our franchise, exciting time for our scouts,” said Shero, who was hired as New Jersey’s general manager in May 2015. “In addition obviously to the first overall pick we’ve got the nine other picks, which are going to be very important on Day 2.

“But this is, I think, once the dust has settled now with expansion in terms of Vegas making all the selections or trades, whatever they’ve done, it really puts into focus again, OK, the draft itself, which is important for every team.”

After New Jersey makes its pick – Shero said the Devils know who they are going to take but he was keeping that to himself for now – Philadelphia, Dallas, Colorado and Vancouver round out the top five. Then Vegas makes the first pick in franchise history.

The Golden Knights announced two more trades Thursday and now have 13 picks in this year’s draft. Vegas sent defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and a 2018 seventh-round draft pick to Carolina for a second-round selection on Saturday. It also shipped defenseman David Schlemko to Montreal for a fifth-round pick in 2019.

Vegas, which selected 30 players in its expansion draft Wednesday night, now has three picks in each of the first two rounds. It also has two selections in the fifth and sixth.

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BRUINS: Boston will open its 2017-18 season at home Oct. 5 against the Nashville Predators, the defending Western Conference champions.

OILERS: Edmonton traded forward Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders for forward Ryan Strome.

Eberle has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past four seasons and had a career-high 34 in 2011-12. But he had just two assists in 13 playoff games this spring and was criticized for his lackluster play.

Eberle, 27, is entering the fifth year of a six-year contract worth $36 million and had been a frequent subject of trade rumors.

Strome was selected fifth overall by the Islanders in 2011. He has 45 goals and 81 assists in 258 career games with the Isles.


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