RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Capitals series coverage]
Vegas general manager George McPhee had the same job with Washington from 1997-2014. And the Capitals drafted by McPhee are looking forward to the reunion.
"It's a little special actually because of him," center Nicklas Backstrom said. "He was here for a long time and he drafted all of us. So it will be a great challenge and I can't wait for it."
Backstrom, the No. 4 pick of the 2006 NHL Draft, is one of 13 players on the Capitals roster that McPhee picked. The others are left wing Alex Ovechkin (No. 1, 2004), defenseman John Carlson (No. 27, 2008), goaltender Braden Holtby (No. 93, 2008), defenseman Dmitry Orlov (No. 55, 2009), center Evgeny Kuznetsov (No. 26, 2010), goaltender Philipp Grubauer (No. 112, 2010), center Travis Boyd (No. 177, 2011), center Chandler Stephenson (No. 77, 2012), right wing Tom Wilson (No. 16, 2012), defenseman Christian Djoos (No. 195, 2012), left wing Andre Burakovsky (No. 23, 2013) and defenseman Madison Bowey (No. 53, 2013).
The Capitals won seven division titles and went to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998 during McPhee's tenure. After he was named Vegas general manager July 13, 2016, McPhee constructed the Golden Knights through the NHL Expansion Draft. They won the Pacific Division with 109 points (51-24-7) and have rolled through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They swept the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round, defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games in the second round and eliminated the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the conference final.