Headlines

  • Jeff Skinner Signs With Sharks
  • Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Henry Thrun
  • Avalanche Sign Josh Manson To Two-Year Extension
  • Stars Trade Matt Dumba To Penguins
  • Panthers Sign Mackie Samoskevich To One-Year Deal
  • Golden Knights Beginning To Work Out Jack Eichel Extension
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twelve Players Deemed Exempt From Expansion Due To Injury

May 2, 2017 at 4:43 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 7 Comments

The list of players that will be exempt from the expansion draft due to long-term injury was sent out today, with Craig Custance of ESPN providing it for us. These are players who will likely never play in the NHL again, and thus will be exempt and not require protection even if they hold no-movement clauses. The list is as follows:

Dave Bolland (Arizona)
Craig Cunningham (Arizona)
Chris Pronger (Arizona)
Cody McCormick (Buffalo)
David Clarkson (Columbus)
Johan Franzen (Detroit)
Joe Vitale (Detroit)
Ryane Clowe (New Jersey)
Mikhail Grabovski (New York Islanders)
Pascal Dupuis (Pittsburgh)
Nathan Horton (Toronto)
Stephane Robidas (Toronto)

While none of these players would have likely been taken, it does allow Toronto, Columbus and New Jersey to officially scratch one of their no-movement clauses off their list and with it the automatic protection. Interestingly, Joffrey Lupul does not appear on the list despite missing more than an entire year and having very little affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs at this point. Since the list was agreed upon with the NHLPA, perhaps he maintains that he has plans to play again.

In a similar case, Marc Savard also doesn’t appear on the list for the Devils. Though Savard’s deal comes off the books this year and he’s clearly done with hockey, a similar case could be made for several of the others on this list including Pronger, who is working for the Department of Player Safety and Cunningham who recently lost his leg due to medical complications. Savard is coaching minor hockey while he still struggles with concussion symptoms, years after last playing in the league.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Expansion| Injury Craig Cunningham| Dave Bolland| David Clarkson| Mikhail Grabovski| Nathan Horton| Pascal Dupuis

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Josh Archibald, Oskar Sundqvist
Main
Nail Yakupov And The Russian Option
View Comments (7)

Comments

  1. KCelts

    8 years ago

    There goes getting a Vegas Chris Pronger jersey…

    Reply
  2. jdgoat

    8 years ago

    Is grabovski done in the NHL?

    Reply
  3. Connorsoxfan

    8 years ago

    What happened to Franzen?

    Reply
  4. mulcahy01

    8 years ago

    Nathan Horton is still in the league?

    Reply
  5. Gavin Lee

    8 years ago

    To answer everyone’s questions:

    Grabovski is still battling post-concussion symptoms, and has no real timeline for a return. The fact that he (or his rep) signed off on him being included on this list is a bad sign.

    Franzen has the same. He’s suffered more than 10 concussions during his career, the last one coming at the hands of Rob Klinkhammer in 2015. He’ll never play again, as his symptoms come back every time he exerts himself physically.

    Horton is technically still under contract with the Maple Leafs (though he’s never played a game for them). He has a degenerative back condition that keeps him from doing anything hockey-related. He’ll never play again, but he has three years left on his deal.

    Reply
  6. acarneglia

    8 years ago

    Ryan Clowe’s still in the league? Damn

    Reply
  7. Get pucked

    8 years ago

    When does Sidney Crosby make this list

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Jeff Skinner Signs With Sharks

    Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Henry Thrun

    Avalanche Sign Josh Manson To Two-Year Extension

    Stars Trade Matt Dumba To Penguins

    Panthers Sign Mackie Samoskevich To One-Year Deal

    Golden Knights Beginning To Work Out Jack Eichel Extension

    Lightning Acquire Sam O’Reilly From Oilers For Isaac Howard

    NHL, NHLPA Ratify Four-Year CBA Extension

    Gavin McKenna To Commit To Penn State

    Tyler Johnson Announces Retirement

    Recent

    Russia Notes: Babcock, Gallant, Tortorella, Kuznetsov, Obvintsev

    DEL’s Straubing Tigers Sign Tyler Madden

    Players With Trade Protection In 2025-26

    West Notes: Rossi, Gushchin, Skinner, McQueen

    PHR Mailbag: Maple Leafs, Miller, Byram, Tuch, Goaltending

    Blackhawks Expected To Sign Anton Frondell

    Submit Your Questions For A CBA Q&A

    Kraken Reportedly Open To Moving Jared McCann

    Morning Notes: Comtois, Kuznetsov, AHL

    Nikolai Kovalenko Signs With CSKA Moscow

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version