The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft does not take place until Wednesday, July 21, but the proceedings are already underway. The NHL enacted a transactions freeze at 2:00pm CT on Saturday and at 4:00pm protection lists were due from all 30 teams taking part in the draft. The league will review and approve these lists and release them to the other teams and to the public on Sunday. In the meantime though, there will inevitable be leaks of who has been protected as well as who has been exposed. This list will be updated until all protection lists are confirmed:
Anaheim Ducks
Protected: F Nicolas Deslauriers, F Max Jones, F Isac Lundestrom, F Rickard Rakell, F Jakob Silfverberg, F Sam Steel, F Troy Terry, D Cam Fowler, D Hampus Lindholm, D Josh Manson, G John Gibson
Key Players Exposed: D Haydn Fleury, D Brendan Guhle, F Adam Henrique, D Kevin Shattenkirk, F Alexander Volkov
Arizona Coyotes
Protected: F Lawson Crouse, F Christian Dvorak, F Conor Garland, F Clayton Keller, F Phil Kessel, F Johan Larsson, D Kyle Capobianco, D Jakob Chychrun, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, G Darcy Kuemper
Key Players Exposed: F Christian Fischer, F Tyler Pitlick, D Ilya Lyubushkin, G Josef Korenar
Boston Bruins
Protected: F Patrice Bergeron, F Charlie Coyle, F Jake DeBrusk, F Trent Frederic, F Brad Marchand, F David Pastrnak, F Craig Smith, D Brandon Carlo, D Matt Grzelcyk, D Charlie McAvoy, G Daniel Vladar
Key Players Exposed: D Connor Clifton, F Ondrej Kase, F Curtis Lazar, D Jeremy Lauzon, F Nick Ritchie, F Chris Wagner, D Jakub Zboril
Buffalo Sabres
Protected: F Rasmus Asplund, F Anders Bjork, F Jack Eichel, F Casey Mittelstadt, F Victor Olofsson, F Sam Reinhart, F Tage Thompson, D Rasmus Dahlin, D Henri Jokiharju, D Rasmus Ristolainen, G Linus Ullmark UFA
Key Players Exposed: D Will Borgen, F Zemgus Girgensons, D Colin Miller
Calgary Flames
Protected: F Mikael Backlund, F Dillon Dube, F Johnny Gaudreau, F Elias Lindholm, F Andrew Mangiapane, F Sean Monahan, F Matthew Tkachuk, D Rasmus Andersson, D Noah Hanifin, D Chris Tanev, G Jacob Markstrom
Key Players Exposed: D Mark Giordano, D Oliver Kylington, F Milan Lucic
Carolina Hurricanes
Protected: F Sebastian Aho, F Jesper Fast, F Warren Foegele, F Jordan Staal, F Andrei Svechnikov, F Teuvo Teravainen, F Vincent Trocheck, F Brett Pesce, F Brady Skjei, F Jaccob Slavin, G Alex Nedeljkovic
Key Players Exposed: D Jake Bean, D Jake Gardiner, F Morgan Geekie, F Nino Niederreiter
Chicago Blackhawks
Protected: F Henrik Borgstrom, F Alex DeBrincat, F Brandon Hagel, F David Kampf, F Patrick Kane, F Dylan Strome, F Jonathan Toews, D Caleb Jones, D Connor Murphy, D Riley Stillman, G Kevin Lankinen
Key Players Exposed: F Ryan Carpenter, F Brett Connolly, D Calvin de Haan, F Adam Gaudette, G Malcolm Subban, D Nikita Zadorov
Colorado Avalanche
Protected: F Andre Burakovsky, F Tyson Jost, F Nazem Kadri, F Nathan MacKinnon, F Valeri Nichushkin, F Logan O’Connor, F Mikko Rantanen, D Devon Toews, D Samuel Girard, D Cale Makar, G Philipp Grubauer UFA
Key Players Exposed: F J.T. Compher, F Joonas Donskoi, D Erik Johnson, F Gabriel Landeskog UFA
Columbus Blue Jackets (link)
Protected: F Cam Atkinson, F Oliver Bjorkstrand, F Boone Jenner, F Patrik Laine, F Gustav Nyquist, F Eric Robinson, F Jack Roslovic, DVladislav Gavrikov, D Seth Jones, D Zach Werenski, G Joonas Korpisalo
Key Players Exposed: D Gabriel Carlsson, F Max Domi, D Dean Kukan, F Kevin Stenlund
Dallas Stars
Protected: F Jamie Benn, F Radek Faksa, F Denis Gurianov, F Roope Hintz, F Joe Pavelski, F Alexander Radulov, F Tyler Seguin, D Miro Heiskanen, D John Klingberg, D Esa Lindell, G Anton Khudobin
Key Players Exposed: G Ben Bishop, F Tanner Kero, F Adam Mascherin, D Andrej Sekera
Detroit Red Wings
Protected: F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Adam Erne, F Robby Fabbri, F Dylan Larkin, F Michael Rasmussen, F Givani Smith, F Jakub Vrana, D Filip Hronek, D Nick Leddy, D Gustav Lindstrom, G Thomas Greiss
Key Players Exposed: D Dennis Cholowski, D Danny DeKeyser, F Vladislav Namestnikov, D Troy Stecher, F Evgeny Svechnikov
Edmonton Oilers
Protected: F Josh Archibald, F Leon Draisaitl, F Zack Kassian, F Connor McDavid, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Kailer Yamamoto, D Ethan Bear, D Duncan Keith, D Darnell Nurse, G Stuart Skinner
Key Players Exposed: F Tyler Benson, G Mikko Koskinen, D William Lagesson, F Cooper Marody, D Kris Russell
Florida Panthers
Protected: F Aleksander Barkov, F Sam Bennett, F Anthony Duclair, F Patric Hornqvist, F Jonathan Huberdeau, F Mason Marchment, F Carter Verhaeghe, D Aaron Ekblad, D Gustav Forsling, D MacKenzie Weegar, G Sergei Bobrovsky
Key Players Exposed: F Noel Acciari, G Chris Driedger UFA, D Radko Gudas, D Markus Nutivaara, D Anton Stralman, F Frank Vatrano, F Lucas Wallmark
Los Angeles Kings
Protected: F Lias Andersson, F Viktor Arvidsson, F Dustin Brown, F Alex Iafallo, F Adrian Kempe, F Anze Kopitar, F Trevor Moore, D Drew Doughty, D Matt Roy, D Sean Walker, G Cal Petersen
Key Players Exposed: F Andreas Athanasiou, D Kale Clague, F Carl Grundstrom, F Brendan Lemieux, D Olli Maatta, D Kurtis MacDermid, G Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild
Protected: F Joel Eriksson Ek, F Kevin Fiala, F Marcus Foligno, F Jordan Greenway, F Ryan Hartman, F Nico Sturm, F Mats Zuccarello, D Jonas Brodin, D Matt Dumba, D Jared Spurgeon, G Cam Talbot
Key Players Exposed: F Nick Bjugstad, G Kaapo Kahkonen, D Brennan Menell, F Victor Rask, D Carson Soucy
Montreal Canadiens
Protected: F Josh Anderson, F Joel Armia UFA, F Jake Evans, F Brendan Gallagher, F Jesperi Kotkaniemi, F Artturi Lehkonen, F Tyler Toffoli, D Ben Chiarot, D Joel Edmundson, D Jeff Petry, G Jake Allen
Key Players Exposed: F Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, D Brett Kulak, G Carey Price, D Shea Weber
Nashville Predators
Protected: F Filip Forsberg, F Tanner Jeannot, F Luke Kunin, D Alexandre Carrier, D Mattias Ekholm, D Dante Fabbro, D Philippe Myers, D Roman Josi, G Juuse Saros
Key Players Exposed: F Matt Duchene, F Rocco Grimaldi, F Calle Jarnkrok, F Ryan Johansen, F Rem Pitlick, F Colton Sissons, F Yakov Trenin, D Mark Borowiecki, G Connor Ingram
New Jersey Devils
Protected: F Jesper Bratt, F Nico Hischier, F Janne Kuokkanen, F Michael McLeod, F Yegor Sharangovich, F Miles Wood, F Pavel Zacha, D Ryan Graves, D Damon Severson, D Jonas Siegenthaler, G Mackenzie Blackwood
Key Players Exposed: F Nathan Bastian, F Andreas Johansson, D P.K. Subban
New York Islanders
Protected: F Mathew Barzal, F Anthony Beauvillier, F Cal Clutterbuck, F Anders Lee, F Matt Martin, F Brock Nelson, F Jean-Gabriel Pageau, D Adam Pelech, D Ryan Pulock, D Scott Mayfield, G Semyon Varlamov
Key Players Exposed: D Sebastian Aho, F Josh Bailey, F Kieffer Bellows, F Michael Dal Colle, F Jordan Eberle, D Thomas Hickey, F Ross Johnston, F Richard Panik
New York Rangers
Protected: F Pavel Buchnevich, F Filip Chytil, F Chris Kreider, F Artemi Panarin, F Kevin Rooney, F Ryan Strome, F Mika Zibanejad, D Libor Hajek, D Ryan Lindgren, D Jacob Trouba, G Alexandar Georgiev
Key Players Exposed: F Colin Blackwell, D Anthony DeAngelo, F Julien Gauthier
Ottawa Senators
Protected: F Drake Batherson, F Connor Brown, F Logan Brown, F Nick Paul, F Brady Tkachuk, F Austin Watson, F Colin White, D Thomas Chabot, D Victor Mete, D Nikita Zaitsev, G Filip Gustavsson
Key Players Exposed: F Vitaly Abramov, D Josh Brown, G Joey Daccord, F Evgenii Dadonov, G Matt Murray, F Chris Tierney
Philadelphia Flyers
Protected: F Nicolas Aube-Kubel, F Sean Couturier, F Claude Giroux, F Kevin Hayes, F Travis Konecny, F Scott Laughton, F Oskar Lindblom, D Ryan Ellis, D Ivan Provorov, D Travis Sanheim, G Carter Hart
Key Players Exposed: D Justin Braun, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Robert Hagg, F James van Riemsdyk, F Jakub Voracek
Pittsburgh Penguins
Protected: F Teddy Blueger, F Jeff Carter, F Sidney Crosby, F Jake Guentzel, F Kasperi Kapanen, F Evgeni Malkin, F Bryan Rust, D Brian Dumoulin, D Kris Letang, D Mike Matheson, G Tristan Jarry
Key Players Exposed: G Casey DeSmith, D Marcus Pettersson, F Brandon Tanev, F Jason Zucker
San Jose Sharks
Protected: F Rudolfs Balcers, F Logan Couture, F Jonathan Dahlen, F Tomas Hertl, F Evander Kane, F Kevin Labanc, F Timo Meier, D Brent Burns, D Erik Karlsson, D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, G Adin Hill
Key Players Exposed: D Ryan Donato, F Dylan Gambrell, G Martin Jones, F Matthew Nieto, D Radim Simek
St. Louis Blues
Protected: F Ivan Barbashev, F Jordan Kyrou, F Ryan O’Reilly, F David Perron, F Brayden Schenn, F Oskar Sundqvist, F Robert Thomas, D Justin Faulk, D Torey Krug, D Colton Parayko, G Jordan Binnington
Key Players Exposed: F Sammy Blais, D Robert Bortuzzo, F Kyle Clifford, D Vince Dunn, D Niko Mikkola, F Zach Sanford, D Marco Scandella, F Vladimir Tarasenko
Tampa Bay Lightning
Protected: F Anthony Cirelli, F Nikita Kucherov, F Brayden Point, F Steven Stamkos, D Erik Cernak, D Victor Hedman, D Ryan McDonagh, D Mikhail Sergachev, G Andrei Vasilevskiy
Key Players Exposed: F Ross Colton, D Cal Foote, F Yanni Gourde, F Tyler Johnson, F Mathieu Joseph, F Alex Killorn, F Ondrej Palat
Toronto Maple Leafs
Protected: F Mitch Marner, F Auston Matthews, F William Nylander, F John Tavares, D T.J. Brodie, D Justin Holl, D Jake Muzzin, D Morgan Rielly, G Jack Campbell
Key Players Exposed: D Travis Dermott, F Pierre Engvall, F Alexander Kerfoot, F Jared McCann
Vancouver Canucks
Protected: F Brock Boeser, F Jason Dickinson, F Bo Horvat, F J.T. Miller, F Tyler Motte, F Tanner Pearson, F Elias Pettersson, D Olli Juolevi, D Tyler Myers, D Nate Schmidt, G Thatcher Demko
Key Players Exposed: D Madison Bowey, F Loui Eriksson, F Jonah Gadjovich, F Matthew Highmore, G Braden Holtby, F Kole Lind, F Antoine Roussel, F Jake Virtanen
Washington Capitals
Protected: F Nicklas Backstrom, F Lars Eller, F Evgeny Kuznetsov, F T.J. Oshie, F Daniel Sprong, F Tom Wilson, D John Carlson, D Dmitry Orlov, D Trevor van Riemsdyk, G Ilya Samsonov
Key Players Exposed: D Brenden Dillon, D Nick Jensen, D Justin Schultz, F Conor Sheary, G Vitek Vanecek
Winnipeg Jets
Protected: F Kyle Connor, F Andrew Copp, F Pierre-Luc Dubois, F Nikolaj Ehlers, F Adam Lowry, F Mark Scheifele, F Blake Wheeler, D Josh Morrissey, D Neal Pionk, D Logan Stanley, G Connor Hellebuyck
Key Players Exposed: F Mason Appleton, G Mikhail Berdin, D Dylan DeMelo, F Jansen Harkins, D Sami Niku
That Carey Price is a absolute stud
Price is a total stand up guy
Hmmm….As A seattle native living in Las Vegas I want the Kraken to have a successful draft like VGK did. I watched Carey single handedly deny the Golden Knights a trip to the Cup Final. He was devestatingly awesome and shut the Knights down, I was so very impressed. And then in the final he got owned more than Alsace-Lorraine.
With a $10M cap hit I might be looking more at Matt Murray at $4M. Plus it looks like the Kraken is going to sign Chris Dreidger rom the Panthers.
GO Kraken!
As a habs fan and a guy who played goalie growing up i hope price gets selected. His 10.5 cap hit is a big deal and that miney whould go a long way to making this team better
there is no shot Seattle taken Carey Price, no way.
Yes way. Price is from BC and is instantly the face of the franchise. Could be Fleury 2.0 in SEA. I don’t see him getting drafted personally but it’s far from impossible he gets selected.
They’re not taking him. That salary, not happening. They could trade for contracts and collect draft picks with those deals rather than do charity work for Montreal and take that salary off their hands for nothing.
They could turn around and trade Price for a significant return from a hungry team. The money to be paid Price is crazy but there could be a team who doesn’t care how high the Price is.
They actually can’t do that. Price waived his no movement clause solely for the purpose of the expansion draft. If selected his no movement clause is back in effect and can’t be traded without waiving it
If he waived it for an expansion team why wouldn’t he waive it for a contender?
Will be fun to see Frenchy’s cry when Price is selected.
Because his wife is from that area snd he is from BC
Haha that’s what I don’t get either.
He owned VGK and then got owned by the Lightning in the final. At $10M I would think twice about Carey.
Wow, some interesting names on that list. You have to think that no matter what, Seattle’s going to take Tarasenko. If they’re getting him for free, that’s a gamble worth taking. If he can’t play, that’s LTIR. If he’s fallen well off his old form, they’re only on the hook until 2022 anyway. I guess St. Louis couldn’t find any takers for a trade.
I’m a Blues fan in St. Louis – I wonder if Seattle thinks the gamble of paying Tarasenko his $9,500,000 this year is worth the gamble of betting that he is healthy this year.
I would say 9.5 mil is not exactly free addition in a salary capped league, but ik what you mean.
However Seattle may be better off spending 7 mil on a healthy free agent instead
Tarasenko’s cap hit is $7.5 million, not 9.5.
I didn’t say anything about his cap hit. I said PAYING him $9.5. Because that’s his salary.
Oh ya cuz 7.5 mil is so cheap for a guy with a busted shoulder anyways
I’d call their bluff on Price.
Take the Vegas “be good and then rebuild in a few years” plan instead of the “build for a few years and then be good” plan.
Wow Seattle needs to grab Tarasenko & Price or Quick. Unreal start for the franchise
Might even end up with none of them too
Tarasenko has 7 goals over the last two years combined in a total of 34 games played. He may not be healthy STILL.
Quick has seen way better days. As a Kings fan since day 1 I wouldn’t mind then taking him. More cap flexibility.
10 years ago, sure. Hard pass on all of them and the contracts that come along.
I agree that Price may be worth the money. However if the team struggles he’ll be extremely hard to move and might not be worth it.
Seattle is going to take the goaltender from the Florida Panthers. I think that was said already.
They should take a non-Dreidger Florida Panther, then sign Dreidger in Free Agency.
I’d take Radko Gudas and sign Driedger
You are most probably correct. But they are required to take at least three unprotected goaltenders and could pick more in order to trade extras.
is it 3?? i hear ya thou. i still don’t see it happening.
Here is the question…does Seattle have to honor Price’s NMC if it takes him? I believe teams get to decide after it is waived, right?
If so…why not take Price, eat half his salary and then trade him?
What is Carey Price at a $5.25 AAV worth to a contender?
Nevermind. Price’s waiver is only good for expansion.
Also, I forgot Bishop was available and could be stashed on IR if not healthy.
And, Minnesota will definitely be exposing a very good goalie.
No Fleury, but SEA should be strong in net.
PS- Yeah, $10.5 million is a lot, but…in a league where Matt Murray makes $6 million…I take Price and run.
Is Merzlikins exempt?
Yes, he is.
Yes, he is.
Yes. Hands off. Take Cam Johnson instead. He’s way better. Trust me.
in this cap restrictive environment, i see no reason why not to corner the goalie market. heck, i think taking all three of Dridger, Price, and Bishop is great, then flip one and maybe retain cash.
Driedger and Bishop make for a pretty spiffy goaltending tandem, that’s for sure.
Price….5 more years at 10.5 m per. He’s 33 and breaking down. Seattle is nuts to bail Montreal out of that deal. The Price is very wrong
Bishop…..completely shot physically. There’s nothing left there.
Dreidger, Holtby and let’s see who else is available.
I agree Price won’t be picked, but to say he’s completely shot physically is absurd. Did you miss this years playoffs bud?
Nope, we didn’t. For a stretch of 17 games, Price went into God Mode, absolutely. And for most of the previous four *seasons*, and the Cup Finals, he’s been average. If he had HALF the cap hit he has, it’d be a serious overpay for his performance over the last few years. People just need to get it out of their heads that he’s still an elite goalie. He isn’t one.
As far as Bishop being completely shot though, BoltforLife, says who? He was hurt last year and didn’t play, yeah. And his performance beforehand was still elite.
I hope they take price, even if MTL has to give up an asset. I love price but he is more or less done and Habs could use his 10.5 cap hit to trade for and sign Jones
Due to the death of that young Columbus goalie, did the league cut the Jackets some slack on having to make a goalie available to Seattle? Sure hope they showed some mercy to them.
Nothing to do with that. Elvis has been exempt all along. Columbus never had a real issue there.
Seattle will have to pick up a few big contracts to reach their mandated floor, so Tarasenko seems logical.
Teams can still do side deals with exposed guys right? I can see tank being taken with a pick/prospect etc. Price. Idk. Thats a huge contract. I can see him being taken as well but I would think mtl would need to make it very sweet to take price on.
At the same time, Price would become a face of the franchise and a tank if healthy could give them a legit 1st liner. They occupy 18 mill so that leaves Seattle with 63 mill to work worth. For an expansion team, that should be workable.
Interesting either way
If I’m St. Louis, I don’t trade ANYTHING to have Seattle pick Tarasenko. It’s bad enough they lose him for nothing, let alone pay assets to do so. Pretty sure they wanted to make sure they protected Barbashev cuz they were certain, if left exposed, that he’d be Seattle’s pick.
So they are going to pay a guy 7.5M( and against their cap no less as he’s healthy) to sit out? He’s turned his back on the team. He has to go and if no one will trade for him (maybe that changes who knows) maybe this would be best?
It’s a LONG off-season. They didn’t find a trade because very few teams had a protection spot for him (or wanted to give him one). IF Seattle selects him, that’s one less headache for the Blues to worry about, but rumor has it that Seattle wants the moon from teams to select certain players ($$). If they pass on Tank, I’m pretty sure another team out there will take a flyer on him for a mid pick and long-range prospect . . . Just need to get this Seattle business out of the way first!
exactly. Penguins will give you Zucker for him if both remain with their teams.
Just one example
Avs decline to protect Landeskog. SEA gets to talk to him and offer an 8 year deal.
Did Vegas get this UFA “tampering” window, I don’t recall it?
SEA could sign Landeskog and Hamilton (assuming Canes don’t protect him, which they will not) and other UFA’s and possibly be better than VGK was.
There’s no way any ufa of note will sign with Seattle before being able to negotiate with other teams
Disagree. Agents know, more or less, where their clients fit in salary wise. If Seattle makes an offer with a short window to accept at the top of said players expected range for 8 years, why would they go to market hoping to get the same money for 7 years, assuming no geographic or team preference?
In Landeskog’s case, it’s probably the only team besides the Avs where he would be the captain.
I think Francis would understand a top UFA’s reluctance to sign ahead of the 28th. I think he would perhaps make offers to UFA’s of interest with the disclaimer that the door doesn’t close on the 21st . . . that the player(s) could circle back once they see what kind of team Francis puts together and they’ve had a chance to evaluate the market. It’s WIN WIN, too, cuz Francis could then pluck a different player from that team and still sign the UFA he likes in the regular free agency period!
Watch Seattle select McCann. I believe his analytic numbers are great, which appeal to Seattle. Was that the purpose of the trade. Does Dubas love his team that much to trade for a player just to potentially lose him?
I’d absolutely take McCann. Gourde, too. DeHaan or Zadorov from the Hawks.
Of the early lists, the hardest choice so far might be OTT. Dadonov is better but costs more and they might need Tierney to play center.
Depending on their other choices at forward, it actually wouldn’t surprise me if Seattla took Daccord from Ottawa. He’s waiver exempt and if they may want a goalie with some experience that they can call up and send down without fear of waiver selection, especially if they go with Driedger who still is unproven as a starter, etc. Plus injuries of course. (Bishop?)
If I’m Seattle, I take Gourde or Foote from Tampa, maybe Palat and flip him. If I’m Francis, Tampa needs to shell out a boatload of picks/prospects to have me pick someone else (Johnson)
Sooooo the Leafs traded away a pick and a prospect to acquire McCann and expose him why? This makes no sense unless they already have a deal with Seattle in place to take Kerfoot which means Toronto is probably giving up another asset. Probably something like Liljegren. Why? Because that’s just what the Leafs do.
If they expose McCann they might not lose kekerfoot. If they still take Kerfoot then they still have McCann.
Makes total sense to me.
And from Pens side they’re just freeing cap space, McCann would’ve been the pick, now Seattle can help them even more by taking Zucker or Pettersson
I’m taking daddy tarasenko price
Did Price agree to be exposed? He has no movement clause.
Yeah he waived it yesterday
Should’ve protected Dadonov over Watson. His contract isn’t enough to scare Seattle off.
Anaheim’s protection list can’t be right . . . Deslauriers? REALLY?? And they only have 6 frowards protected.
There’s a lot more talent out there than I realized. I think they can be a good team year 1 after seeing these lists.
agreed. Should be solid out the gate
Wild’s info:
The Wild chose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie instead of eight skaters and one goalie: forwards Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman, Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello; defensemen Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon; and goalie Cam Talbot.
That left Kahkonen and Soucy exposed along with forwards Victor Rask and Nick Bjugstad and pending free agents Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt and Marcus Johansson.
Man leaving kahkonen exposed is surprising.
I don’t understand Ottawa’s love/hate relationship with Logan Brown. Expose him, trade him… but move on. You don’t want him to play, you don’t let him play when he’s healthy (a rarity for sure). He doesn’t trust that the organization has his best interests at heart, so move on. If he turns into an everyday player in the NHL, it won’t be with Ottawa. That’s been obvious.
David Poile is insane. That’s the only thing I can figure out at this point.
I was wondering how that was gonna play out after yesterday’s trade. If Nashville wants Duchene or Johansen selected, it’s gonna cost them a “pretty penny” to convince the Kraken. Sissons and Jarnkrok are some tempting pieces.
The only reason to move Ellis before this draft was so you could go the 4/4 route, but Poile goes 3/5 anyway? He could’ve waited until after the draft to make a deal like that if ge was going the 3/5 route.
IDK.
Islanders protect Clutterbuck and Martin over Bailey, Eberle, Bellows. I get loving your “identity” and all, but come on . . .
Dang it. JVR or Ghost is gone. And freakin NAK stays. Garbage.
Hextall and I are not on the same page. I could always guess what Jimmy would do because (a handful of times aside) it made sense.
Blueger is a nice little player and all, but he’s now given away McCann for a pack of gum and is risking Tanev to protect a very very replaceable player. To say nothing of a very old Jeff Carter.
Losing Tanev instead of Zucker would be really bad, so now…I am forced to hope he’s cut a side deal to ensure Zucker’s selection.
All for…Teddy Blueger?
I was also surprised, but perhaps he knows of Seattle’s interest in Carter.
Losing tanev would be unbearable.. id say throw in a 1st to ensure Zuck is the pick at this point
if Seattle takes Zuck, the Pens become one of the major players in free agency this year.
Read that again, cuz we haven’t been able to say that in like 10 years …
Despite Hextall’s statements to the contrary, I hope he’s got a deal in place for them to take Pettersson or Zucker. But watch Seattle work out a deal with Ceci and he ends up the pick. Pens would be left with a lot of work to do to move contracts out.
It’s still so weird reading Hextall’s name attached to the Penguins.
Get used to it because it’ll be a longterm partnership.
Working for Mario and Burkle is the best job in the business. They stay out of the way and let you do your job how you want to.
It’s funny that everyone is saying stay away from Price because of his contract right now their cap space is 100% so if won’t matter and 2nd he did just take a crap team to the Stanley Cup finals also has a long injury history so at the end of the day he could always end up on LTIR
It will matter if they plan on taking other high Priced players.
there’s a lot of moving parts to that one including passing on other high value guys.
Wouldn’t be the worst decision, but there’s better strategies on how to spend that money and not shoot yourself in the foot 2 years from now
Look at what Minnesota is dealing with Parise and Suter dead cap.
The Rangers exposed Colin Blackwell AND Julien Gauthier AND traded Howden to protect Kevin Rooney? Kevin Rooney…WHAT?
If I’m Seattle I’m feeling pretty good. Plenty of skilled but pricey veterans available and a lot of former First Round Picks still in their early 20’s worth taking a flyer on (Del Colle, Bellows, Bean, Fleury). Plenty of depth guys too (Dunn, Hagg, Kylington, Henrique).
Wow, the Canes left Jake Bean unprotected? Shocked by that I am.
I can see Francis reuniting two of his Dmen draft picks in Fleury and Bean.
Surprised by that too though Nino Niedderider is tempting as well.
Good thing is I’m a Sharks fan so we won’t lose anybody worth a darn hahaha (though I secretly hope they take Gambrell.
Yeah, for fun, I just put together what I’d take in Francis’ skates. This is what I’ve got so far:
Forward: Niederrreiter (CAR), Gaudette (CHI), Donskoi (COL), Svechnikov (DET), Athanasiou (LA), Jarnkrok (NAS), Eberle (NYI), Blackwell (NYR), Palat (TB), Sheary (WSH)
Defense: Fleury (ANA), Lauzon (BOS), Soucy (MIN), Kulak (MTL), Brown (OTT), Gostisbehere (PHI), DeMelo (WPG)
Goal: Driedger (FLA), Bishop (DAL), DeSmith (PIT)
Counting what I’d expect I could sign the RFAs above for, that comes in around a $65 million cap hit, with eight teams left to select from. Just about all of those eight I’m going to go for league minimum guys, because you’d probably want Mark Giordano on that list: that defense needs some veteran leadership. It’s a solid bunch of forwards, and I think that’s a playoff team in the West.
That’s a playoff team? Only if Bishop wins the Vezina.
The West is a weak division, there’s very good goaltending there, there are seven forwards there who are proven solid scorers (prorated to 82 games, SEVEN of those guys would’ve been 20 goal scorers), there are roleplayers who can grind and defend. And carrying 23 NHL contracts, there’s room to bring in one more relatively high priced guy (which I admit I’d want on defense).
It’s kinda pointless, because Francis is probably going to line up a fair number of side deals that we cannot predict, but…here is my version of Seattle from the current list…
JVR Domi Eberle
McCann Tierney Zucker
Athanasiou Gourde Donskoi
Nieto Jarnkrok Appleton
Kero Gauthier
Giordano Miller
Dunn Stetcher
Bean Fleury
Zadorov Lauzon
Kahkonen
Dreiger
Vanacek
Korenar
EDM, NJ, VAN and MTL, I’d just draft minor leaguers. I’d trade one of the D men for a waiver eligible young forward. Trade Vanacek for a pick. This would give Francis 3 of his former first round picks in Bean, Fleury and Gauthier. The top line was drafted with the power play in mind. This team is pricey, so I doubt it’s accurate…$75 million or so. But, it’s a pretty good team that could easily compete in the super weak Pacific.
Can someone please explain the Leafs trading assets for McCann only to leave him exposed in the expansion draft?
Not me. Justin Holl is their fourth defenseman, and he’s no threat to make an All-Star team any time soon. You have to be brain-damaged to protect him over a solid, proven performer with a reasonable cap hit like McCann. Why they didn’t go 7-3-1 I have no idea.
Because they were doing their Christmas shopping in September, while stuff was on sale. McCann was cheap and they are assuming to lose either him or Kerfoot. Now whichever they lose, they already have the replacement. “Risky strategy Cotton, let’s see if it works!”
Yeah, but if they went 7-3-1, they could’ve *kept* both McCann and Kerfoot. So they lose Holl. Maybe. Big whoop. There are about two dozen Holls available as UFAs.
Like I wrote. Bishop is shot physically and isn’t going to be drafted. Check. Price’s contract is a nightmare and he’s declining. He isn’t going to be selected. Check.
Why did anyone think they would be selected ? Makes no sense.