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NHL Announces Expansion Protection Rosters

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The NHL has announced the protected rosters for the Las Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft. Teams had to submit their protection rosters yesterday and the team now has 72 hours to decide who they will take. While there may be some names on the list that stand out, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Las Vegas will take those players. The Golden Knights have multiple side deals with multiple teams in which they are receiving draft pick compensation for not taking certain players. Just yesterday, general manager George McPhee reiterated that he is willing to work out a deal with all 30 teams if those teams are willing to make side deals to protect players they don’t want to lose. Here is the list:Read more

Anaheim Ducks Re-Sign Nic Kerdiles

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Lost in the shuffle of the Expansion Roster Freeze Deadline earlier today, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they agreed to an extension with restricted free agent forward Nicolas Kerdiles prior to the afternoon deadline. The new deal for the young winger is for one year at $650K, the league minimum, and is a two-way contract. The 23-year-old will again be a restricted free agent next summer.

Kerdiles, a 2012 second-round pick from the U.S. National Development Team, finally made his NHL debut in 2016-17 after two years of college hockey at the University of Wisconsin and two full seasons in the AHL. While Kerdiles skated in just one regular season game for the Ducks, he was given the much bigger role of suiting up for four playoff games as well. Kerdiles recorded his first NHL point in the Ducks’ final game of the season, a Game Six loss to the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Finals. Kerdiles likely would have played in more NHL games if it wasn’t for his injury struggles, which also limited him to just 27 regular season games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. However, Kerdiles was back at full strength in the AHL playoffs and was a point-per-game performer in his eight contests.

While Ducks fans are likely happy to see the news regarding Kerdiles, a popular local player, it is important to remember that nothing is set in stone until the expansion process has run its course. The timing of Kerdiles extension, much like those of Edmonton’s Jujhar Khaira, Montreal’s Charles Hudon, and Vancouver’s Erik Gudbranson in recent days, is certainly suspicious. It would be one thing if these players were all guaranteed to be protected by their teams, but instead they are all very much fringe players when it comes to putting together protection lists. If these players are exposed, new contracts will only increase their odds of being selected, taking pressure off of the Vegas Golden Knights, who must hit a quota of 20 players with contract term in the draft. Could these signings, particularly that of Kerdiles, whose team is known to be negotiating a side deal with the Knights, be part of a bigger strategy? It certainly seems like a strong possibility. There will be a better idea in the morning when protection lists are announced at 9:00 AM CT and of course we will know for sure when the Expansion Draft arrives on Wednesday. Until then, Anaheim fans can celebrate another year of Kerdiles (they hope).

Early Expansion Protection News: Capitals, Kings, Flames, Predators, And More

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The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft is an exciting process. If you’re too riled up to wait until the lists are officially submitted in the morning, you’re in luck. As could be expected, information leaks are flooding in on who was and wasn’t protected by their teams ahead of the deadline this afternoon. This list will be updated all night long as more news comes in:

  • One not so obvious choice has been made in Nashville. Adam Vingan of The Tennessean answered a question on the minds of many, reporting that the Predators did in fact protect forward Calle Jarnkrok. With the rest of the eight-skater list all but set in stone with goalie Pekka Rinne, defensemen Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, and star forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Viktor Arvidsson, the final forward spot came down to Jarnkrok, signed long-term, or James Neal, an elite scorer with just one year remaining on his contract. It seems that Neal will be open for selection, alongside names like Colton Sissons, Colin Wilson, and Craig Smith. Vignan adds that no deal has been struck between Vegas and the Predators to protect any of those players, with Nashville especially liking to retain Neal and Sissons.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that, interestingly enough, young Detroit Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet was not protected by his team. This is the first real surprise of the expansion process and the first protection news that doesn’t match up with PHR’s Expansion Primer projections. The 23-year-old skated in 66 games this season for Detroit, third most among defenseman, and his 12 points tied that of top-pair man Danny DeKeyser. Yet, Ouellett will not join DeKeyser and Mike Green in protection, instead beaten out by another teammate. GM Ken Holland, who has gotten the reputation of perhaps being too loyal, possibly chose aging veteran Niklas Kronwall over Ouellet. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite the rebuilding Red Wings.
  • Another name confirmed to be unprotected is young Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Gaunce. Vancouver sports anchor Rick Dhaliwal was told that that Gaunce, a 2012 first-round pick, did not make the protection list for the Canucks, expected to be a 7/3 format, meaning that the team saw him as outside the top seven forwards on the team. The 23-year-old two-way specialist has upside, but after registering just five points in 57 games last season, no one will blame Vancouver for that choice.

Columbus To “Steer” Vegas Expansion Pick

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may have a deal in place with the Vegas Golden Knights to overlook certain Blue Jackets in the expansion draft. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that in exchange for Columbus’s first round pick and a second-tier prospect, the Golden Knights will only select one of Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, or Ryan Murray. Portzline also thinks that Vegas may take injured forward David Clarkson as well.

The deal, if true, allows Columbus to protect its core forward and defensive group, and keep an up-and-coming goalie prospect in its system.

[See PHR’s Columbus Blue Jackets Expansion Primer]

The deal essentially protects forward Josh Anderson and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who Columbus risked losing because they did not have enough protection slots. Anderson had 17G and 12A as a 22 year -old, and would certainly entice the Golden Knights.

The price, however, is steep. Columbus gives up the 24th pick in this summer’s draft, and because they gave up their second round pick when they hired coach John Tortorella from the Vancouver Canucks, they do not draft this year until pick 86. That being said, the team has one of the stronger youth movements in the NHL, and can afford to pause the pipeline for a year.

The price may also dissuade other teams from making a similar move. The Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators also face a significant loss in the expansion draft, and have to weigh whether a first round pick is worth more than the player they risk losing. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted, however, that an anonymous NHL GM thinks the Golden Knights have at least three first round draft picks so far, and more to come before the draft is over, so that decision may have already been made.

Roster Freeze Deadline Today

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Today is a big day for the NHL and the expansion draft. Not only does it mark the last day that teams can trade, waive, or sign players, but today is also when teams submit their expansion draft protected lists.

Teams have until 3pm EST to trade, sign, or waive a player before the roster freeze takes effect. After that, no move is allowed until Thursday June 22nd at 8am EST. The roster freeze applies to all teams except the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Then those teams have until 5pm EST to submit their protected lists to the NHL. Presumably teams have figured out who they will protect, but last minute moves by other teams could throw a wrench into a team’s predictions.

Stay tuned in the coming hours for any breaking news before the roster cutoff. It’s bound to be a good one.

Coyotes Acquire Nick Cousins From Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have traded center Nick Cousins and the rights to Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2018 fifth round pick and the rights to Brendan Warren. TSN’s Bob McKenzie  tweeted the specifics that the Flyers received a 2018 fifth round pick and Warren, who is currently at the University of Michigan. Warren was the Coyotes’ 3rd round pick in 2015. Elliotte Friedman reported Madsen being part of the deal, and added that he was “no guarantee” to sign with the Flyers.

Cousins was taken in the third round by the Flyers back in the 2011 NHL draft. He appeared in 60 games and had 16 points (6-10). Cousins was likely to be exposed by the Flyers in the expansion draft, so it’s a situation where Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is getting something instead of losing him for nothing. PHR’s Seth Lawrence projected Cousins to be unprotected in the draft.

Craig Custance was the first to tweet a potential deal.  TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that it was Cousins involved in the deal.  

Expansion Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

Steve Yzerman fired the first shot in the pre-expansion draft trade market by acquiring  Mikhail Sergachev from Montreal for Jonathan Drouin, a move that gave the Lightning flexibility both with the cap and their expansion protection list. It also filled a need with the Bolts on defense. With that in mind, it makes Yzerman and the Lightning’s decisions slightly easier as to who to protect and who to expose. But there are still some tough choices to make.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: Steven Stamkos (NMC), Ryan Callahan (NMC), Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Erik Condra, Cedric Paquette, Ondrej Palat (RFA), Tyler Johnson 

Defensemen: Victor Hedman (NMC), Jason Garrison, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr (RFA), Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis (RFA)

Notable Exemptions

Mikhail Sergachev, Brett Howden

Key Decisions

Unloading Drouin certainly helped from a financial and expansion list aspect.  This makes it somewhat easier for forwards to put on the protected list.

Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn are both choices that benefitted from Drouin being moved. Killorn netted 19 goals while Palat will continue to get better. Stamkos and Callahan both have NMCs. Despite fighting injury and not matching his production from 2014-15, Johnson is too good of a talent to leave exposed.

It’s on defense where tougher decisions need to be made, and it will come down to three players. Hedman and Stralman will both be protected, Hedman because he has a no-movement clause and Stralman is key to the Lightning blueline. Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn are both carrying heavier hits for the cap and will most likely be left alone when they’re exposed. Garrison could hypothetically be taken with his deal ending at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, but the $4.6MM hit would probably scare Vegas away.

May 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center <a rel=That leaves three choices to protect: Andrej Sustr, Jake Dotchin, and Slater Koekkoek. Sustr is a restricted free agent and won’t be able to command much in the way of money after having a down year. That doesn’t make him exempt from being exposed. If anything, seeing his numbers drop with a number of other options pounding on the door for the big club could make him the odd man out. However, he’s still an economical option and any leverage he had took a hit with the acquisition of Sergachev, who if scouting is correct, should find time on the Tampa blueline next season. But the problem with protecting Sustr is that Tampa would risk losing two young, and talented defensemen for nothing. In the same breath, would the Bolts want to possibly lose a steady defenseman who is only 26?

That leads to Dotchin and Koekkoek. Dotchin just turned 23, and registered 11 points in 35 games this season. The problem is, as Lightning blog Raw Charge pointed out, his sample size was limited compared to Koekkoek while being paired with Hedman. The 23-year-old Koekkoek logged 41 games over the past two seasons,  but played strong for AHL affiliate Syracuse during the Calder Cup playoffs. Picking between them is essentially splitting hairs. Koekkoek  appears to have the higher ceiling, and plays a cleaner game than Dotchin. Though they play different games, Yzerman might prefer a more disciplined, puck moving defenseman when choosing who to protect. At the same time, Dotchin plays a physical game, and can move the puck as well. He’s not afraid to muck it up, and provides a presence that protects his teammates on the ice–while still contributing on the score sheet. As Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith wrote, Dotchin has stood out to management, especially in the NHL and AHL during Syracuse’s Calder Cup Final run.

With two younger defensive prospects and after having a less than stellar season, predict Sustr to be exposed and Koekkoek protected. Don’t be surprised, as many others have written, if Yzerman pulls something off to keep all of his young defensemen so Dotchin remains in the fold.

Projected Protection List

F – Steven Stamkos (NMC)
F – Ryan Callahan (NMC)
F – Tyler Johnson (RFA)
F – Nikita Kucherov
F – Vladislav Namestnikov
F – Alex Killorn
F – Ondrej Palat (RFA)

D – Victor Hedman (NMC)
D – Anton Stralman
D –Slater Koekkoek (RFA)

G – Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy is truly the only option to protect as 24-year-old netminder Kristers Gudlevskis is unlikely to be taken with other options presumably available from other teams. Of the decisions, it seems to be the least of Tampa’s worries.

The Lightning, despite missing the playoffs and sustaining injuries to one key player after another, still have a strong lineup that will absolutely compete next season. Peddling Drouin off certainly helped matters, but the third player to protect defensively is a tough decision to make. At the end of the day, though, Yzerman has shown skills deft enough to take a challenging situation and somehow make it work out. Don’t be surprised if he finds a way to do it again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Expansion Notes: Phaneuf, McPhee, Final Decisions

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TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that nothing changed on Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf’s decision to waive his no-movement clause prior to the 5pm deadline today. This doesn’t mean, however, that he won’t be traded. Phaneuf is definitely in the mix to be dealt as Ottawa agonizes over who to protect and who to leave exposed as lists are due tomorrow at 5pm. Phaneuf has been the subject of trade rumors, and it was confirmed by general manager Pierre Dorion that he’s received calls about the 32-year-old defenseman. Some pundits thought Phaneuf might waive his NMC before the 5pm deadline, but with that now passed, it will be interesting to see if he’s one of many players shuttled to another team to ease the restrictions on the list.

  • The USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that Vegas general manager George McPhee has encouraged his staff to catch up on their sleep prior to the weekend as all NHL teams will have their protected lists submitted tomorrow. Noting that he only has 72 hours to put a team together, McPhee told Allen that teams have been straightforward with McPhee as to what they’re thinking and that it’s been in line with what McPhee and his staff expected. Allen reports that McPhee plans on informing each team who they plan on taking, so they can circle back to see if another deal can be worked out. Further, McPhee indicates that they are trying to build a balanced squad that can compete right away. He adds that they also want to acquire as many draft picks as possible to “expedite their building process.” McPhee also told Allen that even though he’s in his office at 6am Vegas time, his phone has been ringing non-stop with colleagues looking to make deals.
  • On the other side of McPhee’s phone line are 30 general managers wrangling with what they’re going to do in anticipation of the draft. The AP’s Stephen Whyno spoke with general managers who are also losing sleep over the draft, albeit for different reasons. Minnesota’s Chuck Fletcher told Whyno that he often reminds himself at 3am that he can “only lose one player–go back to sleep.” Florida’s Dale Tallon remarked that “everyone’s a little nervous, a little reluctant” in anticipation of what will happen. Tampa general manager Steve Yzerman already responded by trading Jonathan Drouin to Montreal while New York and Colorado bought out the contracts of Dan Girardi and Francois Beauchemin respectively. Meanwhile, LeBrun tweets that deals could go down to the wire after speaking with Fletcher while  Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith tweets that he sees Tampa Bay in potential talks with Fletcher since the Wild have a logjam at defense.

Expansion Primer: Ottawa Senators

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft; which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

The Ottawa Senators came into this season with a new coach, a new second line center and a dream that getting back to the Conference finals for just the third time in their history might be a possibility. All season people wrote them off as a weak team piggy-backing on the dominant play of their captain and best player, Erik Karlsson. With some extra help from an outstanding goaltending duo, the team shattered expectations and came within one game of the Stanley Cup Final, a successful year to be sure.

Ottawa is now looking to reload for another playoff run next season, with youngster Colin White and blue-chip prospect Thomas Chabot in tow. Their future looks quite bright, even if they did trade away some assets in questionable trade deadline deals. Just like any Cup contender, Ottawa isn’t in the best shape when it comes to the expansion draft and were dealt a further blow when Dion Phaneuf decided to not waive his no-movement clause. As protection lists are due tomorrow evening, the Senators have to make up their mind fast (if they haven’t already) and make some tough decisions.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: 

Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Zack Smith, Alexandre Burrows, Mike Blunden, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel

Defensemen:

Dion Phaneuf (NMC), Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman, Fredrik Claesson, Patrick Sieloff

Goaltenders:

Craig Anderson, Andrew Hammond, Chris Driedger

Notable Exemptions

Colin White, Logan Brown, Chris Didomenico, Thomas Chabot, Ben Harpur

Key Decisions

The first decision any team must make is whether to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie (7-3-1) or eight skaters and one goalie (8-1). The Senators are no different, as they have several interesting defensemen that project to go unprotected should they use the former, but will likely go with the latter due to their distinct lack of forward depth. Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Up front the Senators can’t afford to lose a player like Jean-Gabriel Pageau for nothing, as they learned this year when several key forwards went down to injury at the same time. Even though they play a defensive, trapping scheme, their secondary scoring depth isn’t good enough to sustain losses and with Pageau coming off an outstanding playoff run he’s a lock to be protected in a 7-3-1 format.

Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris are the others who should feel comfortable, and even with his extremely inflated salary, Bobby Ryan may have played his way back into the team’s good books with a strong playoff run. So, decisions at forward generally come down to Clarke MacArthur, Zack Smith and Ryan Dzingel of which the team can only protect one. MacArthur is an emotional leader of the team after returning from concussion problems late in the year, but Smith and Dzingel offer more for the relatively low price tags.

Fredrik ClaessonOn defense is where it gets really tight for the Senators, as Phaneuf’s NMC and Karlsson’s no-brainer leave them with just one spot to protect Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman and Fredrik Claesson. That’s a lot of names to decide between, and all of them deserve protection to some degree. Ceci, for all the hate he gets at times logged the second-most minutes on the team and combined with Phaneuf on a relatively solid second pair, while Methot was the yin to Karlsson’s yang all season.

Neither of those two hold a candle possession-wise to Wideman, while Borowiecki was the clear physical leader of the team, even leading the NHL in hits. Claesson is the real wildcard in the group, as even though he’s suited up for just 49 NHL games he showed he could handle himself in the playoffs and perhaps move up alongside Karlsson at some point in the future. At just 24 he would be another interesting option for the Golden Knights.

In net Anderson will get the call, unless the team comes to a long-term extension with Condon before the deadline. The only reason to do that would be if they think Vegas could swoop in and sign him out from under them, though that would also cause them to forfeit their selection. In terms of other free agent options there isn’t much to see on Ottawa.

Projected Protection List

F Bobby Ryan
F Mike Hoffman
F Derick Brassard
F Mark Stone
F Kyle Turris
F Zack Smith
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau

D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)
D Erik Karlsson
D Cody Ceci

G Craig Anderson

In the end, Ceci offers too much due to his age and cheap contract to let walk for nothing. At just 23, and signed for only $2.8MM this season he still exists as an excellent asset, if not a perfect fit for the Senators system. He could easily used in a trade, or improve next season and beyond as he heads into his prime. Leaving the other defensemen unprotected though isn’t a move GM Pierre Dorion wants though, which is likely why Phaneuf’s name has been floating around in trade speculation for the last couple of days.

Ultimately the Senators could probably stand to trade two of their defensemen before the draft just to avoid losing them for nothing, but it’s more likely that they’ll just bite the bullet and lose a player of value. There is also the possibility of making a side-deal with Vegas in order to take someone else, but there has been no indication so far that Dorion has been pursuing that idea.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Morning Notes: Hischier, Predators, Frk

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The AHL-CHL agreement is an interesting part of every offseason, stopping players who otherwise would be ready to join the professional ranks of the minor leagues and keeping them in junior hockey. That agreement, which limits anyone under the age of 20, doesn’t apply to players on loan from their European clubs. We saw it last year when Alexander Nylander played for Rochester of the AHL despite being just 18 at the start of the season.

It was expected that Nico Hischier, a top prospect in this year’s draft could do the same, but according to Mike Morreale of NHL.com he isn’t on loan from his former Swiss club Bern, and will not be eligible for the AHL should he not make his NHL club next season. That means the 18-year old Hischier will likely return to Halifax for one more season and try to win a Memorial Cup.

  • Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that despite trying to reach a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in order to protect both James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok from selection in the upcoming expansion draft, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. As we discussed in our Nashville Expansion Primer, the Predators are at real risk of giving up the most talented player in the entire draft. LeBrun suggests they’ll look elsewhere for a deal, but protection lists are due tomorrow evening and they’re running out of time.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that Martin Frk has been qualified by the Red Wings, just days after scoring the Calder Cup-winning goal. Frk is a restricted free agent this summer and had an outstanding AHL season with 50 points in 65 games after being claimed off waivers from Carolina. The qualifying offer for Frk would have been $715K, though he still qualifies for a two-way offer.

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