Over the next few weeks we will be breaking 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.
When the New Jersey Devils swung one of the biggest deals of the offseason, trading young defenseman Adam Larsson to Edmonton for former first-overall pick Taylor Hall, it suggested that the team believed it could compete in the short term with a little more added offense. Hall cost more, was older and had fewer years left on his deal and the Devils were coming off a year in which they took a step forward and finished with 84 points.
While Larsson went on a deep playoff run with the Oilers, Hall struggled through a knee injury and saw the Devils take another step backwards, unable to do much offensively. The team finished with just 70 points, but as luck would have it were selected at the lottery and will pick first in the upcoming draft. The Devils now have some interesting choices to make in regards to the expansion draft, and decide whether to expose some of their aging veterans or keep them protected for another shot at it next season.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Devante Smith-Pelly, Ben Thomson, Jacob Josefson, Stefan Noesen, Beau Bennett
Defensemen:
Andy Greene, Ben Lovejoy, John Moore, Dalton Prout, Jon Merrill, Viktor Loov, Damon Severson
Goaltenders:
Cory Schneider, Scott Wedgewood
Notable Exemptions
Miles Wood, Pavel Zacha, Michael McLeod, John Quenneville, Nick Lappin, Blake Speers, Nathan Bastian, Joseph Blandisi, Yohann Auvitu, Ilya Kovalchuk
Key Decisions
The Devils will almost certainly go with the 7-3-1 protection scheme for the expansion draft, as they can’t afford to lose any of their scoring threats up front. The decision will be whether to use a slot on some of their aging veterans, or protect some younger players who haven’t lived up to their potential yet. That decision likely rests with the idea of whether or not the front office believes they can compete next year. 
Up front, the trio of Hall, Henrique and Palmieri are all in their prime and ready to compete, while Zajac is still an effective player at age 32. All four will surely be protected, even if Zajac’s contract is starting to look like a little ugly—he’ll be paid $5.75MM through his age-35 season. After that, it becomes a little less clear. The team could protect Cammalleri and hope he rebounds next season to the effective scoring threat he has been his whole career, or use that slot on a younger winger like Bennett who showed that he’s a capable NHL forward. Getting rid of Cammalleri’s $5MM cap hit isn’t a bad thing, but the Devils also don’t need the room right now. They’re heading into the summer with well over $20MM in cap space before even factoring the few million the limit may rise by.
On defense, the team has the same problem. Protecting Greene, the much beloved captain and career Devil would cause the team to decide between Moore and Merrill both of whom showed the ability to at least contribute in a depth role on the blueline. That’s assuming of course that the team would protect Severson (they will) and expose Lovejoy, who logged nearly 21 minutes a night for the team. Greene and Lovejoy will play next season at 35 and 33 respectively, and have already started their decline. Protecting either of them would be a move directly tied to next season, instead of keeping the younger defensemen.
In net, Schneider is one of the most secure netminders in the league despite his down year, though Wedgewood is a potential option for Vegas.The 24-year old netminder returned from injury and finished the season strong for Albany, and still looks like he may have an NHL role one day in the future.
On that note, the Devils still have several issues to deal with in terms of exposure requirements. Every team needs to expose at least one goaltender who is signed through, or has received a qualifying offer for next season. Wedgewood, as a restricted free agent would need to be qualified to be allowed to protect Schneider. Each team also needs to expose at least two forwards and one defender who is signed through 2017-18 and played at least 40 games this season or 70 the past two combined. Currently the Devils would need to expose two of Hall, Zajac, Cammalleri, Palmieri, Henrique and Smith-Pelly. Even just to give themselves other options, it’s likely that a player is extended in the next few weeks.
Vegas will have a chance to sign any free agents from a team in loo of a selection from that club, but the only one who possibly would interest them is goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Outperforming Schneider at times this season, Kinkaid now has 56 NHL starts under his belt with a solid .912 save percentage. At just 27, he may eventually land a starting job somewhere but it would be surprising to see Vegas go after him seeing as they have several more experienced options available to them through the draft.
Projected Protection List
F Taylor Hall
F Travis Zajac
F Kyle Palmieri
F Adam Henrique
F Devante Smith-Pelly
F Jacob Josefson
F Beau Bennett
D Andy Greene
D John Moore
D Damon Severson
With no no-movement clauses tying their hands, the Devils find themselves in a fine situation going into the expansion draft. They can carefully examine their players and see who they want moving forward. Is it a real rebuild, or just a reload for a quick turnaround? Would Vegas even take one of Cammalleri or Greene, with their hefty cap hits and advanced age? The team could also make a move for a forward before the draft, and decide to protect him instead. 
One thing to note is that Ilya Kovalchuk, expected to return to the NHL this summer at some point will not need protection. Kovalchuk currently sits on the Voluntary Retirement List, and cannot be officially reinstated until July 1st. As he’ll technically still be retired and out of the league, he won’t need protection. This is also true, though in a different manner, for Ryane Clowe, who will be exempt due to his career-ending injury. Clowe hasn’t played since 2014-15, and even though his deal technically has a no-movement clause he was listed as exempt among other former players like Chris Pronger and David Clarkson.
The Devils will have some tough decisions to make, but luckily they are all internal. The team won’t be forced to move anyone out in order to protect a young asset, instead just evaluating their immediate future to see if it’s worth hanging on to some aging stars.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
