NHL Expansion Draft: Toughest Protection Decisions
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Expansion Draft: Several Teams Facing Tough Decision on Who to Protect/Who to Expose
NHL Expansion Draft is roughly 11 months away, which gives teams enough time to correctly position themselves to limit their losses. It’s still a little early to project the Las Vegas roster, but as we look around the NHL, we can see several teams that are bound to face extremely difficult decisions. In some cases, the player left exposed in those decisions could ultimately become a member of the NHL’s 31st franchise.
As we’ve seen in past expansion, trades will occur with Las Vegas in order to protect some of those teams in vulnerable situations. Although, if you’re the new GM in Vegas, why accept a lousy 2nd/3rd rounder for a player of particular interest? Instead, you keep things tight-lipped, and only accept trades for those not on the radar.
We will continue to delve deeper into these particular scenarios over the next year and see how performances in 2016-17 change/affect those situations. To begin, let’s start by identifying which teams/players are worth keeping a close eye on.
NHL Expansion Draft: Vulnerable Situations/Difficult Decisions
Buffalo Sabres
Ullmark emerged in Lehner’s absence last season. Either could make for an attractive option between the pipes for Las Vegas.
Bogosian carries a no-movement clause (automatically protected), while Rasmus Ristolainen is the future on the Sabres blue line.
That leaves one protection spot for Kulikov or McCabe. Another pair of tempting options for an expansion club.
Colorado Avalanche
Semyon Varlamov/Calvin Pickard
Save the younger, cheaper option who emerged in 2015-16 with starter potential? Or, do you protect the sure thing (albeit a little older) between the pipes?
Whichever one is exposed to should rank highly for Las Vegas.
Minnesota Wild
Defensive Group
As of right now, Minnesota has Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, and Jonas Brodin.
Logic suggests one will be traded (sooner rather than later), but it still leaves at least one defender exposed. Suter, Spurgeon, and Dumba are the safest bet for protection, making one of the other two a likely bet to land in Vegas.
Nashville Predators
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
The Predators three defensive saves should consist of P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, and Ryan Ellis. That leaves Ekholm exposed, joining Minnesota’s Scandella/or Brodin as top defensive options in expansion. Only chance that Nashville/Minnesota has at keeping their d-core together would be to save four defenders, and four forwards.
New York Islanders
Defensive Group
After they protect Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, and Travis Hamonic, it leaves two quality defenders exposed. Calvin de Haan and Thomas Hickey are both players who should rank highly in expansion.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Defensive Group
Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman are the top two to protect. That leaves one spot for Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr, Slater Koekkoek, and Nikita Nesterov.
It’s not a slam dunk though that Vegas picks defense from Tampa Bay with the potential of Vladislav Namestnikov or Alex Killorn being left exposed.
Next: Offseason Questions That Need Answers
Washington Capitals
Defensive Group
Matt Niskanen and John Carlson should be considered locks to be protected. That leaves one spot for Karl Alzner (the likely save), Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt, and Brooks Orpik. The Caps won’t have much to offer offensively or between the pipes, so expect Las Vegas to target a blueliner here.