Tier 3: You Lost Someone Good, But It Was Unavoidable Or Justified
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators dug themselves into a deep hole. Specifically, they thought they could talk one of their guys with a no-movement clause into waiving it. Except none of them were willing. This forced them to leave defenseman Marc Methot unprotected.
It could have ended badly for the Senators, but Methot didn’t do well this season even when healthy.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators lost James Neal, who wound up being very productive for the Golden Knights. However, they were one of the teams screwed by having too many good players. Specifically, the Predators had four defensemen worth protecting.
This left them with only four forwards to protect. It came down to Calle Jarnkrok or Neal. The Predators made the right decision 11 months ago. It’s still the right one now.
Boston Bruins
Short of talking Vegas into taking on Matt Beleskey’s contract, the Boston Bruins were going to lose a quality player. They wound up losing Colin Miller, who has done great for the Golden Knights. That said, this was more of a product of the Bruins having too many good players than anything else.
You could argue Boston should have exposed Kevan Miller instead. However, in hindsight, Kevan had proved himself to be a capable, consistent defenseman. 11 months ago, Colin had not. If Kevan was taken instead, you’d be questioning why the Bruins left him unprotected.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It is so easy to make fun of the Pittsburgh Penguins for handing the Golden Knights a franchise goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury. But some context is required. First of all, Fleury had a no-movement clause. He had to sign off on not being protected (which he did ahead of time).
The Penguins had a chance to either get rid of an expensive (and potentially bad contract down the line) or lose the goalie who just won them two straight Stanley Cups. Also, Pittsburgh got a second-round pick for him. On paper, it looks like the Penguins got hosed. But they made the right move.