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With the protection lists submitted by the 30 NHL clubs, everything will funnel through the Vegas Golden Knights from now until Wednesday, when the expansion club makes their selections.
Knights GM George McPhee has undoubtedly agreed to some deals prior to the revealing of which players were included on the protection lists, otherwise the Anaheim Ducks would not have left defenseman Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson exposed, and the New York Islanders would not have left all but three of their forwards open to being picked.
McPhee revealed on the weekend that he was willing to let teams keep players they exposed for a price (likely a bevy of prospects and/or draft picks),
but told NHL teams that Monday would be the last day that he would complete a trade to protect their players.
That means over the next 48 hours, players that have not been shielded are available to other NHL club for the right price, with Vegas serving as the middleman.
Vegas will surely be looking to select players that can be part of their organization down the road (when they are ready to be competitive), but players closer to 30 years old or with short term left on their contracts may be selected based solely on their value to other teams.
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be in a good position to make a deal with the Golden Knights that would be beneficial to both, as GM Lou Lamoriello could give McPhee young assets in return for an experienced defenseman that could solidify the Leafs blueline, but the question is which blueliners are legitimately up for bid and which are just their to tantalize.
Here are a group of defensemen that the Leafs could have interest in an expansion deal with Vegas:
Dan Hamhuis (Dallas) – Hamhuis is a solid veteran defender who went to a Cup Final with Vancouver in 2011 and played for Mike Babcock on Team Canada in 2014. He is 34 years old, but a plus is that he is only signed through next season at a $3.75 Million cap hit.
Jason Demers (Florida) – Demers was one of the more sought-after defensemen last summer and signed to a five-year, $22.5 Million with Florida, but with the managerial shift back to Dale Tallon, the Panthers chose to protect youngsters Mark Pysyk and Alex Petrovic instead of the 29-year-old right-handed defenseman.
Florida also left forward Jonathan Marchessault unprotected, so any offer for Demers would have to be a better return than for a 30-goal scorer in a league where goals are a premium.
Matt Dumba (Minnesota) – The Wild had five defensemen to protect and shielded Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, leaving veteran Marco Scandella and Dumba exposed.
The 22-year-old is everything that the Leafs would want. Signed for another season ($2.55 Million), a right-hand shot and under control for another three years. The problem is that those are all things that would make him attractive to McPhee and it will cost Toronto a very high price to acquire him.
Alexei Emelin (Montreal) - Emelin does not have the greatest of reputations throughout the league, but when he is not annoying his opponents, the 31-year-old is a steady blueliner. An attractive aspect is a short-term left on his contract at just over $4 Million.
Marc Methot (Ottawa) - On top of his addition improving the Leafs top four, another fringe benefit of acquiring Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson’s defense partner would be to weaken a division rival’s blueline (if they have not made a side deal to not select him).
Methot is 31 and has two years left at $4.9 Million, which is slightly pricey based on his offensive production, but still fits in the Leafs spending window before having to sign Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to extensions.
Ian Cole (Pittsburgh) - A part of the Penguins no-name defense, the 28-year-old Cole will likely be passed by when Vegas selecting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, but a two-time Stanley Cup winner could bring quite a hefty return if the Golden Knights go a different direction.
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