I totally agree with Cammalleri being someone the Devils would leave exposed and wouldn't be an awful pick by Vegas as he can put up numbers when he's healthy....but not a guarantee.

My one question was whether you picked him as you figured Devils would go 7-3-1 and leave him out of top 7 (which is hard...as it is hard to find 7 worthwhile) or 4-4-1 where the obvious keepers are Hall, Henrique, Zajac, Palms...and then have 4 defensive spots where it was Greene and Severson for sure...and then 2 possible spots where they acquire guys pre-draft?
- Mewsik2myears

8/1 Devils leave Cammi, DSP, either Lovejoy or Prout, and Wedgewood unprotected. LV takes Cammi b/c they'll need someone who can score.

Severson will be an RFA and does not need to be protected.

I love the emphasis on May vs Must, that is super important. Some teams will need to sign players at all positions just to make the minimum requirements for exposure. Also, let's not forget that RFAs are eligable to be picked even though they dont have contracts. Also, players who don't qualify for 40/70 "musts" may be picked if they aren't "exempt" (ie: Eric Gelinas does not satisfy the MUST component because he didn't play enough games, but he MAY be picked)

I think it's imperative that you show who gets protected and who gets exposed when you make a list like this. You made a bunch of assumptions about players waiving NMCs and you fail to provide any evidence to support your claims.

If this is based on how it stands today:
Silfverberg is claimed,
Murray is claimed,
Arizona goalie gets taken,
(frank) Matt Stajan - they'll take a 22 year old prospect instead,
they would be doing Edmonton a major favor by taking Pouliot,
Greg Pateryn over Esa Lindell, Steven Johns and Dan Hamhuis - I dont think so.
They don't need 5 goalies and Detroit has a dicey situation with Ryan Sproul

It's all speculation and opinions, at least try to be as transparent as possible rather than picking a fkn name out of a hat.
- Max.Betts

RFA skaters do not need to be protected. If you were the Pens who would you keep MAF or Murray?

Ducks leave forwards Boll, Wagner & Shaw unprotected.

Why would Arizona protect Mike Smith? Why would LV take Mike Smith? There are better goalie options available.

Dallas doesn't have to protect Lindell. They protect Hammer and make either Johns or Pateryn available. I went with the latter.

Flames don't have enough contracts to protect the max. They leave Stajan, Bouma, Bartkowski and McCollum unprotected.

RFA skaters do not need to be protected. If you were the Pens who would you keep MAF or Murray?

Ducks leave forwards Boll, Wagner & Shaw unprotected.

Why would Arizona protect Mike Smith? Why would LV take Mike Smith? There are better goalie options available.

Dallas doesn't have to protect Lindell. They protect Hammer and make either Johns or Pateryn available. I went with the latter.

Flames don't have enough contracts to protect the max. They leave Stajan, Bouma, Bartkowski and McCollum unprotected.
- Ed Stein

Five goalies? LV must take 23 skaters; 14 forwards, 9 def. They could draft seven goalies and maybe control the goalie market for a little while. Howard is the #1. Pick and Raanta fight for backup job (or one gets traded) Binnington and Subban head to minors (unless LV gets a good trade offer).

If they take Binnington, I will be VERY happy.


- carcus

Slim pickings among eligible skaters. Reaves, Lehtera ($.4.7M) and Bortuzzo.

It's weird to think of Marchenko in a Knights uniform.

I thought he was going to be a Leaf for life.

I know it's a business, but wow - so many young kids will be devastated.

Don't know if Jordie Benn will be available. He's been good with Montreal.

The Lightning will be beyond excited if Vegas takes JT Brown instead of one of their defenseman (Dotchin or Koekkoek)

So WD goes to LV as asst coach? Magma follows

SERIOUSLY, READ THE RULES YOU SIMPLETON. RFAs WHO ARE NOT 1ST OR 2ND YEAR PROS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR EXPANSION. IF YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE A BLOG ON THE SUBJECT, PLEASE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT...

FROM MOTHAFKING NHL.COM:
http://www.nhl.com/news/n...n-draft-rules/c-281010592
- Max.Betts

Watch your language. Here are the rules. Teams DO NOT HAVE TO protect RFA skaters. Feel free to stand corrected.

This is from the NHL

Player Exposure Requirements
* All Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:

i) One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

ii) Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

iii) One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club's protected list.

See the difference wiseguy. Before you start accusing people, maybe you should check yourself first.

no need to yell.
- storm88

Its OK he's wrong.

Its OK he's wrong.
- Ed Stein

I'LL BET MY HOUSE YOU'RE WRONG

As an adult, I get to use whatever language I desire to make my point, and that is simply that you have no idea what the puck you're talking about.

JUST BECAUSE YOU MUST EXPOSE 2 FORWARDS UNDER CONTRACT DOES NOT MEAN THAT RFAs ARE INELIGIBLE FROM BEING SELECTED IF THEY HAVE BEEN PRO FOR 2+ YEARS.

AARON EKBLAD NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED BECAUSE HE WENT STRAIGHT TO THE NHL. SAM REINHART WENT BACK TO JUNIOR AND IS THEREFORE EXPANSION EXEMPT. LEON DRAISAITL AND SAM BENNETT MUST BE PROTECTED AS WELL.

This is not rocket science MORON
- Max.Betts

The FA in RFA is Free Agent. The "R" is restricted to certain conditions. By definition, a free agent is not under contract. We are done.

The FA in RFA is Free Agent. The "R" is restricted to certain conditions. By definition, a free agent is not under contract. We are done.
- Ed Stein

VEGAS ONLY NEEDS TO TAKE 20 PLAYERS WHO ARE UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT SEASON. They can pick pending UFAs if they so desire.

VEGAS ONLY NEEDS TO TAKE 20 PLAYERS WHO ARE UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT SEASON. They can pick pending UFAs if they so desire.
- Max.Betts

LV doesn't have to waste a pick on a free agent, they can just offer a contract.

LV doesn't have to waste a pick on a free agent, they can just offer a contract.
- Ed Stein

I agree, they don't HAVE to pick a pending free agent, but they CAN.

I'll believe CapFriendly over anything... Ed, I believe you are wrong on the RFA side.

There is a rule they must select 20 players UNDER CONTRACT, meaning they can't take more than 10 RFAs.

CapFriendly's expansion tool shows all the exempt players. 3rd year players with their ELC finishing are eligible for expansion...

I'll believe CapFriendly over anything... Ed, I believe you are wrong on the RFA side.

There is a rule they must select 20 players UNDER CONTRACT, meaning they can't take more than 10 RFAs.

CapFriendly's expansion tool shows all the exempt players. 3rd year players with their ELC finishing are eligible for expansion...
- Mewsik2myears

I checked eligibility on cap friendly.

I love the emphasis on May vs Must, that is super important. Some teams will need to sign players at all positions just to make the minimum requirements for exposure. Also, let's not forget that RFAs are eligable to be picked even though they dont have contracts. Also, players who don't qualify for 40/70 "musts" may be picked if they aren't "exempt" (ie: Eric Gelinas does not satisfy the MUST component because he didn't play enough games, but he MAY be picked)

I think it's imperative that you show who gets protected and who gets exposed when you make a list like this. You made a bunch of assumptions about players waiving NMCs and you fail to provide any evidence to support your claims.

If this is based on how it stands today:
Silfverberg is claimed,
Murray is claimed,
Arizona goalie gets taken,
(frank) Matt Stajan - they'll take a 22 year old prospect instead,
they would be doing Edmonton a major favor by taking Pouliot,
Greg Pateryn over Esa Lindell, Steven Johns and Dan Hamhuis - I dont think so.
They don't need 5 goalies and Detroit has a dicey situation with Ryan Sproul

It's all speculation and opinions, at least try to be as transparent as possible rather than picking a fkn name out of a hat.
- Max.Betts

RFAs have to be qualified first to be exposed. And Vegas can pick a pending UFA, sign them to a deal and then are not allowed to pick another player from that team. Google wouldn't lie to me, would it?

I checked eligibility on cap friendly.
- Ed Stein

If so...just as an example...you see Severson is eligible...

The only exempt players are those on ELCs, except the one I don't understand is why Panarin is exempt...

If so...just as an example...you see Severson is eligible...

The only exempt players are those on ELCs, except the one I don't understand is why Panarin is exempt...
- Mewsik2myears

Severson meets the requirements, but is a RFA. As of now he technically doesn't have a contract after the season ends.

An RFA still needs to be protected if any team wants to not have them exposed.
The rules that were posted by the author are mandatory exposure rules. If you are protected or have 2 years or less onELC then you are exposed regardless of being any type of free agent.

Why would Vegas take Smith when they'd have a chance to take Eckholm or Ellis ?
Unless Nashville makes a deal with Vegas which is conditional with Vegas not taking a defenceman. Not sure why Vegas would comply though. The Preds will most likely lose a top 4 this summer and it really sucks

Watch your language. Here are the rules. Teams DO NOT HAVE TO protect RFA skaters. Feel free to stand corrected.

This is from the NHL



See the difference wiseguy. Before you start accusing people, maybe you should check yourself first.
- Ed Stein

these are the rules for the minimums teams must make available in the expansion draft. There is absolutely nothing in that quote that says rfa's don't need to be protected.

oh, and if vegas was to take hickey over ryan pulock or calvin dehaan I'd mail them a thank you card.

It's safe to say Vegas will have 4 of the best 3rd lines in hockey.

Here's my question:

A full NHL team is 23 players. (Generally 14 forwards, 7 defense, 2 goal).

Yet Vegas is going to pick 30 "Fairly well proven NHL quality players" (my phrase), given that they have played a certain amount over the last couple of years.

So, what happens to the 7 "leftover" players? Dump the poor saps into a non-existent AHL team? Trade bait for more draft picks in coming years?

Those 7 players (or more if the Vegas makes some UFA pickups), are kind of a wildcard. They may well pick some players they don't REALLY want, but who would have value in trade to either their former team, or some other team.

In the end, it's going to be quite the circus.