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The San Jose Sharks’ expansion draft protected list has been revealed.
Sharks official protected list. No surprises.
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) July 18, 2021
Rudolfs Balcers (F)
Logan Couture (F)
Jonathan Dahlen (F)
Tomas Hertl (F)
Evander Kane (F)
Kevin Labanc (F)
Timo Meier (F)
Brent Burns (D)
Erik Karlsson (D)
Marc-Edouard Vlasic (D)
Adin Hill (G)
In terms of forward protection, most of the decisions were pretty obvious, with Rudolfs Balcers, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier taking up six of the seven slots. However, one notable decision was the Sharks opting to protect Jonathan Dahlen over Ryan Donato.
Dahlen has been dominant in Sweden’s second-highest professional league over the last two years but has yet to play an NHL game. Donato was acquired by the Sharks last offseason for a third-round pick and scored six goals and 20 points in 50 games this year.
Other notable roster players who were left unprotected are Dylan Gambrell and Radim Simek, though Donato remains the player with the highest upside available for Seattle, if they’re willing to pay out a bit of money to sign him to a new contract.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM JULY Should the Sharks look to trade Tomas Hertl? Who will the Sharks lose in the Expansion Draft? Breaking down the Sharks’ cap situation Looking into a potential rebuild for the Sharks Revisiting the Erik Karlsson trade three years later Should the Sharks look to take Jesper Wallstedt at seventh overall? Sharks are reportedly shopping Kevin Labanc and others Should the Sharks buy out Martin Jones’ contract? Sharks re-sign Josef Korenar Sharks re-sign Dylan Gambrell Sharks are reportedly looking to add a third-line center Sharks acquire goaltender Adin Hill from Coyotes