Updated:
Now that we know the official name of the newest NHL expansion team, word is leaking out about the players who will NOT be available to them in June 2017's expansion draft.
Sportsnet has gotten a copy of the list of NHL players that will be off limits to Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their no movement clauses.
This memo was circulated to all thirty NHL member clubs. There are 66 veteran NHL players on it who are presently exempt from the expansion process. In other words, these 66 players are woners of no-movement clauses and are not available to be selected to play for Vegas.
Per Chris Johnston, the list was finalized late Tuesday evening after the league reviewed “the parameters of each individual contract… with the NHL Players’ Association. The league was unable to institute a “blanket rule… to all NMCs, because those clauses are entirely negotiable and can be worded in whatever way the club or player — or, agent — sees fit.
Calgary, San Jose, St. Louis and Washington do not have any protected players.
All thitrty teams have agrees on the terms of the Vegas expansion process.
Each NHL club will be given the opportunity to select one of two options two option to protect their players in the Expansion Draft. Here are the options:
1). Each GM can select seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender.
2). Each GM can select eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender.
If you are a Vesgas fan, pump your brakes if you are thinking, "Hey, I want my team to grab Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, Johnny Hockey, Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine". ALL first- and second-year professionals players, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).
Here is the"keep dreaming, you can't have these players" list:
Anaheim: Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry Arizona: Alex Goligoski Boston: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci Buffalo: Kyle Okposo Carolina: Jordan Staal Columbus: Sergei Bobrovsky, David Clarkson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell Chicago: Artem Anisimov, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews Colorado: Francois Beauchemin, Erik Johnson Dallas: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza Detroit: Frans Nielsen Edmonton: Milan Lucic, Andrej Sekera, Cam Talbot Florida: Keith Yandle Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar Minnesota: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Ryan Suter Montreal: Jeff Petry, Carey Price Nashville: Pekka Rinne New Jersey: Ryane Clowe N.Y. Islanders: Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ladd, John Tavares N.Y. Rangers: Dan Girardi, Henrik Lundqvist, Rick Nash, Marc Staal Ottawa: Dion Phaneuf Philadelphia: Claude Giroux Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin Tampa Bay: Ryan Callahan, Valtteri Filppula, Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos Toronto: Nathan Horton Vancouver: Loui Eriksson, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin Winnipeg: Dustin Byfuglien, Toby Enstrom
**
Jack Eichel spoke with media after Wednesday's game day skate.
In typical Jack Eichel fashion, he said he knows what his return date is. He's just not in a sharing mood. Sabres fans are going to have to live in suspense until the long anticipated return day.
Eichel says he circled a return date last week. Won't give it up of course. Says he has "a few things up my sleeve" for his return. #Sabres
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) November 23, 2016
Dan Bylsma told media "the end is getting near" regarding Eichel's 20 game absence from the starting lineup.
There's still a lot of meat on the turkey leg as seventy five percent of the season is still to be played.
The Sabres host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on December 6.
It would not surprise me in the least if Eichel made his triumphant return to the lineup when McDavid is in Casa De Eichel.
Eichel said afterwards that he is thankful to be back in the room and on the ice with his teammates. Injured professional athletes often lament the drudgery and loneliness of their rehabilitation process. The injured player spends more time with the trainers and medical staff than he does with his boys. This causes a yeraning to return to normalcy. The separation from the team tends to cause anxiety. When the boys are on a road trip, the injured player is back home. By himself. With the medical staff. The new normal becomes rest, recovery and following the doctors orders. Not attending team dinners and helping the team win games. Hockey is comradery. A union. A bond like no other. Eichel has been missing the routines, traditions and structure of being an NHL super star.
"It's nice to get out there with a bunch of other people instead of myself," Eichel told media Wednesday morning.
"That's what you miss the most when you're hurt. You miss playing. But you miss your time with the guys, being in the locker room at the same time as them, just being around them. It's tough to not be on the same schedule as them. It's nice to get back in the swing of things."
As for his high ankle sprian, Eichel said he has pretty much forgotten about it.
"For the most part I really have progressed through everything," Eichel said. "I think prior to skating with the team you go through everything. I've had a little bit of physical contact, soft starts, pivots, crossovers. I think I felt pretty comfortable and when you're out there you pretty much forget about the ankle, and that's a good thing."
Eichel will spend the next few practice sessions working on his pace and explosion. He wants to be 100% certain that his ankle is healed before he goes full go in a game.
"Obviously I think there's something I have on my calendar that I have circled where I think I can play, but that's pretty fragile and can change pretty quickly," the New Englander said.
"I think for me personally, I just want, not only my ankle but my entire game, I want to feel like I'm back to normal and feel like I can obviously step in and [not only] make an impact, but step in and make an impact the way I want to."
You go back, Jack, do it again, wheels turinin' 'round and 'round
You go back, Jack, do it again
More to come....
**
Glory be, Sabres fans.
It's going to be a HappyJacksGiving afterall!
It's the day that many of you thought would never come.
At long last, Jack Eichel is back on the ice with his teammates for the first time since October 12.
Eichel suffered a high ankle sprian with eight minutes remaining in the practice on October 12.
It's been a long, stressful wait these past six weeks, hasn't it?
Eichel has been skating on his own since last week. He has been showing steady, positive progress.
Today, Eichel skated effortlessly. Note his left and right edge work. Eichel manufactures his power and speed via his edges. When he is at his best, Eichel is evenly distributing his body weight over his skate edges which allows him to generate strong leg drive and power to propel himself both forwards and backwards.
To my eye, Eichel looks like he is ready to return to the starting lineup.
Eichel not back in the lineup, but back on the ice with the team for the first time since his injury. @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/f35UsnhCge
— Pete Gallivan (@wgrzpete) November 23, 2016
On Tuesday, Eichel participated in battle drills with a defenseman.
He appears to hev advanced to the next phase of his rehab.
Eichel will not play tonight versus Dylan Larkin, Thomas Vanek and the Detroit Red Wings.
Might Eichel be ready to return to the lineup on Black Friday in Washington? You know that I predicted a Black Friday return for Eichel. don't you?
**
Ryan O'Reilly looks to be all system go for a return to the lineup tonight.
O'Reilly has been sidelined with an oblique injury. He skated with his teammates on Tuesday and then again today.
I expect Th eFactor to make his return tonight against Detroit.
Ryan O'Reilly looks to be full-go at skate -- on the top line with Moulson & Okposo. pic.twitter.com/AQ0D8jv4Y0
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) November 23, 2016
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I watching the Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes game on Tuesday night when Bob McKenzie told me during "Insider Trading" that the NY Islanders had been kicking tires on Sabres power forward Evander Kane.
For the past couple of weeks, I've been reporting in this space that among the Islanders, several NHL teams have been scouting the Sabres with requency and regularity. The Islanders have dispatched their assistant general manager and their hockey operations consultant to watch the Sabres play.
Is it a coincidence that the Islanders and other teams started coming around once Evander Kane returned to the starting lineup? Kane missed eleven games with cracked ribs that he suffered in the season opener against a Montreal. Kane has been one of Buffalo's most effective players since returning to action. In seven games since returning to the ice, he has two assists. Kane has been using his speed and brawn to be a dispruptive force on the fore check. His goals will come. He continues to shoot and dish to his linemates. For now he continues to get chances and is dominating the defensive side of the pucks.
Kane has skated 22 minutes TOI the past two games against Pittsburgh and Calgary.
Note to the market: Kane is not on the trading block. However, Sabres GM Tim Murray is willing to listen to offers.
The bottomline:
Buffalo will consider trading Kane if they can secure a difference making defenseman in the deal. For months, Tim Murray has been looking for a left shot D who can move the puck, join the rush, play top four minutes and run a power play.
Leddy scored this beauty shootout winner in Anaheim on Tuesday night. Look at these forward-style moves from a defenseman. Looks like Duncan Keith or Brian Campbell.
Leddy has 3 goals and 5 assists this season. He is well on his way to another 40 point season, which is impressive considering the offensively challenged Islanders squad.
Leddy is averaging 23 minutes TOI per game, has 21 hits and 27 blocked shots. He's landed 34 shots on goal.
Leddy checks all boxes for the defenseman he is looking for. He's mobile, thrifty with the pucks, defends in all three zones, runs a power play, can join the rush and has no fear. What is key with Leddy is that he is a lefty and is only 25 years old. Leddy is 6'0" and 200 lbs. He's not afraid to throw his weight around. He's an eight year NHL veteran.
Murray has said that he will not make a trade for a defenseman who will not be on the team in the next couple of years when the Sabres are contending for dominant position in the Eastern Conference. Murray won't do a one off trade for a 33 year old D with a year left on his deal. Nope. Won't go there. Murray wants a young, skilled D who will assimilate and be on his team for years to come.
Leddy has six years remaining on his current contract at $5.5 million per season. This is a value contract because Leddy is a 30-40 point D whose AAV is locked in for the foreseeable future.
Murray is looking for a trade partner who can do a "dollars in, dollars out trade".
The Sabres and Islanders are in similar positions regarding their salary cap.
The Sabres would have to subtract Kane's $5.25M AAV ion order to accomodate Leddy's $5.5M AAV.
Dollars in. Dollars out.
Its a similar scenario to a potential Dougie Hamilton trade with Calgary. Hamilton, 23, carries a $5.75M AAV for the next five season. Kane has two years remaining at $5.25M AAV.
With 16 points, the Islanders find themselves in the basement of the Metropolitan Division. They are 13 points behind the red hot NY Rangers. The Islanders begin today dead last in the Eastern standings. They are hurting in the goals scoring department. The Isles have scored 45 goals while allowing 56 goals against. The losses of Kyle Okposo and Frans Neilsen to unrestricted free agency have weakened the NYI offense. In July, Garth Snow signed UFA Andrew Ladd to a six year, $36 million contract in hopes that it would provide goal scoring. Ladd has been a massive disappointment in that way scoring just 2 goals and 1 assist in 18 games played.
Snow doesn't want to push the panic button yet, however, he doesn't have enough goal scorers in his lineup. Only John Tavares and Brock Nelson have 5 or more goals thus far this season.
Trading for Evander Kane will assist Snow is getting the Led out.