Vegas Golden Knights Mock Expansion Draft Roundtable

Vegas Golden Knights Mock Expansion Draft Roundtable (February Edition) – Matt Duscharme and Suraj Sukumar Re-Join Site Expert Ryan Ritchie for Another In-Depth Look at June’s Expansion Draft.  We’ve Included Full Protection Lists for All 30 Teams and Three Separate 30-Man Rosters for the NHL’s 31st Franchise.

Vegas Golden Knights front-office is holding mock expansion drafts throughout the year to prepare for next June. We here at Puck Prose are doing the same thing with in-depth analysis, full protection lists, and much more!

Las Vegas plans to conduct a monthly NHL mock expansion draft to prepare themselves for next June. We here at Puck Prose are looking to do the same thing with detailed analysis that should have us looking at some of the same players that George McPhee and company are as well.

We’re back for a double dose in February as we ramp our expansion draft coverage. Moving forward, we’ll be releasing two expansion roundtables per month. Writers Matt Duscharme and Suraj Sukumar have re-joined site expert Ryan Ritchie to share their projected Vegas Golden Knights roster.

With the collaboration, we’re hoping to give readers a better idea of who might be available next June. Also, fans can get an idea of the expansion draft landscape changes when teams use different formats or protect different players with those highly debatable final spots. If we’re lucky, we might have a few similar picks in terms of protection lists or Vegas roster players. All in all, it’s a good exercise to get a better/more accurate handle on the entire process, which is very different from past expansions.

Truth be told, we can target and identify the vast majority of protected players. Between no-movement clauses and star players, there are only so many spots that are actually debatable. Now, there’s still lots of time for player movement in 2016-17 leading up to the Mar.1 deadline, then another period following the playoffs. To play it safe, for the time being, we’ve chosen to omit certain players for different reasons. Each writer is following their own set of rules in this department with explanations as to why those individuals will be left out.

Rules for Expansion

*The NHL released its list of players who will be exempt from the expansion draft awhile back. Now, some folks are a bit confused it seems. This isn’t a list of players teams must protect (although the majority will need to be). Guys like Ryane Clowe, David Clarkson, and Nathan Horton, for example, are expected to be exempt from needing protection due to their injury status. Basically, any player who missed the previous 60 games heading into the expansion draft will have an automatic exemption, similar to the younger prospects.

All 30 NHL teams have two options to protect players

a) Seven forwards, three defensemen, one goaltender

b) Eight skaters and one goaltender

– All players that own a no-movement clause in their contract must be protected, unless they agree to waive it.

– *All first and second-year professionals are automatically exempt from the expansion draft

*There’s been some gray area to this one so we’d like to help clarify with the best explanation we could find. Before shutting down, General Fanager asked this very question to the NHL, with the following response:

via Sin Bin,

“A Player aged 18 or 19 earns a year of professional experience by playing 10 or more NHL games in a given NHL season.”

“A player aged 20 or older (based on age on December 31 of calendar year in which the season starts) earns a year of professional experience by playing 10 or more Professional Games under a standard player contract in a given League Year.”

General Fanager also wanted answers for European skaters and how the NHL decides to calculate professional years overseas. Here’s the response:

“Professional seasons are expected to only count while a player is under an NHL SPC. A player like Artemi Panarin for instance, who played several “professional seasons” in the KHL prior to signing with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2015-16 season, is expected to still be exempt from the Expansion Draft. This is because his seasons in the KHL were played before he signed an NHL SPC, so his first “professional season” for purposes of expansion is considered the 2015-16 season.”

Player Exposure Requirements

All clubs must provide a minimum one player that falls under each of the following categories:

1) one defenseman who is under contract for 2017-18 and played in 40 games in 2016-17, or 70 games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined.

2) two forwards under contract for 2017-18 and played in 40 games in 2016-17, or 70 games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined.

3) one goalie under contract for 2017-18 or RFA

Truth be told, all 30 teams will naturally have players that meet the requirements. There won’t be much planning or thought put into it when most bottom six forwards or bottom pair defenseman go unprotected.

– Players with a career-ending injury, or who have missed the previous 60 games due to injury will be automatically exempt from the expansion draft. This is notable for individuals such as Ryane Clowe (NJ) or David Clarkson (CLB) who some feared would take up a spot due to no-move clauses.

Las Vegas Selection Rules

– Las Vegas must select one player from each of the 30 existing teams.

– They must select at least 14 forwards, nine defense, and three goalies.

– Las Vegas must spend between 60-100 percent of the prior season’s upper cap limit ($43.8-$73.0 million)

– *20 of those 30 selections must be under contract for 2017-18 (only 10 UFAs or RFAs are allowed for that two-day negotiating period)

Honestly, this one doesn’t make a lot of sense. Experts/analysts insist that RFAs don’t count against the 20 under contract, but that’s absurd. If Las Vegas selects an RFA, they own that player’s rights until he’s eligible for free agency, so technically speaking, the player is pretty much under contract. Even if he’s unhappy and wants to flee to the KHL, Vegas still owns him if he ever decides to come back – not as though an RFA is going anywhere.

By the way, that two-day negotiating period set forth during the time Las Vegas is selecting is to ensure they can get all 30 players under contract for 2017-18. Without it, there’d be too much uncertainty with selections. This way if a free agent refuses to join the expansion team, at least they have time to change their selection to someone under contract or another FA that will agree to terms.

All 30 NHL teams must submit their protection list by 5pm (et) on Saturday, June 17, 2017 at the very latest. Las Vegas will then have until June 20, 2017 to submit their expansion draft picks. The announcement is expected to be made the following day on June 21st.

Anaheim Ducks

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Corey Perry (NMC)	31	$8.625M	F Nick Ritchie
F Ryan Getzlaf (NMC)	31	$8.25M	F Kalle Kossila
F Ryan Kesler (NMC)	32	$6.875M	F Kevin Roy
F Rickard Rakell	23	$3.8M	F Max Jones
F Jakob Silfverberg	26	$3.75M	F Julius Nattinen
F Andrew Cogliano	29	$3.0M	F Deven Sideroff
F Antoine Vermette	34	$1.75M	F Ondrej Kase
F Nate Thompson	32	UFA	F Kenton Helgesen
F Ryan Garbutt	31	UFA
F Jared Boll	30	$900K	D Jacob Larsson
F Nick Sorensen	22	RFA	D Andy Welinski
F Emerson Etem	24	RFA	D Shea Theodore
F Chris Wagner	25	$637.5K	D Keaton Thompson
F Nic Kerdiles	22	RFA	D Marcus Pettersson
F Joseph Cramarossa	23	RFA	D Brandon Montour
F Corey Tropp	27	$625K
F Logan Shaw	24	RFA	G Kevin Boyle
F Max Gortz	23	RFA
D Sami Vatanen	25	$4.875M
D Cam Fowler	24	$4.0M
D Kevin Bieksa (NMC)	35	$4.0M
D Simon Despres	25	$3.7M
D Clayton Stoner	31	$3.25M
D Josh Manson	25	$825K
D Hampus Lindholm	22	$5.25M
D Korbinian Holzer	28	UFA
D Nate Guenin	33	UFA
D Jeff Schultz	30	UFA
D Jaycob Megna	23	RFA
G John Gibson	23	$2.3M
G Jonathan Bernier	28	UFA
G Dustin Tokarski	27	$650K
G Jhonas Enroth	28	UFA
G Matt Hackett	26	UFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Corey Perry (NMC)	F Corey Perry (NMC)	F Corey Perry (NMC)
F Ryan Getzlaf (NMC)	F Ryan Getzlaf (NMC)	F Ryan Getzlaf (NMC)
F Ryan Kesler (NMC)	F Ryan Kesler (NMC)	F Ryan Kesler (NMC)
F Rickard Rakell	F Rickard Rakell	F Rickard Rakell
D Hampus Lindholm	D Kevin Bieksa (NMC)	D Hampus Lindholm
D Sami Vatanen	D Hampus Lindholm	D Sami Vatanen
D Cam Fowler	D Cam Fowler	D Cam Fowler
D Josh Manson	D Sami Vatanen	D Josh Manson
G John Gibson	G John Gibson	G John Gibson
*Bieksa asked to waive NMC		*Bieksa asked to waive NMC

Sadly, the Anaheim Ducks are one of the teams in tough with the expansion draft. One way or another, this organization is bound to lose a quality player. If they choose to save an extra defenseman (the likely choice), it will result in exposed top-six forwards. However, if Anaheim wants to save those forwards, it would cost them a quality top-four d-man. Now, don’t be surprised if GM Bob Murray uses draft picks/or players in order to protect an extra body, but his insistence to go for it in 2016-17 will ultimately cost him.

Protection Lists:

As you can see, the Ducks don’t have a lot of options. They can ask Kevin Bieksa to waive his no-move in hopes of protecting Josh Manson, but that leaves one of Jakob Silfverberg or Rickard Rakell available. If they want to use a 7-3-1 scheme, they can certainly save the necessary forwards, but it leaves a defender available capable of logging 20-plus minutes/night.

If GM Bob Murray still has a job following the 2016-17 season, expect him to very busy leading up to the expansion draft.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Does Anaheim need to move a defenseman ahead of the expansion draft?

Well with a 4-4-1 protection scheme the only quality defenseman available would be Josh Manson and Simon Despres. Now given Despres’ injury history, he won’t be that hot of a commodity for Vegas, Manson on the other would be. So instead of losing him for nothing, they may as well get something for him before the March 1^st deadline is over.

– Matt Duscharme

Arizona Coyotes

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Shane Doan	40	UFA	F Dylan Strome
F Jamie McGinn	28	$3.33M	F Lawson Crouse
F Martin Hanzal	29	UFA	F Max Domi
F Tobias Rieder	23	$2.25M	F Laurent Dauphin
F Brad Richardson	31	$2.083M	F Christian Dvorak
F Radim Vrbata	35	UFA	F Michael Bunting
F Ryan White	28	UFA	F Dakota Mermis
F Anthony Duclair	21	RFA	F Conor Garland
F Jordan Martinook	24	RFA	F Ryan MacInnis
F Craig Cunningham (LTIR)	25	RFA	F Christian Fischer
F Tyler Gaudet	22	RFA	F Brendan Perlini
F Chris Mueller	30	UFA	F Nick Merkley
F Garret Ross	24	RFA	F Lane Pederson
F Peter Holland	25	RFA
F Matia Marcantuoni	22	RFA
F Mitchell Moroz	22	RFA
F Alex Burmistrov	25	RFA	D Jakob Chychrun
F Branden Troock	22	RFA	D Dysin Mayo
F Brendan Ranford	24	RFA	D Kyle Wood
			D Anthony DeAngelo
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson	25	$5.5M	D Jalen Smereck
D Alex Goligoski (NMC)	31	$5.475M
D Connor Murphy	23	$3.85M	G Adin Hill
D Michael Stone	26	UFA
D Luke Schenn	26	$1.25M
D Kevin Connauton	26	$1.0M
D Zbynek Michalek	33	UFA
D Jamie McBain	28	UFA
D Jarred Tinordi	23	RFA
G Mike Smith	34	$5.66M
G Louis Domingue	24	$1.05M
G Marek Langhamer	21	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Anthony Duclair	F Martin Hanzal	F Anthony Duclair
F Tobias Rieder	F Tobias Rieder	F Tobias Rieder
F Jordan Martinook	F Anthony Duclair	F Jordan Martinook
F Jamie McGinn	F Radim Vrbata	F Jamie McGinn
F Brad Richardson	D Alex Goligoski (NMC)	F Tyler Gaudet
F Radim Vrbata	D Oliver Ekman-Larsson	F Peter Holland
F Alexander Burmistrov	D Connor Murphy	F Alexander Burmistrov
D Alex Goligoski (NMC)	D Michael Stone	D Alex Goligoski (NMC)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson	G Louis Domingue	D Oliver Ekman-Larsson
D Connor Murphy		D Connor Murphy
G Louis Domingue		G Louis Domingue
*Stone/Hanzal omitted, expected		*Stone/Hanzal omitted, expected
to be traded		to be traded

Due to a relatively young forward group, many of the Coyotes top players are automatically exempt. That’s good news for a team that may need to protect more than three defensemen. That could, however, change if Arizona decides to trade pending unrestricted free agent Michael Stone.

Protection Lists:

I’ve opted to omit Martin Hanzal and Michael Stone. Chances are that both of these players will be with a new organization by the time March 1st rolls around. One less defender to protect gives the Coyotes a little more flexibility up front with the 7-3-1 scheme. Guys like Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder are virtual locks to be saved. I’m also leaning towards Jamie McGinn, Brad Richardson, and Alex Burmistrov, which leaves just one spot. For the time being, I’m going with Radim Vrbata. There’s been some rumors that he could be dealt as a rental piece, but the history hasn’t been great for the Czech winger other one big year in Vancouver. Other than that, Vrbata has done most of his damage with the Coyotes at the NHL level. Because of that, I believe Arizona would be wise to re-sign the 35-year-old pending UFA instead of trading him.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Louis Domingue is the logical save between the pipes.  Given the state of Coyotes goaltending, do you believe they can continue to roll with Smith, Domingue in 2017-18? Do they need to buy out Mike Smith’s contract, trade for a number one? Or, could they sign a Chad Johnson/Anders Nilsson-type to compete in a tandem?  What is the long-term solution down in the Desert?

I do not believe goaltending is the problem in Arizona. They have high-end prospects in the pipeline, but their lack of quality talent up front has hindered their production as a team. They have a promising defensive group, which can be improved, but players like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair were poised to have big seasons. Alex Burmistrov is a nice shot in the dark, and the young Russian can still prove his worth in the NHL. They are either playing catch up, or spending far too much time in their own zone. Until they improve their ability to hold the puck and score goals, goalies will continue to struggle in the Desert.

– Suraj Sukumar

Boston Bruins

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F David Krejci (NMC)	30	$7.25M	F Danton Heinen
F Patrice Bergeron (NMC)	31	$6.875M	F Noel Acciari
F David Backes (NMC)	32	$6.0M	F Peter Cehlarik
F Brad Marchand	28	$6.125M	F Colton Hargrove
F Matt Beleskey	28	$3.8M	F Austin Czarnik
F Jimmy Hayes	26	$2.3M	F Sean Kuraly
F Ryan Spooner	24	RFA	F Justin Hickman
F David Pastrnak	20	RFA	F Anton Blidh
F Riley Nash	27	$900K	F Colby Cave
F Dominic Moore	35	UFA	F Jake DeBrusk
F Tim Schaller	25	RFA	F Zachary Senyshyn
F Tyler Randell	25	RFA	F Frank Vatrano
F Zac Rinaldo	25	UFA
F Brian Ferlin	24	RFA	D Rob O’Gara
			D Matt Grzelcyk
D Zdeno Chara (NMC)	39	$4.0M	D Jeremy Lauzon
D Torey Krug	25	$5.25M	D Brandon Carlo
D Adam McQuaid	30	$2.75M	D Jakub Zboril
D Kevan Miller	28	$2.5M
D John-Michael Liles	35	UFA	G Zane McIntyre
D Colin Miller	23	$1.0M	G Daniel Vladar
D Joe Morrow	23	RFA
D Alex Grant	27	UFA
D Tommy Cross	26	UFA
D Chris Castro	24	RFA
D Linus Arnesson	21	RFA
G Tuukka Rask (NMC)	29	$7.0M
G Anton Khudobin	30	$1.2M
G Malcolm Subban	22	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F David Krejci (NMC)	F David Krejci (NMC)	F David Krejci (NMC)
F Patrice Bergeron (NMC)	F Patrice Bergeron (NMC)	F Patrice Bergeron (NMC)
F David Backes (NMC)	F David Backes (NMC)	F David Backes (NMC)
F Brad Marchand	F Brad Marchand	F Brad Marchand
F David Pastrnak	F David Pastrnak	F David Pastrnak
F Ryan Spooner	F Ryan Spooner	F Ryan Spooner
F Matt Beleskey	F Jimmy Hayes	F Matt Beleskey
D Zdeno Chara (NMC)	D Zdeno Chara (NMC)	D Zdeno Chara (NMC)
D Torey Krug	D Torey Krug	D Torey Krug
D Colin Miller	D Joe Morrow	D Colin Miller
G Tuukka Rask (NMC)	G Tuukka Rask (NMC)	G Tuukka Rask (NMC)

Given the Bruins depth up front, a 7-3-1 protection scheme seems to be a given. We all seem to agree that at least eight players are virtual locks. Suraj and I agree on Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, but those are less certain. For example, one could make the argument that Jimmy Hayes must be protected, such as Matt has done.

Protection Lists:

I’ve had the Bruins pegged with the 7-3-1 scheme since the beginning. 10 of those 11 spots have been virtually locked up since we first learned about the expansion draft. The only real debatable slot is that final one up front. It’s basically a battle between Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes. Vegas would have to pay up to select either of these guys, and although Beleskey carries a bigger cap hit, he’s still the logical save.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: You chose to protect Matt Beleskey in December, Jimmy Hayes in January.  It’s one of the more debatable final spots around the NHL, so why the change of heart this time around?

The reason I switched from Matt Beleskey to Jimmy Hayes is quite simple, Beleskey in all aspects is really just a third line player who can score. And for $3.8 million a year at 28 for a player like that isn’t really worth it. Jimmy Hayes, on the other hand, is pretty much the same player as Beleskey skill-wise, but he’s only making $2.3 million and is also two years younger. So Boston could opt to keep Matt over Jimmy, but in my opinion, Hayes would be the smarter decision granted he costs less and you’re still having the same type of player on your team.

– Matt Duscharme

Buffalo Sabres

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Ryan O’Reilly	25	$7.5M	F Jack Eichel
F Kyle Okposo (NMC)	28	$6.0M	F Hudson Fasching
F Evander Kane	25	$5.25M	F Sam Reinhart
F Matt Moulson	32	$5.0M	F Alex Nylander
F Tyler Ennis	27	$4.6M	F Eric Cornel
F Brian Gionta	37	UFA	F Vaclav Karabacek
F Marcus Foligno	25	RFA	F Evan Rodrigues
F Cody McCormick	33	UFA	F Nicholas Baptiste
F Zemgus Girgensons	22	RFA	F Justin Bailey
F Johan Larsson	24	RFA	F Jean Dupuy
F Nicolas Deslauriers	25	$775K	F William Carrier
F Cal O’Reilly	30	UFA
F Cole Schneider	26	RFA	D Casey Nelson
F Justin Kea	22	RFA	D Brendan Guhle
F Daniel Catenacci	23	RFA	D Brycen Martin
			D Erik Burgdoerfer
			G Jason Kasdorf
D Rasmus Ristolainen	21	$5.4M
D Zach Bogosian	26	$5.143M
D Dmitry Kulikov	25	UFA
D Josh Gorges	32	$3.9M
D Cody Franson	29	UFA
D Jake McCabe	23	$1.6M
D Justin Falk	28	UFA
D Taylor Fedun	28	UFA
D Brady Austin	23	RFA
G Robin Lehner	25	RFA
G Anders Nilsson	26	UFA
G Linus Ullmark	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Kyle Okposo (NMC)	F Kyle Okposo (NMC)	F Kyle Okposo (NMC)
F Ryan O’Reilly	F Tyler Ennis	F Ryan O’Reilly
F Evander Kane	F Zemgus Girgensons	F Evander Kane
F Zemgus Girgensons	F Evander Kane	F Zemgus Girgensons
D Rasmus Ristolainen	D Rasmus Ristolainen	D Rasmus Ristolainen
D Zach Bogosian	D Zach Bogosian	D Zach Bogosian
D Dmitry Kulikov	D Dmitry Kulikov	D Dmitry Kulikov
D Jake McCabe	D Jake McCabe	D Jake McCabe
G Robin Lehner	G Robin Lehner	G Robin Lehner

As you can see, we all tend to agree that Buffalo will have no choice but to protect four defensemen, despite Kulikov’s UFA status – the Sabres need to protect their investment. That puts them in a tough spot regarding who to save up front. One way or another, it seems Buffalo is destined to lose a forward.

Protection Lists:

Even though Dmitry Kulikov is slated to become a UFA, it’s important to get him protected. Some fans on social media have suggested the Sabres could circumvent the system with a pre-arrangement ensuring a refusal to sign with the expansion club, but those are the type of curious situations that can get the league involved. No instead, we protect Bogosian, Ristolainen, Kulikov, and McCabe, leaving four spots up front. Okposo and O’Reilly are locks, but debate could occur on those other two spots. Although it’s unlikely Las Vegas would have interest in Kane’s character issues, it’s too much of a risk to leave him exposed. With the last spot, I’ve chosen to protect a young 1st rounder still looking to reach his ceiling.  It’s not easy leaving Marcus Foligno exposed as he would be the perfect target for Vegas.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: For a second month in a row, you’ve opted to leave Sabres F Ryan O’Reilly exposed.  What is the thought process behind that decision?

The reason why I leave O’Reilly exposed is for one reason, Eichel. He’s going to be taking over that team and a player of his skill level is also going to receive a huge pay raise. So when you got two centers making well over $5 million (eventually Eichel will be) and with how much Buffalo is spending on wingers and defense, something has to happen or someone has to go. And O’Reilly seems like the more viable option. You could argue well two top centers is also better than one, while this is often true, for instance Crosby and Malkin. Pittsburgh has had to re tool their team every 3-4 years so it’s not always good. That’s why I choose to leave Ryan unprotected another reason too is because Buffalo can get a solid return for him at the deadline if they wish they go this route. Because like it or not, Eichel was drafted to be that guy, and leaving him on the second line for the next however many years, isn’t really doing him any good, and moving him to the top and O’Reilly on the second, you in turn have a player making north of $7 million on the second line who has a history with injuries.

– Matt Duscharme

Calgary Flames

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Johnny Gaudreau	23	$6.75M	F Matthew Tkachuk
F Sean Monahan	22	$6.375M	F Andrew Mangiapane
F Troy Brouwer	31	$4.5M	F Brett Pollock
F Michael Frolik	28	$4.3M	F Daniel Pribyl
F Mikael Backlund	27	$3.575M	F Mark Jankowski
F Matt Stajan	32	$3.125M	F Morgan Klimchuk
F Lance Bouma	26	$2.2M	F Hunter Smith
F Kris Versteeg	30	UFA	F Garnet Hathaway
F Sam Bennett	20	RFA	F Austin Carroll
F Michael Ferland	24	RFA
F Alex Chiasson	26	RFA
F Freddie Hamilton	24	$613K	D Rasmus Andersson
F Brandon Bollig	29	UFA	D Kenney Morrison
F Linden Vey	25	RFA	D Oliver Kylington
F Hunter Shinkaruk	22	$1.076M	D Keegan Kanzig
F Emile Poirier	21	$863K
			G David Rittich
D Mark Giordano	33	$6.75M	G Jon Gillies
D Dougie Hamilton	23	$5.75M	G Mason McDonald
D Dennis Wideman	33	UFA	G Nick Schneider
D T.J. Brodie	26	$4.65M
D Deryk Engelland	34	UFA
D Jyrki Jokipakka	25	RFA
D Nicklas Grossmann	31	UFA
D Brett Kulak	22	RFA
D Ryan Culkin	22	RFA
D Tyler Wotherspoon	23	RFA
G Brian Elliott	31	UFA
G Chad Johnson	30	UFA
G Tom McCollum	26	$613K

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Johnny Gaudreau	F Johnny Gaudreau	F Johnny Gaudreau
F Sean Monahan	F Sean Monahan	F Sean Monahan
F Sam Bennett	F Sam Bennett	F Sam Bennett
F Michael Frolik	F Mikael Backlund	F Michael Frolik
F Mikael Backlund	D Mark Giordano	F Mikael Backlund
F Troy Brouwer	D T.J. Brodie	F Troy Brouwer
F Michael Ferland	D Dougie Hamilton	F Hunter Shinkaruk
D Mark Giordano	D Jyrki Jokipakka	D Mark Giordano
D T.J. Brodie	G Chad Johnson	D T.J. Brodie
D Dougie Hamilton		D Dougie Hamilton
G Chad Johnson		G Chad Johnson

The Flames could technically use either protection scheme as they’re bound to lose a decent player regardless. Since they’ve got an abundance of forwards and only three defenders that truly need protection, it makes sense to use the 7-3-1 option.

Protection Lists:

In terms of locks for protection, Giordano, Brodie, and Hamilton are guaranteed. Up front, Gaudreau, Monahan, Bennett, and Backlund are virtual locks as well. With seven forwards available for protection, that leaves us three spots to work with. Brouwer and Frolik are impact top-six forwards, which make for sensible saves. I’ve gone with Michael Ferland for the final spot serving as an important role player in the bottom-six. One could make a case for Lance Bouma, Alex Chiasson, or maybe even Hunter Shinkaruk.

– Ryan Ritchie

Carolina Hurricanes

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Jordan Staal (NMC)	28	$6.0M	F Sebastian Aho
F Jeff Skinner	24	$5.725M	F Julien Gauthier
F Victor Rask	23	$4.0M	F Aleksi Saarela
F Bryan Bickell	30	UFA	F Nicolas Roy
F Elias Lindholm	21	$2.7M	F Clark Bishop
F Lee Stempniak	33	$2.5M	F Andrew Poturalski
F Viktor Stalberg	30	UFA	F Valentin Zykov
F Joakim Nordstrom	24	$1.275M	F Lucas Wallmark
F Jay McClement	33	UFA	F Sergey Tolchinsky
F Andrej Nestrasil	25	RFA	F Derek Ryan
F Teuvo Teravainen	22	RFA
F Phillip Di Giuseppe	23	RFA	D Noah Hanifin
F Martin Frk	23	RFA	D Brett Pesce
F Andrew Miller	28	UFA	D Jaccob Slavin
F Brock McGinn	22	RFA	D Tyler Ganly
F Erik Karlsson	22	RFA	D Jake Bean
F Patrick Brown	24	RFA	D Jake Chelios
F Brendan Woods	24	RFA	D Haydn Fleury
F Connor Brickley	24	RFA	D Roland McKeown
F Ty Rattie	23	RFA	D Josh Wesley
D Justin Faulk	24	$4.83M	G Alex Nedeljkovic
D Ron Hainsey	35	UFA
D Ryan Murphy	23	$788K
D Klas Dahlbeck	25	RFA
D Jakub Nakladal	28	UFA
D Matt Tennyson	26	UFA
D Keegan Lowe	23	RFA
D Trevor Carrick	22	RFA
D Dennis Robertson	25	RFA
G Cam Ward	32	$3.3M
G Eddie Lack	28	$2.75M
G Michael Leighton	35	UFA
G Daniel Altshuller	22	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Jordan Staal (NMC)	F Jordan Staal (NMC)	F Jordan Staal (NMC)
F Jeff Skinner	F Jeff Skinner	F Jeff Skinner
F Victor Rask	F Victor Rask	F Victor Rask
F Elias Lindholm	F Elias Lindholm	F Elias Lindholm
F Teuvo Teravainen	F Teuvo Teravainen	F Teuvo Teravainen
F Phillip Di Giuseppe	F Andrej Nestrasil	F Phillip Di Giuseppe
F Brock McGinn	F Phillip Di Giuseppe	F Brock McGinn
D Justin Faulk	D Justin Faulk	D Justin Faulk
D Klas Dahlbeck	D Ryan Murphy	D Klas Dahlbeck
D Ryan Murphy	D Klas Dahlbeck	D Ryan Murphy
G Cam Ward	G Cam Ward	G Cam Ward

If the rules would allow for it, the Canes would certainly love to protect extra forwards and maybe save one or two defenseman total. Fact is, most of their quality blueliners that emerged in 2015-16 are automatically exempt.

Protection Lists:

For my list, I’ve decided to protect what GM Ron Francis is building; the younger core players. Given the lack of talent on the back end needing to be saved, I’m going with Faulk, Dahlbeck, and Murphy on the back end. The obvious locks up front are Staal, Skinner, Rask, Lindholm, and Teravainen. Those last two spots are where things get a little fuzzy. Using our philosophy, it makes sense to protect both Brock McGinn and Phil Di Giuseppe. Neither has made the impact that a Nestrasil or Nordstrom has, but they could be major future pieces.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Andrej Nestrasil replaces Viktor Stalberg on your Hurricanes protection list.  Some folks have pegged Nestrasil as a decent target for Las Vegas, so what is it about his game that makes him a worthy save on Carolina’s part?

Well if many have pegged him as a person of interest for Vegas, then it’s good that he’s protected. Also, the reason I chose to over Stalberg, is because in one corner you have an aging player with a history of injuries that has never quite matched the hype. But in the other corner you have a player who is just about to enter his prime and is often consistent, so who would you rather protect? Option A or option B? Option B sounds like the smartest decision.

– Matt Duscharme

Chicago Blackhawks

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Patrick Kane (NMC)	27	$10.5M	F Tyler Motte
F Jonathan Toews (NMC)	28	$10.5M	F Nick Schmaltz
F Marian Hossa (NMC)	37	$5.275M	F Artemi Panarin
F Artem Anisimov (NMC)	28	$4.55M	F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Marcus Kruger	26	$3.083M	F Graham Knott
F Richard Panik	25	RFA	F Alexandre Fortin
F Ryan Hartman	22	$863K	F Luke Johnson
F Andrew Desjardins	30	UFA	F Martin Lundberg
F Jordin Tootoo	33	UFA	F Tanner Kero
F Dennis Rasmussen	26	RFA
F Kyle Baun	24	$625K	D Gustav Forsling
F Spencer Abbott	28	UFA	D Carl Dahlstrom
F Pierre-Cedric Labrie	29	UFA	D Robin Norell
F Brandon Mashinter	28	UFA	D Nolan Valleau
F Mark McNeill	23	RFA	D Erik Gustafsson
F Sam Carrick	24	RFA
F Michael Latta	25	RFA	G Lars Johansson
D Brent Seabrook (NMC)	31	$6.875M
D Duncan Keith (NMC)	33	$5.538M
D Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC)	29	$4.1M
D Brian Campbell	37	UFA
D Trevor van Riemsdyk	25	$825K
D Michal Kempny	26	RFA
D Michal Rozsival	38	UFA
D Ville Pokka	22	RFA
D Viktor Svedberg	25	$750K
D Dillon Fournier	22	RFA
G Corey Crawford (NMC)	31	$6.0M
G Scott Darling	27	UFA
G Mac Carruth	24	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Patrick Kane (NMC)	F Patrick Kane (NMC)	F Patrick Kane (NMC)
F Jonathan Toews (NMC)	F Jonathan Toews (NMC)	F Jonathan Toews (NMC)
F Marian Hossa (NMC)	F Marian Hossa (NMC)	F Marian Hossa (NMC)
F Artem Anisimov (NMC)	F Artem Anisimov (NMC)	F Artem Anisimov (NMC)
F Marcus Kruger	F Ryan Hartman	F Marcus Kruger
F Richard Panik	F Marcus Kruger	F Richard Panik
F Ryan Hartman	F Andrew Desjardins	F Ryan Hartman
D Duncan Keith (NMC)	D Duncan Keith (NMC)	D Duncan Keith (NMC)
D Brent Seabrook (NMC)	D Brent Seabrook (NMC)	D Brent Seabrook (NMC)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC)	D Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC)	D Niklas Hjalmarsson (NMC)
G Corey Crawford (NMC)	G Corey Crawford (NMC)	G Corey Crawford (NMC)

If you’ve tinkered around with the expansion tools, you know that Chicago has locked themselves into seven players (four forwards, three defense, one goalie) with no-movement clauses. That leaves no possibility of using the 4-4-1 scheme to protect a valuable defender, unless of course, Chicago is willing to hand Marcus Kruger to Las Vegas.

Protection Lists:

With only three spots to fill, the work is fairly limited only having to identify three forwards. Marcus Kruger is a must-save, Richard Panik is slowly working his way to a similar status (if he can keep it up), leaving just one spot. Given his emergence this year, Ryan Hartman might have the early lead, but that could always change.

– Ryan Ritchie

Colorado Avalanche

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Nathan MacKinnon	21	$6.3M	F Andreas Martinsen
F Matt Duchene	25	$6.0M	F Reid Petryk
F Gabriel Landeskog	23	$5.571M	F Mikko Rantanen
F Jarome Iginla	39	UFA	F J.T. Compher
F Carl Soderberg	31	$4.75M	F A.J. Greer
F Joe Colborne	26	$2.5M	F Julien Nantel
F Blake Comeau	30	$2.4M	F Trent Vogelhuber
F John Mitchell	31	UFA
F Mikhail Grigorenko	22	RFA	D Mason Geertsen
F Gabriel Bourque	26	UFA	D Chris Bigras
F Rene Bourque	34	UFA	D Anton Lindholm
F Jim O’Brien	27	UFA	D Sergei Boikov
F Mike Sislo	28	UFA
F Joe Whitney	28	UFA	G Spencer Martin
F Rocco Grimaldi	23	RFA
F Troy Bourke	22	RFA
F Samuel Henley	23	RFA
F Turner Elson	24	RFA
F Matt Nieto	23	RFA
F Felix Girard	22	RFA
D Erik Johnson (NMC)	28	$6.0M
D Tyson Barrie	25	$5.5M
D Francois Beauchemin (NMC)	36	$4.5M
D Fedor Tyutin	33	UFA
D Eric Gelinas	25	RFA
D Nikita Zadorov	21	RFA
D Patrick Wiercioch	26	RFA
D Mat Clark	26	UFA
D Cody Goloubef	26	UFA
D Duncan Siemens	23	RFA
D Cody Corbett	22	RFA
D Mark Barberio	26	$750K
G Semyon Varlamov	28	$5.9M
G Calvin Pickard	24	$1.0M
G Jeremy Smith	27	UFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Nathan MacKinnon	F Nathan MacKinnon	F Nathan MacKinnon
F Matt Duchene	F Matt Duchene	F Matt Duchene
F Gabriel Landeskog	F Gabriel Landeskog	F Gabriel Landeskog
F Carl Soderberg	F Mikhail Grigorenko	F Carl Soderberg
F Mikhail Grigorenko	F Carl Soderberg	F Mikhail Grigorenko
F Rocco Grimaldi	F Matt Nieto	F Rocco Grimaldi
F Joe Colborne	F Rocco Grimaldi	F Joe Colborne
D Erik Johnson (NMC)	D Erik Johnson (NMC)	D Erik Johnson (NMC)
D Tyson Barrie	D Tyson Barrie	D Tyson Barrie
D Nikita Zadorov	D Nikita Zadorov	D Nikita Zadorov
G Calvin Pickard	G Calvin Pickard	G Calvin Pickard
*Beauchemin asked to waive	*Beauchemin asked to waive	*Beauchemin asked to waive
NMC	NMC	NMC

It’s worth noting that 36-year-old defenseman Francois Beauchemin may be asked to waive his no-movement clause if Sakic can convince the veteran Las Vegas will have little interest (as we all have done). If that’s the case, Nikita Zadorov seems to be the next logical choice for protection on the back end in a 7-3-1 scheme.

Protection Lists:

Colorado is somewhat fortunate. They could technically use either protection scheme based on who they deem to be most important. Another big factor could be Francois Beauchemin. If he’s willing to waive his NMC, it sets them up perfectly as you can see. But if they’re forced to save him, the only real decision to make in a 4-4-1 scheme is whether to protect Carl Soderberg or Mikhail Grigorenko with that final spot.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Rocco Grimaldi replaces Blake Comeau on your protection list for Colorado. Does that decision change if Comeau, whose name is being bantered around in trade rumors, winds up staying in the Mile High City?

This was simply based on season progression. Looking at both players since the last Expansion Draft article, Grimaldi is showing potential, while Comeau is better off playing for a contender. He is a viable power forward, and could produce with the right linemates. Unfortunately, the Avalanche are a sinking ship right now, and Comeau has nothing to gain from staying aboard.

– Suraj Sukumar

Columbus Blue Jackets

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Brandon Saad	23	$6.0M	F Sonny Milano
F Brandon Dubinsky (NMC)	30	$5.85M	F Keegan Kolesar
F Nick Foligno (NMC)	28	$5.5M	F Pierre-Luc Dubois
F Scott Hartnell (NMC)	34	$4.75M	F Paul Bittner
F Cam Atkinson	27	$3.5M	F Justin Scott
F Boone Jenner	23	$2.9M	F Dante Salituro
F Matt Calvert	26	$2.2M	F Kole Sherwood
F William Karlsson	23	$1.0M	F Oliver Bjorkstrand
F Alexander Wennberg	22	RFA	F Jordan Maletta
F Josh Anderson	22	$863K	F Markus Hannikainen
F Lukas Sedlak	23	RFA	F Nick Moutrey
F David Clarkson (NMC – LTIR)	32	$5.25M
F Brett Gallant	27	UFA	D Zach Werenski
F Daniel Zaar	22	RFA	D Markus Nutivaara
F Jaime Sifers	33	UFA	D Dillon Heatherington
F Alex Broadhurst	23	RFA	D Gabriel Carlsson
F T.J. Tynan	24	RFA	D Dean Kukan
			D Jacob Graves
			D Blake Siebenaler
D Seth Jones	22	$5.4M	D Oleg Yevenko
D Jack Johnson	29	$4.357M
D David Savard	26	$4.25M
D Ryan Murray	23	$2.825M
D Dalton Prout	26	$1.575M
D Scott Harrington	23	RFA
D John Ramage	25	$613K
D Ryan Stanton	27	UFA
G Sergei Bobrovsky (NMC)	28	$7.425M
G Joonas Korpisalo	22	RFA
G Oscar Dansk	22	RFA
G Anton Forsberg	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Brandon Dubinsky (NMC)	F Brandon Dubinsky (NMC)	F Brandon Dubinsky (NMC)
F Nick Foligno (NMC)	F Nick Foligno (NMC)	F Nick Foligno (NMC)
F Scott Hartnell (NMC)	F Brandon Saad	F Scott Hartnell (NMC)
F Brandon Saad	F Cam Atkinson	F Brandon Saad
F Cam Atkinson	F Alexander Wennberg	F Cam Atkinson
F Alexander Wennberg	F Boone Jenner	F Alexander Wennberg
F Boone Jenner	F Josh Anderson	F Boone Jenner
D Seth Jones	D Seth Jones	D Seth Jones
D Ryan Murray	D Jack Johnson	D Ryan Murray
D David Savard	D Ryan Murray	D David Savard
G Sergei Bobrovsky	G Sergei Bobrovsky	G Sergei Bobrovsky
	*Scott Hartnell waives NMC

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the standings over previous years, but Columbus boasts one of the deeper groups in the NHL. No matter which protection scheme they choose, they stand to lose a quality player.

Protection Lists:

Working with what’s in front of us at the moment, Scott Hartnell and his NMC are still in the mix. The forced save leaves names like William Karlsson and Lukas Sedlak on the outside looking in. That could change if Jarmo can get Hartnell to either waive his no-move or find another team that wants him.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: If Scott Hartnell were to waive his no-move clause, it would open up an extra slot the Blue Jackets could desperately use.  You’ve chosen to protect Josh Anderson, but how close is that battle for the final spot with guys like William Karlsson and Lukas Sedlak?

The reason I had Hartnell waive his NMC, is quite simple, Columbus want’s to take the youth route, and after this years season which was mostly lead by their youth, why not continue that trend? Hartnell is an aging player in a young man’s game now. If Vegas were to take him they have a solid second line player who will also help them reach the cap floor. The other reason I chose to do that and protect Josh Anderson is due to the fact, Columbus has a plethora of young talent ready to make the jump next season, and while Josh has played a fair amount of time this season, he’s going to be a regular next year and one of the younger players in the AHL is going to take a spot from someone, so why not build the competition for the final spot between your youth, and the only way to do so is to move out a player, and Hartnell seems the best fit for that. In regards to Sedlak and Karlsson, either of them could take Anderson’s spot on the protection list, that’s how skilled and youthful Columbus has become.

– Matt Duscharme

Dallas Stars

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Jason Spezza (NMC)	33	$7.5M	F Devin Shore
F Patrick Sharp	34	UFA	F Mattias Janmark
F Tyler Seguin	24	$5.75M	F Denis Gurianov
F Jamie Benn (NMC)	27	$9.5M	F Jason Dickinson
F Ales Hemsky	33	UFA	F Remi Elie
F Cody Eakin	25	$3.85M	F Cole Ully
F Antoine Roussel	26	$2.0M
F Jiri Hudler	32	UFA	D Ondrej Vala
F Patrick Eaves	32	UFA	D Julius Honka
F Lauri Korpikoski	30	UFA	D Niklas Hansson
F Adam Cracknell	31	UFA	D Chris Martenet
F Brett Ritchie	23	RFA
F Radek Faksa	22	RFA	G Phillippe Desrosiers
F Curtis McKenzie	25	RFA
F Gemel Smith	22	RFA
F Justin Dowling	26	RFA
F Travis Morin	32	UFA
F Matej Stransky	23	RFA
D John Klingberg	24	$4.25M
D Dan Hamhuis	33	$3.75M
D Johnny Oduya	35	UFA
D Jordie Benn	29	$1.1M
D Jamie Oleksiak	23	RFA
D Patrik Nemeth	24	RFA
D Esa Lindell	22	RFA
D Stephen Johns	24	$725K
D Andrew Bodnarchuk	28	$725K
D Ludwig Bystrom	22	RFA
D Mattias Backman	24	RFA
D Nick Ebert	22	RFA
D Dustin Stevenson	27	UFA
D Justin Hache	22	RFA
G Kari Lehtonen	32	$5.9M
G Antti Niemi	33	$4.5M
G Justin Peters	29	UFA
G Henri Kiviaho	22	RFA
G Maxime Lagace	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Jason Spezza (NMC)	F Jason Spezza (NMC)	F Jason Spezza (NMC)
F Jamie Benn (NMC)	F Jamie Benn (NMC)	F Jamie Benn (NMC)
F Tyler Seguin	F Tyler Seguin	F Tyler Seguin
F Cody Eakin	F Antoine Roussel	F Cody Eakin
F Radek Faksa	D John Klingberg	F Radek Faksa
F Brett Ritchie	D Esa Lindell	F Brett Ritchie
F Antoine Roussel	D Jamie Oleksiak	F Antoine Roussel
D John Klingberg	D Stephen Johns	D John Klingberg
D Esa Lindell	G Kari Lehtonen	D Esa Lindell
D Stephen Johns		D Stephen Johns
G Antti Niemi		G Antti Niemi

No surprise, one of the hottest protection list debates exists on Dallas’ blue line. Beyond John Klingberg, you’d hesitate to call anyone a lock. They’ve got Stephen Johns, Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak, Dan Hamhuis, Johnny Oduya, Jordie Benn, and Patrik Nemeth (among others) competing for two spots. This is a decision that could go down to the wire in terms of performance in 2016-17.

Protection Lists:

For this list, we’re assuming GM Jim Nill has every intent to keep his top talent together since they’re in the middle of a Stanley Cup window. That means protecting the likes of Cody Eakin, Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, and Antoine Roussel. On the blue line, there are a handful of players of similar talent level that could be debated upon. Logical selections have gotta be Klingberg and Johns. That third slot is a wild-card between Nemeth, Lindell, Oleksiak, Benn, and Hamhuis – Lindell is leading that group so far.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: You’ve switched from a 7-3-1 protection scheme to a 4-4-1 in Dallas. Reasoning? Explanation?

Last mock I had Dallas as a 7-3-1 scheme because then there were only small glimpses of Lindell, Johns, and Oleksiak, but as the season has rolled on so has my opinion on Dallas’ defense which is why I went with a 4-4-1 scheme. This way Dallas can protect Klingberg, Lindell, Oleksiak and Johns instead of leaving one of their top defenseman exposed, cause Dallas doesn’t have a d-core like they did last year, so holding onto talent from the back end for this team is very crucial now.

– Matt Duscharme

Detroit Red Wings

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Henrik Zetterberg	36	$6.083M	F Dylan Larkin
F Frans Nielsen (NMC)	32	$5.25M	F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Gustav Nyquist	27	$4.75M	F Dylan Sadowy
F Justin Abdelkader	29	$4.25M	F Givani Smith
F Darren Helm	29	$3.85M	F Axel Holmstrom
F Tomas Tatar	25	RFA	F Dominic Turgeon
F Thomas Vanek	32	UFA	F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Riley Sheahan	24	$2.075M	F Zach Nastasiuk
F Drew Miller	32	UFA	F Matt Lorito
F Steve Ott	34	UFA
F Luke Glendening	27	$1.8M	D Villi Saarijarvi
F Andreas Athanasiou	22	RFA	D Filip Hronek
F Johan Franzan (LTIR)	36	$3.955M	D Brian Lashoff
F Joe Vitale (LTIR)	31	UFA	D Daniel Renouf
F Tomas Jurco	23	RFA	D Robbie Russo
F Tomas Nosek	24	$613K	D Joe Hicketts
F Eric Tangradi	27	$650K
F Ben Street	29	UFA	G Jake Paterson
F Anthony Mantha	22	$863K
F Mitch Callahan	25	RFA
D Mike Green	31	$6.0M
D Danny DeKeyser	26	$5.0M
D Niklas Kronwall	35	$4.75M
D Jonathan Ericsson	32	$4.25M
D Brendan Smith	27	UFA
D Alexey Marchenko	24	$1.45M
D Xavier Ouellet	23	RFA
D Ryan Sproul	23	$625K
D Nick Jensen	26	RFA
G Jimmy Howard	32	$5.292M
G Petr Mrazek	24	$4.0M
G Eddie Pasquale	25	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Frans Nielsen (NMC)	F Frans Nielsen (NMC)	F Frans Nielsen (NMC)
F Henrik Zetterberg	F Henrik Zetterberg	F Henrik Zetterberg
F Gustav Nyquist	F Gustav Nyquist	F Gustav Nyquist
F Tomas Tatar	F Anthony Mantha	F Tomas Tatar
F Justin Abdelkader	F Tomas Tatar	F Justin Abdelkader
F Riley Sheahan	F Riley Sheahan	F Andreas Athanasiou
F Anthony Mantha	F Justin Abdelkader	F Anthony Mantha
D Niklas Kronwall	D Mike Green	D Niklas Kronwall
D Mike Green	D Danny DeKeyser	D Mike Green
D Danny DeKeyser	D Jonathan Ericsson	D Ryan Sproul
G Petr Mrazek	G Petr Mrazek	G Petr Mrazek

The Red Wings would likely love to save upwards of four, maybe even five defensemen with a couple of guys just starting to make an impact. Unfortunately, they’ve got far too many forwards to take care of, leaving them with the 7-3-1 scheme.

Protection Lists:

My thought process behind the list is preserving the most important players, even though it leaves a few key guys on the outside looking in. The Red Wings would surely love to protect Athanasiou, Helm, and Glendening, among others, but numbers don’t seem to support it. To save any of those forwards, it means exposing the likes of Riley Sheahan or Anthony Mantha. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Red Wings make a move which allows them to save Athanasiou, Sheahan, and Mantha

The toughest selection was that final defensive slot. We’ve opted to go with Niklas Kronwall this time around – thinking it might be unwise to leave the 35-year-old unprotected, despite his age. Detroit would probably love to protect Nick Jensen, Ryan Sproul, and Xavier Ouellet as well, so who knows which direction they head in.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: You’ve opted to switch Ryan Sproul in favor of Danny DeKeyser in Detroit. Surely, the Red Wings would love to protect both. Any chance the Red Wings explore the possibility of leaving an aging Niklas Kronwall exposed? or, is it too risky?

I think the leadership of a Kronwall is too good to part with. We have seen plenty of teams struggle without the right experience on the roster, and Kronwall provides just that. DeKeyser is a hefty contract based on his production, and the Red Wings have plenty to gain from a younger, right-handed shooter like Sproul. Of the three, DeKeyser is the one who should be risked on the market.

– Suraj Sukumar

Edmonton Oilers

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Jordan Eberle	26	$6.0M	F Connor McDavid
F Milan Lucic (NMC)	28	$6.0M	F Jesse Puljujarvi
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	23	$6.0M	F Anton Slepyshev
F Benoit Pouliot	30	$4.0M	F Drake Caggiula
F Matt Hendricks	35	UFA	F Patrick Russell
F Mark Letestu	31	$1.8M	F Jere Sallinen
F Patrick Maroon	28	$1.5M	F Kyle Platzer
F Zack Kassian	25	RFA	F Greg Chase
F Anton Lander	25	UFA	F Zach Pochiro
F Leon Draisaitl	20	RFA	F Braden Christoffer
F Iiro Pakarinen	25	RFA
F Tyler Pitlick	24	RFA	D Matthew Benning
F Taylor Beck	25	RFA	D Darnell Nurse
F Jujhar Khaira	22	RFA	D Ethan Bear
F Henrik Samuelsson	22	RFA	D Caleb Jones
F Bogdan Yakimov	22	RFA	D Joey Laleggia
			D Ben Betker
D Andrej Sekera (NMC)	30	$5.5M
D Oscar Klefbom	23	$4.167M	G Nick Ellis
D Adam Larsson	23	$4.167M	G Eetu Laurikainen
D Mark Fayne	29	$3.625M
D Kris Russell	29	UFA
D Brandon Davidson	25	$1.425M
D Eric Gryba	28	UFA
D Andrew Ference (LTIR)	37	UFA
D Mark Fraser	30	UFA
D Griffin Reinhart	22	RFA
D Dillon Simpson	23	RFA
D David Musil	23	RFA
D Jordan Oesterle	24	RFA
G Cam Talbot (NMC)	29	$4.167M
G Jonas Gustavsson	32	UFA
G Laurent Brossoit	23	$750K

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Milan Lucic (NMC)	F Milan Lucic (NMC)	F Milan Lucic (NMC)
F Leon Draisaitl	F Leon Draisaitl	F Leon Draisaitl
F Jordan Eberle	F Jordan Eberle	F Jordan Eberle
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
F Benoit Pouliot	D Andrej Sekera (NMC)	F Benoit Pouliot
F Zack Kassian	D Adam Larsson	F Zack Kassian
F Patrick Maroon	D Kris Russell	F Patrick Maroon
D Andrej Sekera (NMC)	D Oscar Klefbom	D Andrej Sekera (NMC)
D Adam Larsson	G Cam Talbot (NMC)	D Adam Larsson
D Oscar Klefbom		D Oscar Klefbom
G Cam Talbot (NMC)		G Cam Talbot (NMC)

GM Peter Chiarelli has set himself up beautifully for the expansion draft. The Oilers are one of the few teams where a 7-3-1 scheme will protect just the right players, leaving few guys available that would be a devastating loss. The only real potential to have quality talent plucked is between the pipes with top prospect Laurent Brossoit – although the more Talbot performs, the easier that loss would be to deal with.

Protection Lists:

nine of 11 spots are spoken for even though only three actual NMC’s exist. Eberle, Lucic, Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl, and Pouliot are virtual locks up front. Sekera, Klefbom, and Larsson are the only defensemen that need protection, leaving just two forward spots up for grabs. If Edmonton wants to keep the current group together that is having so much success, it makes sense to protect both Zack Kassian and Patrick Maroon.

– Ryan Ritchie

Florida Panthers

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Aleksander Barkov	21	$5.9M	F Denis Malgin
F Vincent Trocheck	23	$4.75M	F Jared McCann
F Nick Bjugstad	24	$4.1M	F Kyle Rau
F Jussi Jokinen	33	$4.0M	F Jayce Hawryluk
F Jaromir Jagr	44	UFA	F Dryden Hunt
F Reilly Smith	25	$5.0M	F Juho Lammikko
F Jonathan Huberdeau	23	$5.9M	F Tim Bozon
F Derek MacKenzie	35	$1.375M	F Chase Balisy
F Colton Sceviour	27	$950K
F Shane Harper	27	UFA	D Michael Matheson
F Greg McKegg	24	RFA	D Ian McCoshen
F Shawn Thornton	39	UFA	D Thomas Schemitsch
F Jonathan Marchessault	25	$750K	D Michael Downing
F Steve Hodges	22	RFA	D Linus Hultstrom
F Brody Sutter	25	RFA	D Josh Brown
F Paul Thompson	27	UFA
F Michael Sgarbossa	24	RFA	G Samuel Montembeault
			G Colin Stevens
D Keith Yandle (NMC)	30	$6.35M
D Jason Demers	28	$4.5M
D Mark Pysyk	24	RFA
D Alex Petrovic	24	RFA
D Aaron Ekblad	20	$7.5M
D Dylan McIlrath	24	RFA
D Jakub Kindl	29	UFA
D MacKenzie Weegar	22	RFA
D Brent Regner	27	UFA
G Roberto Luongo	37	$4.533M
G James Reimer	28	$3.4M
G Reto Berra	29	UFA
G Mike McKenna	33	UFA
G Sam Brittain	24	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Aleksander Barkov	F Aleksander Barkov	F Aleksander Barkov
F Jonathan Huberdeau	F Jonathan Huberdeau	F Jonathan Huberdeau
F Vincent Trocheck	F Vincent Trocheck	F Vincent Trocheck
F Reilly Smith	F Reilly Smith	F Reilly Smith
F Jonathan Marchessault	F Jonathan Marchessault	F Jonathan Marchessault
F Nick Bjugstad	F Nick Bjugstad	F Nick Bjugstad
F Jussi Jokinen	F Jussi Jokinen	F Jussi Jokinen
D Keith Yandle (NMC)	D Keith Yandle (NMC)	D Keith Yandle (NMC)
D Aaron Ekblad	D Aaron Ekblad	D Aaron Ekblad
D Jason Demers	D Alex Petrovic	D Jason Demers
G James Reimer	G Roberto Luongo	G Roberto Luongo

While the Panthers could lose a decent player in the expansion draft, they’re not in the uncomfortable position that many other clubs find themselves in. As it stands, the 7-3-1 scheme protects just the right players, leaving maybe one or two guys exposed that you’d probably like to keep, but are at least replaceable.

Protection Lists:

Just entering their Stanley Cup window, Florida must protect it’s most important players. Barkov, Trocheck, Bjugstad, Huberdeau, and Smith are obvious locks. Marchessault is working his way into a lock based off his hot start, and we’re including veteran Jussi Jokinen. Many are projecting he be left unprotected, but the dude just tallied 61 points in 2015-16, let’s be real here. On the back end, I’ve opted to protect Jason Demers instead of Alex Petrovic this time around. Florida could go either way here.

– Ryan Ritchie

Los Angeles Kings

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Anze Kopitar (NMC)	29	$10.0M	F Spencer Watson
F Dustin Brown	31	$5.875M	F Adrian Kempe
F Jeff Carter	31	$5.273M	F Matt Luff
F Marian Gaborik	34	$4.875M	F Jonny Brodzinski
F Tyler Toffoli	24	RFA	F Michael Amadio
F Trevor Lewis	29	$2.0M	F Joel Lowry
F Dwight King	27	UFA	F Patrick Bjorkstrand
F Kyle Clifford	25	$1.6M
F Teddy Purcell	31	UFA	D Erik Cernak
F Tanner Pearson	24	RFA	D Jacob Moverare
F Jordan Nolan	27	$950K	D Damir Sharipzyanov
F Nic Dowd	26	$640K	D Paul Ladue
F Nick Shore	24	RFA	D Alex Lintuniemi
F Andy Andreoff	25	RFA	D Kevin Gravel
F Devin Setoguchi	28	UFA	D Zac Leslie
F Michael Mersch	24	RFA	D Kurtis MacDermid
F Justin Auger	22	RFA
F Andrew Crescenzi	24	RFA
D Drew Doughty	26	$7.0M
D Alec Martinez	29	$4.0M
D Jake Muzzin	27	$4.0M
D Matt Greene	33	$2.5M
D Brayden McNabb	25	$1.7M
D Tom Gilbert	33	UFA
D Derek Forbort	24	$650K
D Rob Scuderi	37	UFA
D Zach Trotman	26	RFA
D Vincent Loverde	27	UFA
D Ernest Schilling	28	UFA
G Jonathan Quick	30	$5.8M
G Jeff Zatkoff	29	$900K
G Jack Campbell	24	$613K
G Peter Budaj	34	UFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Anze Kopitar (NMC)	F Anze Kopitar (NMC)	F Anze Kopitar (NMC)
F Jeff Carter	F Jeff Carter	F Jeff Carter
F Tyler Toffoli	F Tyler Toffoli	F Tyler Toffoli
F Tanner Pearson	F Kyle Clifford	F Tanner Pearson
D Drew Doughty	D Drew Doughty	D Drew Doughty
D Jake Muzzin	D Jake Muzzin	D Jake Muzzin
D Alec Martinez	D Alec Martinez	D Alec Martinez
D Derek Forbort	D Derek Forbort	D Derek Forbort
G Jonathan Quick	G Jonathan Quick	G Jonathan Quick

Here’s a team that could logically use either protection scheme (7-3-1 or 4-4-1). If they want to save a few extra forwards (i.e. Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, Kyle Clifford, etc.), it’ll cost them a defender such as Derek Forbort. However, if they should a 4-4-1 scheme to protect the likes of Doughty, Martinez, Muzzin, and Forbort, it leaves a few interesting players available that could interest George McPhee.

Protection Lists:

Given the emergence of Derek Forbort, it looks like all three of us have switched for the 4-4-1 protection scheme. Obvious locks include Jonathan Quick between the pipes, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, and Derek Forbort on the back end. Looking to the four spots up front, I’ve opted to go with Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, and Tanner Pearson. The thought process is that Vegas won’t have much interest in Marian Gaborik and his hefty price tag coupled with a nasty injury history. I’m sure they’d love to protect Kyle Clifford and Andy Andreoff as well, but one of those guys could be your potential loss in June.

– Ryan Ritchie

Minnesota Wild

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Zach Parise (NMC)	32	$7.538M	F Joel Eriksson Ek
F Mikko Koivu (NMC)	33	$6.75M	F Chase Lang
F Jason Pominville (NMC)	33	$5.6M	F Alex Tuch
F Eric Staal	31	$3.5M	F Sam Anas
F Charlie Coyle	24	$3.2M	F Pavel Jenys
F Mikael Granlund	24	RFA	F Mario Lucia
F Nino Niederreiter	24	RFA	F Christoph Bertschy
F Jason Zucker	24	$2.0M	F Adam Gilmour
F Chris Stewart	28	$1.15M	F Grayson Downing
F Erik Haula	25	RFA
F Teemu Pulkkinen	24	RFA	D Dylan Labbe
F Zac Dalpe	26	UFA	D Gustav Bouramman
F Jordan Schroeder	26	RFA	D Mike Rielly
F Pat Cannone	30	UFA	D Gustav Olofsson
F Brady Brassart	23	RFA	D Nick Seeler
F Kurtis Gabriel	23	RFA	D Zach Palmquist
F Tyler Graovac	23	$625K	D Hunter Warner
F Zack Mitchell	23	RFA
			G Adam Vay
D Ryan Suter (NMC)	31	$7.538M	G Steve Michalek
D Jared Spurgeon	26	$5.188M
D Jonas Brodin	23	$4.167M
D Marco Scandella	26	$4.0M
D Mathew Dumba	22	$2.55M
D Christian Folin	25	RFA
D Nate Prosser	30	UFA
D Victor Bartley	28	UFA
D Alex Gudbranson	22	RFA
D Guillaume Gelinas	23	RFA
G Devan Dubnyk	30	$4.333M
G Darcy Kuemper	26	UFA
G Alex Stalock	29	$650K

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Zach Parise (NMC)	F Zach Parise (NMC)	F Zach Parise (NMC)
F Mikko Koivu (NMC)	F Mikko Koivu (NMC)	F Mikko Koivu (NMC)
F Jason Pominville (NMC)	F Jason Pominville (NMC)	F Jason Pominville (NMC)
F Nino Niederreiter	F Nino Niederreiter	F Nino Niederreiter
F Charlie Coyle	F Erik Haula	F Charlie Coyle
F Mikael Granlund	F Mikael Granlund	F Mikael Granlund
F Eric Staal	F Eric Staal	F Eric Staal
D Ryan Suter (NMC)	D Ryan Suter (NMC)	D Ryan Suter (NMC)
D Jared Spurgeon	D Jonas Brodin	D Jonas Brodin
D Matt Dumba	D Jared Spurgeon	D Matt Dumba
G Devan Dubnyk	G Devan Dubnyk	G Devan Dubnyk

The Wild have long been pegged as a team that is destined to hand the Vegas Golden Knights one of their key players. This is because Minnesota has an overabundance of defenders and not enough room to protect them all even if they were to use a 4-4-1 scheme. It’s an interesting scenario because much of what is carrying this club is their defensive presence, but you’ve gotta wonder if they feel the pressure to move a blueliner ahead of March 1st. Only time will tell.

Protection Lists:

One way or another, the Wild are likely to lose one of two defensemen. Because of that, Minnesota can make life a little easier on themselves. Sure, they could use a 4-4-1 protection scheme and choose who to keep between Jonas Brodin or Marco Scandella. Then again, it’ll cost them three valuable exposed forwards to do so. Why not use the 7-3-1 format, protect Suter, Dumba, and Spurgeon, and let Las Vegas decide which top-four defender they’d prefer. At least that way, Minnesota can protect a few extra bodies.

Having three extra forward slots means the Wild don’t need to choose between saving Coyle or Granlund. They can save both, plus Nino Niederreiter. That 7th slot is where things get interesting. We’ve opted for an emerging Eric Staal, but other names that could contend are Jason Zucker, Erik Haula, Teemu Pulkkinen, Zac Dalpe, and Tyler Graovac.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Transferring to a 7-3-1 scheme in Minnesota, you were forced to leave an extra defender exposed.  No matter what, it seems the Wild are destined to lose a quality d-man. What is your take on the outlook of the Wild’s defensive conundrum heading into the expansion?

As everyone knows, Minnesota’s offensive core is outstanding with a lot of talent so a 7-3-1 scheme is needed to protect all of their skilled forwards moving ahead. But the bad side of that is either Spurgeon, Dumba or Scandella will be left open for picking. Spurgeon to me has always been the best defenseman out of the three with the most potential upside with Dumba very close behind him. And granted where Minnesota is placed in the standings means they’ll most likely have a bottom 15 pick in this years draft, so sending a conditional pick to Vegas to protect either Dumba or Scandella seems to be a great option as well. But one can be moved for a prospect defenseman and the other can be protected with the pick. So if Minnesota was to go that route and use what I would use, they still have two of there three best defenseman with a solid defensive prospect who will make up for the player they chose to move. But if they decide to go 4-4-1 well a lot of offensive talent is going to be left exposed and its easier to figure out what to do with three defenseman than it is seven forwards.

– Matt Duscharme

Montreal Canadiens

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Tomas Plekanec	33	$6.0M	F Artturi Lehkonen
F Alexander Radulov	30	UFA	F Martin Reway
F Max Pacioretty	27	$4.5M	F Nikita Scherbak
F Andrew Shaw	25	$3.9M	F Daniel Audette
F Brendan Gallagher	24	$3.75M	F Michael McCarron
F David Desharnais	30	UFA	F Mark MacMillan
F Alex Galchenyuk	22	RFA	F Jeremy Gregoire
F Torrey Mitchell	31	$1.2M
F Paul Byron	27	$1.167M	D Mikhail Sergachev
F Brian Flynn	28	UFA	D Noah Juulsen
F Phillip Danault	23	$913K	D Tom Parisi
F Daniel Carr	24	$725K	D Ryan Johnston
F Chris Terry	27	UFA	D Brett Lernout
F Max Friberg	23	RFA
F Bobby Farnham	27	UFA	G Michael McNiven
F Jacob de La Rose	21	RFA	G Charlie Lindgren
F Sven Andrighetto	23	RFA	G Zach Fucale
F Connor Crisp	22	RFA
F Charles Hudon	22	RFA
F Stefan Matteau	22	RFA
D Shea Weber	31	$7.587M
D Andrei Markov	37	UFA
D Jeff Petry (NMC)	28	$5.5M
D Alexei Emelin	30	$4.1M
D Nathan Beaulieu	23	RFA
D Greg Pateryn	26	$800K
D Zach Redmond	28	$613K
D Philip Samuelsson	25	RFA
D Joel Hanley	25	RFA
D Nikita Nesterov	23	RFA
D Dalton Thrower	22	RFA
G Carey Price	29	$6.5M
G Al Montoya	31	$1.063M

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Alex Galchenyuk	F Alex Galchenyuk	F Alex Galchenyuk
F Brendan Gallagher	F Max Pacioretty	F Brendan Gallagher
F Max Pacioretty	F Brendan Gallagher	F Max Pacioretty
F Tomas Plekanec	F Tomas Plekanec	F Tomas Plekanec
F Andrew Shaw	F Andrew Shaw	F Andrew Shaw
F Alex Radulov	F Alex Radulov	F Alex Radulov
F Charles Hudon	F Sven Andrighetto	F Sven Andrighetto
D Jeff Petry (NMC)	D Jeff Petry (NMC)	D Jeff Petry (NMC)
D Shea Weber	D Shea Weber	D Shea Weber
D Nathan Beaulieu	D Nathan Beaulieu	D Nathan Beaulieu
G Carey Price	G Carey Price	G Carey Price

This is admittedly one of the toughest teams to figure out. They could make an argument for using either protection scheme, and tend to have a large number of players vying for very few spots. It makes those final 2-3 forward slots a difficult choice.

Protection Lists:

On the back end, Weber, Petry, and Beaulieu are logical choices to protect. Personally, I’d prefer to save the three extra forwards opposed to keeping Emelin. I’m not even sure Las Vegas would be interested in the Russian defender.

Up front, the Habs may opt to leave Plekanec unprotected to see if they could shed the contract, but it might be wise to save the longtime Montreal forward. It also makes sense to save their newest investment in Andrew Shaw. That leaves two slots for (2) Alex Radulov, David Desharnais, Torrey Mitchell, Paul Byron, Brian Flynn, Phillip Danault, Daniel Carr, Jacob de La Rose, Sven Adrighetto, and Charles Hudon. I’m leaning towards Hudon and Radulov at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Habs opt to give Radulov a nice extension somewhere in the near future.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Sven Andrighetto replaces Charles Hudon for that final forward spot in Montreal. How close is that battle for the final slot, and who else is vying for protection?

Definitely too close to call right now. However, Andrighetto’s production at the NHL level right now is something to keep in mind. Barring an injury or a return to the AHL, Andrighetto should be able to hold that spot for the rest of the season, unless Hudon makes the jump and performs similarly. For now, we will give the edge to Andrighetto. Not to mention, that is a great looking name on a jersey.

– Suraj Sukumar

Nashville Predators

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Filip Forsberg	22	$6.0M	F Kevin Fiala
F James Neal	29	$5.0M	F Vladislav Kamenev
F Mike Fisher	36	UFA	F Yakov Trenin
F Craig Smith	27	$4.25M	F Justin Kirkland
F Ryan Johansen	24	RFA	F Anthony Richard
F Colin Wilson	27	$3.938M	F Adam Payerl
F Mike Ribeiro	36	UFA	F Frederick Gaudreau
F Calle Jarnkrok	25	$2.0M	F Michael Liambas
F Viktor Arvidsson	23	RFA
F Colton Sissons	22	$625K	D Samuel Girard
F Miikka Salomaki	23	$613K	D Frederic Allard
F Cody Bass	29	$613K	D Jack Dougherty
F Austin Watson	24	RFA	D Alexandre Carrier
F Harry Zolnierczyk	29	UFA	D Trevor Murphy
F Trevor Smith	31	$613K	D Jonathan-Ismael Diaby
F Pontus Aberg	23	RFA
F Cody McLeod	32	$1.33M	G Juuse Saros
F Derek Grant	26	UFA	G Jonas Gunnarsson
F Vernon Fiddler	36	UFA
D P.K. Subban	27	$9.0M
D Roman Josi	26	$4.0M
D Mattias Ekholm	26	$3.75M
D Ryan Ellis	25	$2.5M
D Matt Carle	32	UFA
D Anthony Bitetto	26	$613K
D Yannick Weber	28	UFA
D Petter Granberg	24	$613K
D Matt Irwin	28	$650K
D Jaynen Rissling	23	RFA
D Brad Hunt	28	UFA
D Adam Pardy	32	UFA
D Andrew O’Brien	23	RFA
G Pekka Rinne (NMC)	33	$7.0M
G Marek Mazanec	25	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Filip Forsberg	F Filip Forsberg	F Filip Forsberg
F Ryan Johansen	F Ryan Johansen	F Ryan Johansen
F James Neal	F James Neal	F James Neal
F Viktor Arvidsson	F Viktor Arvidsson	F Viktor Arvidsson
D P.K. Subban	F Craig Smith	D P.K. Subban
D Roman Josi	F Colin Wilson	D Roman Josi
D Ryan Ellis	F Calle Jarnkrok	D Ryan Ellis
D Mattias Ekholm	D Roman Josi	D Mattias Ekholm
G Pekka Rinne (NMC)	D P.K. Subban	G Pekka Rinne (NMC)
	D Mattias Ekholm
	G Pekka Rinne (NMC)

Welcome Preds fans to that exclusive club of teams bound to provide one of the better selections to Las Vegas. The conundrum is this: use a 7-3-1 scheme and lose D Mattias Ekholm, or use a 4-4-1 scheme and lose one of Colin Wilson, Craig Smith, Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrork, the list goes on.

Protection Lists:

Assuming things stay relatively normal without significant change, the 4-4-1 scheme makes a little more sense. Ekholm is far more valuable than any one of those forwards that Nashville could lose. Some have suggested James Neal be left unprotected due to his contract, but that would be a mistake for the Preds, he’s a quality goal scorer. The only real debate is who to protect with that fourth and final slot up front. Logic would have told us the fight was between Colin Wilson and Craig Smith, but it seems Viktor Arvidsson has leap-frogged both after an impressive start on Nashville’s top line.

– Ryan Ritchie

New Jersey Devils

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Taylor Hall	24	$6.0M	F Pavel Zacha
F Travis Zajac	31	$5.75M	F Blake Speers
F Mike Cammalleri	34	$5.0M	F Miles Wood
F Kyle Palmieri	25	$4.65M	F Michael Mcleod
F Adam Henrique	26	$4.0M	F John Quenneville
F Devante Smith-Pelly	24	$1.3M	F Nathan Bastian
F Jacob Josefson	25	RFA	F Nick Lappin
F P.A. Parenteau	33	UFA	F Ryan Kujawinski
F Beau Bennett	24	RFA	F Blake Coleman
F Luke Gazdic	27	UFA	F Brandon Baddock
F Ryane Clowe (NMC – LTIR)	34	$4.85M	F Blake Pietila
F Carter Camper	28	UFA	F Joseph Blandisi
F Ben Thomson	23	RFA	F Sergey Kalinin
F Petr Straka	24	RFA
F Stefan Noesen	23	RFA	D Yohann Auvitu
			D Steve Santini
D Andy Greene	33	$5.0M	D Josh Jacobs
D Ben Lovejoy	32	$2.667M	D Colton White
D John Moore	25	$1.667M	D Colby Sissons
D Kyle Quincey	31	UFA	D Vojtech Mozik
D Jon Merrill	24	$1.138M
D Damon Severson	22	RFA	G Mackenzie Blackwood
D Brandon Gormley	24	RFA	G Ken Appleby
D Andrew MacWilliam	26	UFA
D Karl Stollery	28	UFA
D Reece Scarlett	23	RFA
D Seth Helgeson	26	RFA
G Cory Schneider	30	$6.0M
G Keith Kinkaid	27	UFA
G Scott Wedgewood	24	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Taylor Hall	F Taylor Hall	F Taylor Hall
F Travis Zajac	F Travis Zajac	F Travis Zajac
F Adam Henrique	F Adam Henrique	F Adam Henrique
F Kyle Palmieri	F Mike Cammalleri	F Kyle Palmieri
D Andy Greene	D Andy Greene	D Andy Greene
D Damon Severson	D Damon Severson	D Damon Severson
D John Moore	D John Moore	D John Moore
D Jon Merrill	D Jon Merrill	D Jon Merrill
G Cory Schneider	G Cory Schneider	G Cory Schneider

GM Ray Shero has options at this point. Depending on how he feels, the Devils could use either protection scheme. The debate becomes, would you rather save D Jon Merill/or John Moore or Devante-Smith Pelly and Mike Cammalleri plus one other forward.

Truth be told, if I’m GM George McPhee, my eyes are set squarely on goaltenders Keith Kinkaid and Scott Wedgewood.

Protection Lists:

Switching to a 4-4-1 scheme this time around, we’ve still got Cory Schneider between the pipes, as well as Andy Greene, Damon Severson, John Moore, and now Jon Merrill on the back end. That means I’ve only got four forwards spots to work with, which leaves the likes of Mike Cammalleri exposed. Instead, I’m choosing to protect Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, and Kyle Palmieri.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: You’ve opted to move to a 4-4-1 protection scheme for the Devils. Jon Merrill replaces Cammalleri, Smith-Pelly, and Bennett. Was this decision performance/money related? I’m interested to hear the thought process behind the switch.

After acquiring Taylor Hall, the Devils have a lot more wiggle room up front. With the current price tags surrounding defensemen, especially young ones, the Devils need to hold on to players like Merrill. He is a good-sized defenseman, and fits the Devils system perfectly. They are already invested in several players for the near future, and they must build around them to be successful immediately. Smith-Pelly and Bennett do not fit those plans, and are looking more like bottom-six players on very good teams.

– Suraj Sukumar

New York Islanders

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F John Tavares (NMC)	26	$5.5M	F Anthony Beauvillier
F Andrew Ladd (NMC)	30	$5.5M	F Mathew Barzal
F Mikhail Grabovski	32	$5.0M	F Josh Ho-Sang
F Nikolay Kulemin	30	$4.188M	F Michael Dal Colle
F Anders Lee	26	$3.75M	F Mitch Vande Sompel
F Casey Cizikas	25	$3.35M	F Carter Verhaeghe
F Josh Bailey	27	$3.3M	F Kyle Schempp
F Cal Clutterbuck	28	$3.5M	F Ross Johnston
F Brock Nelson	25	$2.5M
F Ryan Strome	23	$2.5M	D Parker Wotherspoon
F Jason Chimera	37	$2.25M	D Devon Toews
F Shane Prince	23	$850K	D Kyle Burroughs
F Alan Quine	23	$613K
F Eric Boulton	40	UFA	G Eamon McAdam
F Ben Holmstrom	29	UFA	G Stephon Williams
F Bracken Kearns	35	UFA
F Stephen Gionta	33	UFA
F Steve Bernier	31	UFA
D Johnny Boychuk (NMC)	32	$6.0M
D Nick Leddy	25	$5.5M
D Travis Hamonic	26	$3.857M
D Thomas Hickey	27	$2.2M
D Calvin de Haan	25	RFA
D Dennis Seidenberg	35	UFA
D Ryan Pulock	22	$863K
D Scott Mayfield	24	$625K
D Adam Pelech	22	RFA
D Matt Finn	22	RFA
D Lois Leduc	22	RFA
D Jesse Graham	22	RFA
G Jaroslav Halak	31	$4.5M
G Thomas Greiss	30	$3.3M
G Jean-Francois Berube	25	RFA
G Christopher Gibson	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F John Tavares (NMC)	F John Tavares (NMC)	F John Tavares (NMC)
F Andrew Ladd (NMC)	F Andrew Ladd (NMC)	F Andrew Ladd (NMC)
F Anders Lee	F Brock Nelson	F Anders Lee
F Brock Nelson	F Ryan Strome	F Brock Nelson
F Ryan Strome	D Johnny Boychuk (NMC)	F Ryan Strome
F Josh Bailey	D Nick Leddy	F Josh Bailey
F Casey Cizikas	D Travis Hamonic	F Casey Cizikas
D Johnny Boychuk (NMC)	D Calvin de Haan	D Johnny Boychuk (NMC)
D Nick Leddy	G Thomas Greiss	D Nick Leddy
D Travis Hamonic		D Thomas Hickey
G Thomas Greiss		G Jean-Francois Berube
		*Hamonic could be traded

The New York Islanders are another team destined to hand the NHL’s 31st franchise a decent player. As it stands, they’ve got way too many defenseman with the likes of Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Travis Hamonic, Calvin de Haan, Thomas Hickey, and Ryan Pulock. Long story short, the Isles risk losing a piece on the back end.

Protection Lists:

Here’s another team that is difficult to figure out. With reason to save upwards of five defensemen, GM Garth Snow needs to make some difficult decisions. My thought process is this: If the Isles want to protect Ryan Pulock (might be wise), they could use a 4-4-1 scheme leaving both Hickey and de Haan unprotected. Then again, the highly touted prospect is yet to make any type of impact so we’re willing to bet other players rank higher on Las Vegas’ list. Given the amount of quality forwards in need of protection, Garth Snow mid as well use the 7-3-1 format and let George McPhee likely select one of Calvin de Haan or Thomas Hickey.

I was leaning towards protecting Jaroslav Halak at the start of the season after his impressive World Cup performance. Trade rumors and a demotion, however, suggest he may have an expiration date. Given the recent extension to Thomas Greiss, it seems the Isles have decided who they’ll protect.

In terms of locks to be protected, Boychuk, Leddy, and Hamonic make up the back end. Up front, Tavares, Ladd, Lee, Strome, and Nelson are safe. That leaves a couple of spots for the likes of Casey Cizikas, Josh Bailey, Shane Prince, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, the list goes on. We’ve opted to protect Cizikas and Bailey.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: You mentioned the possibility of Travis Hamonic being dealt by the Islanders. Who might be interested/good fit? Who might the Isles target in return from those teams?

I think the Winnipeg Jets was his most desirable home, but they seem to have quieted the noise surrounding Jacob Trouba. However, if that door did open again, the right pieces could finalize that deal. There is a lot more potential surrounding Trouba, but the Islanders have plenty of defensemen and forwards to go around. If they can find the right balance of players and picks, this could be a great fit for both teams.

– Suraj Sukumar

New York Rangers

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Rick Nash (NMC)	32	$7.8M	F Pavel Buchnevich
F Derek Stepan	26	$6.5M	F Jimmy Vesey
F Chris Kreider	25	$4.625M	F Ryan Gropp
F Mats Zuccarello	29	$4.5M	F Robin Kovacs
F J.T. Miller	23	$2.75M	F Adam Tambellini
F Mika Zibanejad	23	RFA	F Adam Chapie
F Kevin Hayes	24	$2.6M	F Cristoval Nieves
F Michael Grabner	29	$1.65M	F Steven Fogarty
F Brandon Pirri	25	RFA	F Malte Stromwall
F Jesper Fast	24	RFA
F Oscar Lindberg	24	RFA	D Brady Skjei
F Josh Jooris	26	RFA	D Sergey Zborovskiy
F Tanner Glass	32	UFA	D John Gilmour
F Marek Hrivik	25	RFA	D Troy Donnay
F Justin Fontaine	28	UFA	D Ryan Graves
F Chris Brown	25	RFA	D Michael Paliotta
F Nicklas Jensen	23	RFA
F Matt Puempel	23	RFA	G Brandon Halverson
D Marc Staal (NMC)	29	$5.7M
D Dan Girardi (NMC)	32	$5.5M
D Ryan McDonagh	27	$4.7M
D Kevin Klein	31	$2.9M
D Nick Holden	29	$1.65M
D Steven Kampfer	28	UFA
D Adam Clendening	23	RFA
D Chris Summers	28	UFA
D Mat Bodie	26	UFA
D Calle Andersson	22	RFA
D Tommy Hughes	24	RFA
G Henrik Lundqvist (NMC)	34	$8.5M
G Antti Raanta	27	$1.0M
G Mackenzie Skapski	22	RFA
G Magnus Hellberg	25	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Rick Nash (NMC)	F Rick Nash (NMC)	F Rick Nash (NMC)
F Derek Stepan	F Derek Stepan	F Derek Stepan
F Chris Kreider	F Chris Kreider	F Chris Kreider
F Mats Zuccarello	F Mats Zuccarello	F Mats Zuccarello
F Mika Zibanejad	F J.T. Miller	F Mika Zibanejad
F J.T. Miller	F Mika Zibanejad	F J.T. Miller
F Kevin Hayes	F Oscar Lindberg	F Kevin Hayes
D Dan Girardi (NMC)	D Dan Girardi (NMC)	D Dan Girardi (NMC)
D Marc Staal (NMC)	D Marc Staal (NMC)	D Marc Staal (NMC)
D Ryan McDonagh	D Ryan McDonagh	D Ryan McDonagh
G Henrik Lundqvist (NMC)	G Henrik Lundqvist (NMC)	G Henrik Lundqvist (NMC)

Things got interesting a few months back when the NHL announced that Rick Nash was among the names of those who needed protection in the expansion draft. Prior to that, many had pegged Nash as a player to be left exposed, and possibly selected by Vegas. Now with the inclusion of Rick Nash, the NY Rangers stands to leave a quality forward exposed.

Protection Lists:

Many of the Rangers protection slots are already accounted for. For example, King Henrik carries that NMC in goal, and so do Girardi and Staal on the back end. With just a single defensive spot open, the obvious selection is Ryan McDonagh. Looking up front, locks to be saved include Nash, Stepan, Kreider, Zuccarello, and Zibanejad. You might even say that J.T. Miller is a borderline must-save, leaving just one spot for the likes of Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri, Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fast, the list goes on. I’ve gone with Hayes, but that could change between now and June.

– Ryan Ritchie

Ottawa Senators

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Bobby Ryan (NMC)	29	$7.25M	F Logan Brown
F Mike Hoffman	26	$5.188M	F Gabriel Gagne
F Derick Brassard	29	$5.0M	F Francis Perron
F Clarke MacArthur	31	$4.65M	F Nick Paul
F Mark Stone	24	$3.5M	F Vincent Dunn
F Kyle Turris	27	$3.5M	F Chad Nehring
F Zack Smith	28	$3.25M
F Chris Neil	37	UFA	D Thomas Chabot
F Chris Kelly	35	UFA	D Andreas Englund
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau	23	RFA	D Maxime Lajoie
F Curtis Lazar	21	RFA	D Macoy Erkamps
F Casey Bailey	25	RFA	D Ben Harpur
F Tom Pyatt	29	UFA	D Cody Donaghey
F Tommy Wingels	28	UFA
F Ryan Dzingel	24	RFA	G Matt O’Connor
F Mike Blunden	29	$738K
F Phil Varone	25	RFA
F Max McCormick	24	RFA
F Ryan Rupert	22	RFA
D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)	31	$7.0M
D Erik Karlsson	26	$6.5M
D Marc Methot	31	$4.9M
D Cody Ceci	22	$2.8M
D Mark Borowiecki	27	$1.1M
D Patrick Sieloff	22	RFA
D Mikael Wikstrand	22	RFA
D Chris Wideman	26	$800K
D Mike Kostka	30	UFA
D Fredrik Claesson	23	RFA
G Craig Anderson	35	$4.2M
G Andrew Hammond	28	$1.35M
G Chris Driedger	22	RFA
G Mike Condon	26	UFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Bobby Ryan (NMC)	F Bobby Ryan (NMC)	F Bobby Ryan (NMC)
F Derick Brassard	F Derick Brassard	F Derick Brassard
F Mark Stone	F Mark Stone	F Mark Stone
F Mike Hoffman	F Mike Hoffman	F Mike Hoffman
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau	F Kyle Turris	F Jean-Gabriel Pageau
F Kyle Turris	F Jean-Gabriel Pageau	F Kyle Turris
F Zack Smith	F Curtis Lazar	F Ryan Dzingel
D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)	D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)	D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)
D Erik Karlsson	D Erik Karlsson	D Erik Karlsson
D Cody Ceci	D Cody Ceci	D Cody Ceci
G Craig Anderson	G Craig Anderson	G Craig Anderson

The Ottawa Senators could use a 4-4-1 protection scheme in order to protect their top four defensive group, but it just won’t be feasible with a plethora of forwards available. It seems Marc Methot could be the odd-man out on the back end, which may or may not interest Las Vegas in his early 30s. Don’t be surprised if the Sens use a conditional pick or prospects to get additional protection for Methot.

Protection Lists:

In the 7-3-1 format, there are five forwards that could be considered virtual locks to be saved: Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, and Kyle Turris. Things get interesting in the battle for those last two spots. J-G Pageau seems like a logical save, leaving a fight between Curtis Lazar, Zack Smith, and Ryan Dzingel for that last spot. It’s interesting because Lazar was the highest investment via the draft. Dzingel is the standout performer of the trio. But Zack Smith is the one who earned an early extension. For that reason alone, it looks like Smith could occupy that final spot.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Ryan Dzingel has replaced Curtis Lazar for that final spot up front in Ottawa. While Dzingel has emerged in 2016-17, Lazar has left some muttering the words “bust”. Is it too early to call Lazar a bust? Should the Golden Knights be looking at him as a guy who could emerge with a change of scenery?

The Ottawa Senators have a lot of talent up front. Lazar looked great at the World Junior Championships, but has struggled tremendously in the NHL. He did break his pointless streak with an assist late in January, but there is simply little faith in the young forward at the moment. Based on the Senators have little to offer from a prospect perspective, Lazar could be a great snag for the Golden Knights. The second half of the season will dictate his future in the NHL.

– Suraj Sukumar

Philadelphia Flyers

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Claude Giroux (NMC)	28	$8.275M	F Roman Lyubimov
F Jakub Voracek	27	$8.25M	F Travis Konecny
F Brayden Schenn	25	$5.125M	F Pascal Laberge
F Sean Couturier	23	$4.33M	F Nicolas Aube-Kubel
F Wayne Simmonds	28	$3.975M	F Cole Bardreau
F Matt Read	30	$3.625M	F Danick Martel
F Michael Raffl	27	$2.35M	F Tyrell Goulbourne
F Dale Weise	28	$2.35M	F Radel Fazleev
F Boyd Gordon	33	UFA
F Scott Laughton	22	RFA	D Robert Hagg
F Nick Cousins	23	RFA	D Ivan Provorov
F Taylor Leier	22	RFA	D Samuel Morin
F Chris VandeVelde	29	UFA	D Travis Sanheim
F P.E. Bellemare	31	UFA	D Reece Wilcox
F Jordan Weal	24	RFA	D Philippe Myers
F Colin McDonald	32	$638K
F Andy Miele	28	UFA	G Alex Lyon
F Chris Conner	32	UFA	G Carter Hart
F Greg Carey	26	UFA
D Mark Streit	38	UFA
D Andrew MacDonald	30	$5.0M
D Michael Del Zotto	26	UFA
D Radko Gudas	26	$3.35M
D Nick Schultz	34	UFA
D Brandon Manning	26	$975K
D Shayne Gostisbehere	23	RFA
D Jesper Pettersson	22	RFA
D T.J. Brennan	27	$625K
D Mark Alt	25	RFA
D Will O’Neill	28	$613K
G Steve Mason	28	UFA
G Michal Neuvirth	28	UFA
G Anthony Stolarz	22	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Claude Giroux (NMC)	F Claude Giroux (NMC)	F Claude Giroux (NMC)
F Jakub Voracek	F Jakub Voracek	F Jakub Voracek
F Wayne Simmonds	F Wayne Simmonds	F Wayne Simmonds
F Sean Couturier	F Sean Couturier	F Sean Couturier
F Brayden Schenn	F Brayden Schenn	F Brayden Schenn
F Michael Raffl	F Matt Read	F Michael Raffl
F Scott Laughton	F Scott Laughton	F Scott Laughton
D Shayne Gostisbehere	D Shayne Gostisbehere	D Shayne Gostisbehere
D Radko Gudas	D Mark Streit	D Radko Gudas
D Brandon Manning	D Brandon Manning	D Brandon Manning
G Steve Mason	G Anthony Stolarz	G Anthony Stolarz.

Philly has a lot of tough decisions to make in expansion. Who do they protect between the pipes? Which defenders beyond the Ghost need to be saved? Which forwards occupy those last couple of spots in a seven forward scheme? We’ve done our best to tackle these questions.

Protection Lists:

I’m opting to protect Steve Mason right now. Both Mason and Neuvirth are UFAs next summer, while 22-year-old Anthony Stolarz also remains as an option. At this point, it looks like Mason could earn another contract, but we’ll have to see how the season plays out.

On the blue line, a max of four defensemen could potentially use protection and that number dips to three if the Flyers let Michael Del Zotto walk into free agency. Philly is trending towards a younger back end, so I’ve opted to protect Gostisbehere, Gudas, and Manning.

Five forwards are virtual locks for Philadelphia: Claude Giroux (NMC), Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, and Brayden Schenn. That leaves two forward spots for a number of players. This is where the debate will be as I’ve chosen Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl. Those selections leave Matt Read, Dale Weise, Nick Cousins, Taylor Leier, and P.E. Bellemare on the outside looking in.

– Ryan Ritchie

Pittsburgh Penguins

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Evgeni Malkin (NMC)	30	$9.5M	F Thomas DiPauli
F Sidney Crosby (NMC)	29	$8.7M	F Jake Guentzel
F Phil Kessel (NMC)	29	$6.8M	F Teddy Blueger
F Patric Hornqvist	29	$4.25M	F Daniel Sprong
F Carl Hagelin	28	$4.0M	F Dominik Simon
F Chris Kunitz	37	UFA	F Conor Sheary
F Eric Fehr	31	$2.0M	F Carter Rowney
F Nick Bonino	28	UFA
F Matt Cullen	39	UFA	D Ethan Prow
F Oskar Sundqvist	22	RFA	D Lukas Bengtsson
F Josh Archibald	24	RFA
F Bryan Rust	24	$640K	G Sean Maguire
F Scott Wilson	24	$625K	G Tristan Jarry
F Tom Kuhnhackl	24	$625K
F Jean-Sebastian Dea	22	RFA
F Tom Sestito	29	UFA
F Garrett Wilson	25	RFA
F Kevin Porter	30	UFA
F Danny Kristo	26	UFA
D Kris Letang (NMC)	29	$7.25M
D Olli Maatta	22	$4.083M
D Trevor Daley	33	UFA
D Ian Cole	27	$2.1M
D Justin Schultz	26	RFA
D Derrick Pouliot	22	RFA
D Brian Dumoulin	25	RFA
D David Warsofsky	26	UFA
D Chad Ruhwedel	26	UFA
D Stuart Percy	23	RFA
D Cameron Gaunce	26	UFA
D Steve Oleksy	30	UFA
D Tim Erixon	25	RFA
G Marc-Andre Fleury (NMC)	31	$5.75M
G Matt Murray	22	$3.75M

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Sidney Crosby (NMC)	F Sidney Crosby (NMC)	F Sidney Crosby (NMC)
F Evgeni Malkin (NMC)	F Evgeni Malkin (NMC)	F Evgeni Malkin (NMC)
F Phil Kessel (NMC)	F Phil Kessel (NMC)	F Phil Kessel (NMC)
F Patric Hornqvist	F Patric Hornqvist	F Patric Hornqvist
F Nick Bonino	F Carl Hagelin	F Nick Bonino
F Carl Hagelin	F Chris Kunitz	F Carl Hagelin
F Bryan Rust	F Oskar Sundqvist	F Bryan Rust
D Kris Letang	D Kris Letang	D Kris Letang
D Olli Maatta	D Olli Maatta	D Olli Maatta
D Justin Schultz	D Justin Schultz	D Justin Schultz
G Matt Murray	G Matt Murray	G Matt Murray
*Fleury asked to waive NMC/or	*Fleury asked to waive NMC/or	*Fleury should be traded
presumed to be traded	presumed to be traded

The Penguins still have a lot of work to do ahead of the expansion draft. They need to trade Marc-Andre Fleury, or risk having to buy him out in the summer. They’ve also got a headache on the back end, which has only gotten worse over time. Heading into 2016-17, it seemed Pittsburgh would need to make a tough decision between protecting Brian Dumoulin or Derrick Pouliot. Instead what they got was an emerging Justin Schultz to further complicate matters. It’ll be interesting to see what the Pens do moving forward.

Protection Lists:

This is pure speculation, but something tells me that Pittsburgh will do a good job at hiding Pouliot the rest of 2016-17. He started the year on the long-term IR, and if they force him down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for most/or all of the season, it becomes increasingly difficult for Las Vegas to select a player with limited NHL experience.

With Pouliot on the sidelines, Pittsburgh can save Letang, Maatta, and Schultz. That leaves Ian Cole, Trevor Daley, and Brian Dumoulin available.

Picking six of the seven forwards was fairly simple. Malkin, Crosby, and Kessel have no-move clauses. Hornqvist, Bonino, and Hagelin might be considered that next tier of forwards, which leaves just one opening up front. Here’s where the serious debate begins as we’re choosing between Bryan Rust, Scott Wilson, Tom Kuhnhackl, and Garrett Wilson (among others).

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: It seems Justin Schultz continues to shine, forcing all three of us to use a protection slot on a guy who seemed his next stop was Europe. The Penguins were already facing a difficult decision between Brian Dumoulin and Derrick Pouliot on the back end heading into 2016-17. Should Pens fans be worried about losing a young, quality defender in the expansion draft?

100%. If there is anything Vegas should be chasing from current teams, it is going to be defense. However, if they want to be successful right away, they could look towards more experienced players, which would work in the Penguins’ favor. I still think Marc-Andre Fleury has a big part to play. If he does not get traded, and the Penguins are able to convince him to waive his NMC, the Golden Knights could go for the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out closer to the NHL trade deadline.

– Suraj Sukumar

Even if Pittsburgh or ourselves decided a 4-4-1 scheme instead of a 7-3-1, Pittsburgh would still be losing either Dumoulin or Pouliot. So regardless of the Pens decision, fans should definitely be worried about losing a quality young defenseman. The only way they could possibly overcome it is to do a 4-4-1 scheme and use a conditional pick to protect the left over defensemen.

– Matt Duscharme

San Jose Sharks

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Joe Thornton	37	UFA	F Marcus Sorensen
F Patrick Marleau	37	UFA	F Joonas Donskoi
F Joe Pavelski	32	$6.0M	F Timo Meier
F Logan Couture	27	$6.0M	F Nikolay Goldobin
F Mikkel Boedker	26	$4.0M	F Danny O’Regan
F Joel Ward	35	$3.275M	F Jonathon Martin
F Tomas Hertl	22	$3.0M	F Kevin Lebanc
F Buddy Robinson	25	RFA	F Alex Schoenborn
F Melker Karlsson	26	RFA	F Adam Helewka
F Chris Tierney	22	RFA	F Rourke Chartier
F Barclay Goodrow	23	RFA	F Nikita Jevpalovs
F Micheal Haley	30	UFA
F Ryan Carpenter	25	RFA	D Jeremy Roy
F Zack Stortini	31	UFA	D Patrick McNally
			D Michael Brodzinski
D Brent Burns	31	$8.0M	D Julius Bergman
D Paul Martin	35	$4.85M	D Joakim Ryan
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic	29	$4.25M	D Cavan Fitzgerald
D Justin Braun	29	$3.8M
D Brenden Dillon	25	$3.27M	G Mantas Armalis
D David Schlemko	29	$2.1M
D Mirco Mueller	21	RFA
D Tim Heed	25	RFA
D Dylan DeMelo	23	$650K
D Dan Kelly	27	UFA
G Martin Jones	26	$3.0M
G Aaron Dell	27	$625K
G Troy Grosenick	27	UFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
4 – 4 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	4 – 4 – 1
F Joe Pavelski	F Joe Thornton	F Joe Pavelski
F Tomas Hertl	F Patrick Marleau	F Tomas Hertl
F Logan Couture	F Joe Pavelski	F Logan Couture
F Melker Karlsson	F Logan Couture	F Melker Karlsson
D Brent Burns	F Mikkel Boedker	D Brent Burns
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic	F Tomas Hertl	D Marc-Edouard Vlasic
D Brenden Dillon	F Melker Karlsson	D Brenden Dillon
D Dylan DeMelo	D Brent Burns	D Dylan DeMelo
G Martin Jones	D Marc-Edouard Vlasic	G Martin Jones
	D Justin Braun
	G Martin Jones

Let the debate begin! Truth be told, the Sharks have a number of similar quality players that just happen to fall in that gray area where only a limited amount can be protected at each position. So, those final few spots up front and last spot on the blue line has multiple players vying to be saved.

The debate goes further than just players though. San Jose needs to figure out whether they plan to protect seven forwards or four-plus defenseman. The 7-3-1 scheme is most likely, but that could change depending how SJ does in 2016-17.

*Important note: Suraj and I are omitting Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Both are slated to become UFAs and I don’t think they’d be interested in either – Suraj thinks otherwise as you’ll see later on. San Jose can save the two forward spots with a safe gamble that Thornton/Marleau go untouched. The only way these lists change is if SJ reaches an extension with either before the end of the year.

Protection Lists:

This time around, I’ve opted to switch to a 4-4-1 protection scheme. Martin Jones is a lock between the pipes. On the blue line, I’m going with Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Breden Dillon, and Dylan DeMelo. That leaves just four spots up front. Without the need to protect Thornton or Marleau, we’re technically only losing the ability to protect one forward that would have previously slipped in with the 7-3-1 scheme. Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture are must-save forwards, leaving just one spot for debate. I think Melker Karlsson is worth protecting given his age/skill-set, but one could make an argument for the likes of Joel Ward, Chris Tierney, or Barclay Goodrow (among others).
– Ryan Ritchie

St. Louis Blues

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Vladimir Tarasenko	24	$7.5M	F Mackenzie MacEachern
F Paul Stastny	30	$7.0M	F Robby Fabbri
F Alexander Steen	32	$5.75M	F Jordan Kyrou
F Jaden Schwartz	24	$5.35M	F Ivan Barbashev
F Jori Lehtera	28	$4.7M	F Adam Musil
F David Perron	28	$3.75M	F Conner Bleackley
F Patrik Berglund	28	UFA	F Justin Selman
F Nail Yakupov	23	RFA	F Samuel Blais
F Ryan Reaves	29	$1.125M	F Wade Megan
F Dmitrij Jaskin	23	$1.0M
F Kyle Brodziak	32	$950K	D Jordan Schmaltz
F Scottie Upshall	33	UFA	D Colton Parayko
F Landon Ferraro	25	RFA	D Vince Dunn
F Magnus Paajarvi	25	RFA	D Thomas Vennelli
F Kenny Agostino	24	RFA	D Dmitri Sergeev
F Andrew Agozzino	25	RFA
F Jacob Doty	23	RFA	G Ville Husso
F Jordan Caron	25	RFA	G Luke Opilka
F Alex Friesen	25	RFA
D Alex Pietrangelo	26	$6.5M
D Jay Bouwmeester	33	$5.4M
D Kevin Shattenkirk	27	UFA
D Carl Gunnarsson	29	$2.9M
D Robert Bortuzzo	27	$1.15M
D Joel Edmundson	23	$1.05M
D Petteri Lindbohm	23	RFA
D Chris Butler	30	UFA
D Morgan Ellis	24	RFA
D Reid McNeill	24	RFA
G Jake Allen	26	$4.35M
G Carter Hutton	30	$1.125M
G Phoenix Copley	24	RFA
G Jordan Binnington	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Vladimir Tarasenko	F Vladimir Tarasenko	F Vladimir Tarasenko
F Jaden Schwartz	F Paul Stastny	F Jaden Schwartz
F Jori Lehtera	F Alexander Steen	F Jori Lehtera
F David Perron	F Jaden Schwartz	F David Perron
F Alexander Steen	F Jori Lehtera	F Alexander Steen
F Paul Stastny	F David Perron	F Paul Stastny
F Dmitrij Jaskin	F Patrik Berglund	F Dmitrij Jaskin
D Alex Pietrangelo	D Alex Pietrangelo	D Alex Pietrangelo
D Jay Bouwmeester	D Jay Bouwmeester	D Jay Bouwmeester
D Joel Edmundson	D Joel Edmundson	D Joel Edmundson
G Jake Allen	G Jake Allen	G Jake Allen
*Shattenkirk expected to be	*Shattenkirk expected to be	*agree with Shattenkirk
traded at some point	traded at some point

The Blues are in a tough position. If they want to save seven forwards, they likely stand to lose a quality defender. Should they choose to protect four or more defenseman, quality forwards become available. One way or another, St. Louis stands to lose a decent player unless they can wheel and deal in June to protect a few extra bodies via trade.

Protection Lists:

The way I see it is this: Four forwards, two defensemen, and goalie Jake Allen all require protection. That leaves three forwards and one d-man to fill out our list.

Looking to the back end, three players are vying for that last spot; Joel Edmundson, Petteri Lindbohm, and Carl Gunnarsson. Given his age and cap hit, it might be safe to assume Gunnarsson will be on the outside looking in. It seems Edmundson might have the early lead on Lindbohm, but we’ll have to see how the new season plays out.

Up front, those last three spots are tough to pick. Still available at this point is Paul Stastny, David Perron, Patrik Berglund (UFA), Nail Yakupov, and Dmitrij Jaskin. How exactly is St. Louis supposed to pick between that group? Right now, it seems Stastny and Jaskin might be the top two.

– Ryan Ritchie

Q: Ty Rattie was claimed off waivers by Carolina, leaving an extra forward spot for the Blues. Aside from your pick, which other players are candidates for a possible save and how close is that battle between the likes of Jaskin, Berglund, Yakupov, etc?

I am a big Ty Rattie fan, and I’m glad to see him get an opportunity with the Hurricanes. As for the Blues, they need to focus on the now, and players like Jaskin and Yakupov are still major question marks. I like Jaskin’s physical and defensive play, but Berglund’s overall ability could edge out both youngsters. For now, Jaskin gets the nod after making a good transition to the pros, and costing just $1 million next season. It would be nice to see Yakupov save his career in Las Vegas anyway.

– Suraj Sukumar

Well, Yakupov hasn’t shown St. Louis anything since coming over in the deal, so in my opinion losing him wouldn’t be a big deal. Berglund, on the other hand, is a key player the Blues need down the middle and Jaskin is a solid fourth line winger. But with that being said, fourth line fringe wingers aren’t hard to find so he can easily be replaced as well. So going forward the key player St. Louis needs to focus on out of the three is Berglund.

– Matt Duscharme

Tampa Bay Lightning

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Steven Stamkos (NMC)	26	$8.5M	F Adam Erne
F Ryan Callahan (NMC)	31	$5.8M	F Mitchell Stephens
F Valtteri Filppula (NMC)	32	$5.0M	F Matthew Peca
F Nikita Kucherov	23	$4.767M	F Anthony Cirelli
F Alex Killorn	27	$4.45M	F Dennis Yan
F Tyler Johnson	26	RFA	F Brian Hart
F Ondrej Palat	25	RFA	F Jonne Tammela
F Brian Boyle	31	UFA	F Brayden Point
F Vladislav Namestnikov	23	$1.938M	F Cameron Darcy
F Erik Condra	30	$1.25M	F Joel Vermin
F J.T. Brown	26	$1.25M
F Jonathan Drouin	21	RFA	D Dominik Masin
F Cedric Paquette	23	$813K	D Ben Thomas
F Henri Ikonen	22	RFA	D Daniel Walcott
F Gabriel Dumont	26	RFA
F Tye McGinn	26	RFA	G Adam Wilcox
F Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond	31	UFA
F Michael Bournival	24	RFA
F Mike Halmo	25	RFA
F Cory Conacher	26	UFA
F Yanni Gourde	24	RFA
F Jeremy Morin	25	RFA
F Tanner Richard	23	RFA
D Jason Garrison	31	$4.6M
D Anton Stralman	30	$4.5M
D Victor Hedman	25	$7.875M
D Braydon Coburn	31	$3.7M
D Andrej Sustr	25	RFA
D Slater Koekkoek	22	RFA
D Dylan Blujus	22	RFA
D Jake Dotchin	22	RFA
D Luke Witkowski	26	UFA
D Matt Taormina	30	UFA
D Jonathan Racine	23	RFA
G Ben Bishop	29	UFA
G Andrei Vasilevskiy	22	$3.5M
G Kristers Gudlevskis	24	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Steven Stamkos (NMC)	F Steven Stamkos (NMC)	F Steven Stamkos (NMC)
F Ryan Callahan (NMC)	F Ryan Callahan (NMC)	F Ryan Callahan (NMC)
F Valtteri Filppula (NMC)	F Valtteri Filppula (NMC)	F Valtteri Filppula (NMC)
F Nikita Kucherov	F Nikita Kucherov	F Nikita Kucherov
F Tyler Johnson	F Tyler Johnson	F Tyler Johnson
F Ondrej Palat	F Ondrej Palat	F Ondrej Palat
F Jonathan Drouin	F Jonathan Drouin	F Jonathan Drouin
D Victor Hedman	D Victor Hedman	D Victor Hedman
D Anton Stralman	D Anton Stralman	D Anton Stralman
D Andrej Sustr	D Slater Koekkoek	D Andrej Sustr
G Andrei Vasilevskiy	G Andrei Vasilevskiy	G Andrei Vasilevskiy
		*Bishop traded at deadline

Even though they’re one of the deepest teams that promise to hand Las Vegas a top selection, the Lightning’s protection list is arguably the easiest to determine. Their seven forward spots are locked in, which leaves debate for maybe one or two spots on the back end.

Ben Bishop will be omitted until he finds a new home. It’s unclear if he’ll stick around the entire year or not, but at some point, he will be moved. The 22-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy is the logical save between the pipes.

Protection Lists:

As mentioned, the forward spots are all accounted for. Between NMC’s for Stamkos, Callahan, and Filppula, it leaves just enough room to protect Kucherov, Johnson, Palat, and Drouin. Little can be done to save the likes of Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, or J.T. Brown.

Hedman is a lock on the back end obviously. The only real debate is the last two d-slots. I’m assuming Steve Yzerman might favor the likes of Sustr and Stralman over veterans Garrison and Coburn. Slater Koekkoek might also be in the mix.

– Ryan Ritchie

Toronto Maple Leafs

Available	Age	17/18	Automatically Exempt
F Joffrey Lupul	33	$5.25M	F Trevor Moore
F Nazem Kadri	26	$4.5M	F Auston Matthews
F Brooks Laich	33	UFA	F Zach Hyman
F James van Riemsdyk	27	$4.25M	F William Nylander
F Tyler Bozak	30	$4.2M	F Mitch Marner
F Milan Michalek	31	UFA	F Kasperi Kapanen
F Leo Komarov	29	$2.95M	F Frederik Gauthier
F Colin Greening	30	UFA	F Andreas Johnsson
F Matt Martin	27	$2.5M	F Nikita Soshnikov
F Kerby Rychel			F Tobias Lindberg
F Connor Brown	22	$863K	F Dmytro Timashov
F Ben Smith	22	RFA
F Brendan Leipsic	28	UFA	D Nikita Zaitsev
F Josh Leivo	22	RFA	D Travis Dermott
F Byron Froese	23	$613K	D Rinat Valiev
F Seth Griffith	23	RFA	D Justin Holl
			D Andrew Nielsen
D Morgan Rielly	22	$5.0M	G Kasimir Kaskisuo
D Jake Gardiner	26	$4.05M
D Roman Polak	30	UFA
D Martin Marincin	24	$1.25M
D Connor Carrick	22	$750K
D Viktor Loov	23	RFA
D Frank Corrado	23	RFA
D Andrew Campbell	28	UFA
D Matt Hunwick	31	UFA
G Frederik Andersen	27	$5.0M
G Curtis McElhinney	33	UFA
G Antoine Bibeau	22	RFA
G Garret Sparks	23	RFA

Ryan	Matt	Suraj
7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1	7 – 3 – 1
F Nazem Kadri	F Nazem Kadri	F Nazem Kadri
F James van Riemsdyk	F James van Riemsdyk	F James van Riemsdyk
F Leo Komarov	F Tyler Bozak	F Leo Komarov
F Connor Brown	F Connor Brown	F Connor Brown
F Matt Martin	F Leo Komarov	F Matt Martin
F Brendan Leipsic	F Brendan Leipsic	F Brendan Leipsic
F Josh Leivo	F Matt Martin	F Josh Leivo
D Morgan Rielly	D Morgan Rielly	D Morgan Rielly
D Jake Gardiner	D Jake Gardiner	D Jake Gardiner
D Connor Carrick	D Connor Carrick	D Connor Carrick
G Frederik Andersen	G Frederik Andersen	G Frederik Andersen

The Maple Leafs are one of the few teams that could use either protection scheme and have it make little difference to the quality of player left available. Given the fact there’s a handful of younger forwards who could have a future in Toronto, it might make sense to use the traditional 7-3-1 option.

Protection Lists:

In terms of locks for protections, goaltender Frederik Andersen, defenders Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, and forwards Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, and Connor Brown are safe bets. For those final three forward spots, we’re opting with Brendan Leipsic, Matt Martin, and Josh Leivo.

For that final spot on the blue line, I’ve selected Connor Carrick. Some may opt for Martin Marincin, as I did back in November. The more you watch him play though, the less worthy of a protection spot he seems to be.

– Ryan Ritchie

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