Get ready, Las Vegas, because the NHL is coming to town for more then just an awards show. Last Wednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced that the NHL will expand to 31 teams, adding their newest franchise in the bright lights of Vegas. The team has yet to reveal its name or color scheme at this time; they could be the High Rollers, Black Knights, or Pete Roses, but for now, we wait. In this article, I will take the helm of the general manager’s seat and go team-by-team and pick what I think the new franchise would look like after the expansion draft. There are a few rules that should be noted, and keep in mind that with the expansion draft a year away, trades can be made that change what players a team can save.
Expansion Draft Rules
- Las Vegas will need to draft at least 14 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goalies.
- Players that have a no movement clause through 2017-2018 must be protected by their current team.
- First and second year professionals will be exempt from selection.
- Players must have played 40 or more games in the prior season or 70 or more games in the prior two seasons.
- Teams can protect either 7 forwards, 3 defencemen, and 1 goalie or 8 skaters and one goalie.
Now that we have the key rules in place, I will go team by team and list some of the most attractive and possibly available players while staying under the salary cap of $73 million. I will be listing one forward, one defenseman, and a goalie that does not have a no-movement clause and what I would consider to be my best guess of a player that each team would make available to be drafted. Keep in mind, this is not a foolproof system, as a lot can happen with some of these players between now and next summer. A few might even be re-signed to new deals with their current teams or end up going elsewhere as free agents. This is a look at who could be available based on each team’s current rosters at the time of this writing.
Anaheim Ducks
(F) Brandon Pirri
(D) Simon Despres
(G) Anton Khudobin
Arizona Coyotes
(F) Steve Downie
(D) Michael Stone
(G) Anders Lindback
Boston Bruins
(F) David Pastrnak
(D) Adam McQuaid
(G) Jonas Gustavsson
Buffalo Sabres
(F) Zemgus Girgensons
(D) Josh Gorges
(G) Linus Ullmark
Calgary Flames
(F) Lance Bouma
(D) T.J. Brodie
(G) Joni Ortio
Carolina Hurricanes
(F) Andrej Nestrasil
(D) Michal Jordan
(G) Eddie Lack
Chicago Blackhawks
(F) Richard Panik
(D) Trevor Van Riemsdyk
(G) Scott Darling
Colorado Avalanche
(F) Mikhail Grigorenko
(D) Brad Staurt
(G) Calvin Pickard
Columbus Blue Jackets
(F) Jared Boll
(D) Jack Johnson
(G) Curtis McElhinney
Dallas Stars
(F) Radek Faksa
(D) Jordie Benn
(G) Kari Lehtonen
Detroit Red Wings
(F) Luke Glendening
(D) Brendan Smith
(G) Jimmy Howard
Edmonton Oilers
(F) Nail Yakupov
(D) Andrew Ference
(G) Laurent Brassoit
Florida Panthers
(F) Reilly Smith
(D) Jakub Kindl
(G) Reto Berra
Los Angeles Kings
(F) Tanner Pearson
(D) Brayden McNabb
(G) Jhonas Enroth
Minnesota Wild
(F) Zac Dalpe
(D) Marco Scandella
(G) Darcy Keumper
Montreal Canadians
(F) Paul Byron
(D) Nathan Beaulieu
(G) Mike Condon
Nashville Predators
(F) Gabriel Bourque
(D) Ryan Ellis
(G) Carter Hutton
New Jersey Devils
(F) Devante Smith-Pelly
(D) David Schlemko
(G) Keith Kinkaid
New York Islanders
(F) Matt Martin
(D) Calvin De Haan
(G) Thomas Greiss
New York Rangers
(F) J.T. Miller
(D) Kevin Klein
(G) Antti Raanta
Ottawa Senators
(F) Mike Hoffman
(D) Mark Borowiecki
(G) Andrew Hammond
Philadelphia Flyers
(F) Michael Raffl
(D) Radko Gudas
(G) Michal Neuvirth
Pittsburgh Penguins
(F) Beau Bennett
(D) Brian Dumoulin
(G) Matt Murray
St. Louis Blues
(F) Jaden Schwartz
(D) Robert Bortuzzo
(G) Jake Allen
San Jose Sharks
(F) Joonas Donskoi
(D) Brenden Dillon
(G) James Reimer
Tampa Bay Lightning
(F) Brian Boyle
(D) Matthew Carle
(G) Ben Bishop
Toronto Maple Leafs
(F) Colin Greening
(D) Matt Hunwick
(G) Johnathan Bernier
Vancouver Canucks
(F) Jannik Hansen
(D) Matt Bartkowski
(G) Jacob Markstrom
Washington Capitals
(F) Daniel Winnik
(D) Karl Alzner
(G) Philipp Grubauer
Winnipeg Jets
(F) Chris Thorburn
(D) Mark Staurt
(G) Ondrej Pavelec
My Final Expansion Draft selections:
Centers
Zemgus Girgensons
Andrej Nestrasil
Mikhail Grigorenko
Radek Faksa
J.T. Miller
Daniel Winnik
Left Wings
Tanner Pearson
Matt Martin
Mike Hoffman
Jaden Schwartz
Colin Greening
Right Wings
David Pastrnak
Richard Panik
Nail Yakupov
Reilly Smith
Steve Downie
Jannik Hansen
Defensemen
Simon Despres
T.J Brodie
Jack Johnson
Brendan Smith
Marco Scandella
Ryan Ellis
David Schlemko
Radko Gudas
Brenden Dillon
Mark Stuart
Goalies
Mike Condon
Matt Murray
Ben Bishop
There you have it the newest team to enter the NHL in Las Vegas, and under the salary cap at $69.587 million! While the league aims to make this the most competitive expansion team to enter the league, it is not a perfect system. Teams will have a lot of decisions to make with their players, like Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. With their current setup they could see a very promising goalie or goalie prospect leave their team and not be compensated in any way. Some teams may be forced to make the tough decisions of protecting an aging veteran in favor of younger talent moving up the ranks. Either way, this will make for an interesting and exciting time that is right on the horizon for hockey fans.
Stats have been compiled from generalfanager.com and nhl.com
