Wednesday, May 31, 2017

NHL Expansion Draft - Colorado Avalanche

Expansion Draft Rules

All information from NHL.com

Protected Lists

  • Clubs can protect one of two options:
    • Seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender
    • Eight skaters and one goaltender
  • All players with No-Movement clauses in their contract have to be protected unless they waive their clauses
  • All first- and second-year pro players will be exempt from selections and don't have to be protected

Player Exposure Requirements

  • Clubs must meet minimum requirements for exposure in the Expansion Draft:
    • One defenseman who is under contract in 2017-18 and played in 40 or more games in 2016-17 or played in 70 or more games in two prior seasons.
    • Two forwards who meet the same requirements as above
    • One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18.

Vegas Requirements

  • Must select one player from each existing club for a total of 30 players
  • Must select at least 14 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goaltenders
  • Must have a minimum 20 players under contract for the 2017-18 season
  • Must reach the salary cap floor and cannot exceed the cap ceiling
  • May not buy out any players selected in the Expansion Draft before the first summer following their first full season

Protection List

  • NMC= No Movement Clause
  • NTC= No Trade Clause
  • Red = Who I would protect

Forwards

POS
Age
Name
Cap Hit
Expiration
40/70
C
21
Nathan MacKinnon
$6,300,000
UFA – 2023
X
C
26
Matt Duchene
$6,000,000
UFA – 2019
X
LW
24
Gabriel Landeskog
$5,571,429
UFA – 2021
X
C
31
Carl Soderberg
$4,750,000
UFA – 2020
X
C
27
Joe Colborne
$2,500,000
UFA – 2018
X
LW
31
Blake Comeau
$2,400,000
UFA – 2018
X
C
32
John Mitchell
$1,800,000
UFA – 2017
X
C
22
Mikhail Grigorenko
$1,300,000
RFA – 2017
X
C
24
Rocco Grimaldi
$925,000
RFA – 2017
36GR
LW
26
Gabriel Bourque
$800,000
UFA – 2017
34GR
LW
24
Matt Nieto
$735,000
RFA – 2017
X
LW
35
Rene Bourque
$650,000
UFA – 2017
X
RW
24
Sven Andrighetto
$650,000
RFA – 2017
X
C
22
Felix Girard
$631,667
RFA – 2017
40GR
C
22
Troy Bourke
$631,667
RFA – 2017
40GR
LW
24
Brendan Ranford
$625,000
UFA – 2017
40GR
RW
29
Mike Sislo
$600,000
UFA – 2017
40GR
C
28
Jim O’Brien
$600,000
UFA – 2017
40GR
C
23
Samuel Henley
$587,667
RFA – 2017
39GR
LW
24
Turner Elson
$575,000
RFA – 2017
40GR






















Defensemen

POS
Age
Name
Cap Hit
Expiration
40/70
D
29
NMC – Erik Johnson
$6,000,000
UFA – 2023
X
D
25
Tyson Barrie
$5,500,000
UFA – 2020
X
D
36
NMC – Francois Beauchemin
$4,500,000
UFA – 2018
X
D
33
Fedor Tyutin
$2,000,000
UFA – 2017
X
D
25
Eric Gelinas
$1,575,000
RFA – 2017
3GR
D
21
Nikita Zadorov
$894,167
RFA – 2017
X
D
23
Duncan Siemens
$874,125
RFA – 2017
37GR
D
26
Patrick Wiercioch
$800,000
RFA – 2017
X
D
27
Mark Barberio
$750,000
UFA – 2018
X
D
27
Cody Goloubef
$750,000
UFA – 2017
X
D
26
Mat Clark
$600,000
UFA – 2017
40GR













Goaltenders

POS
Age
Name
Cap Hit
Expiration
G
29
Semyon Varlamov
$5,900,000
UFA – 2019
G
25
Calvin Pickard
$1,000,000
RFA – 2018
G
27
Joe Cannata

RFA – 2017
G
28
Jeremy Smith

UFA – 2017

Exempt List

  • C J.T. Compher
  • RW Mikko Rantanen
  • LW A.J. Greer
  • C Julien Nantel
  • C Reid Petryk
  • RW Trent Vogelhuber
  • C J.C. Beaudin
  • D Chris Bigras
  • D Anton Linholm
  • D Sergei Boikov
  • D Mason Geertsen
  • D Nicolas Meloche
  • G Spencer Martin

Explanation of my Projected List

  • I think that the Avalanche will go the route of protecting eight skaters largely because of the no-move clause that Francois Beauchemin has.  If they didn't have to protect him, I think they would get away with only protecting three defensemen and be able to protect seven forwards. At forward, they are certainly going to protect Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, and Gabirel Landeskog.  For their fourth forward, I think they will protect Mikhail Grigorenko despite not having a contract for next season.  On defense, both Beauchemin and Erik Johnson have no-move clauses so they are protected, Tyson Barrie will be protected considering he is their best defenseman and is young, and I think they will protect Nikita Zadorov who could be an anchor in their defensive unit in the future.  At goaltender, I was torn between protecting Calvin Pickard or Semyon Varlamov and ultimately went with Pickard because he is younger than Varlamov.  I'm not certain that Pickard is the Avalanche's goaltender of the future, but I think he is more valuable than Varlamov and I doubt Vegas would take on Varlamov's contract.
  • With who I chose to protect, Colorado will leave three forwards with term left exposed in Carl Soderberg, Joe Colborne, and Blake Comeau, plus five more who are RFAs.  On defense, only Mark Barberio will be left unprotected with term left on his contract.  There are also three more defensemen who are RFAs.  In net, Semyon Varlamov will be exposed and he has two years left at $5.9 million per season.
  • I think that Colorado will be absolutely fine after the Expansion Draft.  They are one of the worst teams in the league, although probably not as bad as their record indicates, so there isn't much talent for Vegas to pick from.  If Vegas takes Carl Soderberg, arguably the most talented Avalanche player available, it would probably help Colorado as he has three years left on his contract which pays him $4.75 million per season.  Having that contract off their books could come in handy.  Drafting Semyon Varlamov would probably be an attractive option for Vegas but I think that they will pursue youth as much as possible and probably aren't willing to take on a $5.9 million contract for a player who is injured as often as he is.  It seems pretty evident that the Avalanche may trade Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog away this offseason before the Expansion Draft which will change the team's plan at the Expansion Draft.  
*All cap and salary information come from CapFriendly.com*

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