NHL Expansion Draft - Chicago Blackhawks

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
RW	28	NMC – Patrick Kane	$10,500,000	UFA – 2023	X
C	28	NMC – Jonathan Toews	$10,500,000	UFA – 2023	X
RW	38	NMC – Marian Hossa	$5,275,000	UFA – 2021	X
C	28	NMC – Artem Anisimov	$4,550,000	UFA – 2021	X
C	26	Marcus Kruger	$3,083,333	UFA – 2019	X
RW	24	Tomas Jurco	$900,000	RFA – 2017	X
RW	26	Richard Panik	$875,000	RFA – 2017	X
RW	22	Ryan Harman	$863,333	RFA – 2018	X
C	30	Andrew Desjardins	$800,000	UFA – 2017	X
RW	34	Jordin Tootoo	$700,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	23	Kenton Helgesen	$626,667	RFA – 2017	40GR
C	25	Michael Latta	$600,000	RFA – 2017	27GR
LW	30	Pierre-Cedric Labrie	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
LW	28	Brandon Mashinter	$575,000	UFA – 2017	27GR
C	26	Dennis Rasmussen	$575,000	RFA – 2017	X

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	31	Brent Seabrook	$6,875,000	UFA – 2024	X
D	33	Duncan Keith	$5,538,462	UFA – 2023	X
D	29	Niklas Hjalmarsson	$4,100,000	UFA – 2019	X
D	35	Johnny Oduya	$1,875,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	37	Brian Campbell	$1,500,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	22	Ville Pokka	$925,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	25	Trevor van Riemsdyk	$825,000	RFA – 2018	X
D	25	Viktor Svedberg	$750,000	UFA – 2018	40GR
D	22	Dillon Fournier	$709,167	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	38	Michal Rozsival	$650,000	UFA – 2018	X

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	32	NMC – Corey Crawford	$6,000,000	UFA – 2020
G	31	Jeff Glass	$612,500	UFA – 2018
G	25	Mac Carruth	$575,000	UFA – 2017

Exempt List

• C Tyler Motte
• C Nick Schmaltz
• C John Hayden
• C Matthew Highmore
• LW Artemi Panarin
• C Alex DeBrincat
• C Vinnie Hinostroza
• C Luke Johnson
• LW Graham Knott
• LW Martin Lundberg
• C Alexandre Fortin
• C Tanner Kero
• RW Kyle Baun
• C Anthony Louis
• D Gustav Forsling
• D Carl Dahlstrom
• D Robin Norell
• D Michal Kempny
• D Erik Gustafsson
• D Nolan Valleau
• D Luc Snuggerud
• G Lars Johansson

Explanation of my Projected List

• The Blackhawks have just three protected spots available to fill assuming they want to protect as many skaters as possible after all of their no-move clauses.  It seems like the Blackhawks give out NMCs like candy since they have eight players on their 23-man roster with said clause. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Artem Anisimov are all forwards with NMCs.  I think that they absolutely protect Richard Panik who has played so well with Toews and that they will protect Marcus Kruger who is still young and plays a vital role on the team. I believe that they will use their last spot on Ryan Hartman, a 22-year old forward who has had a breakout season.  Assuming Chicago used seven spots on forwards, their three protection spots left for defensemen are all used up with Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and Niklas Hjalmarsson all having NMCs.  It's the same situation in net where Corey Crawford has an NMC and therefore must be protected.
• Jordin Tootoo will be the only exposed forward with term left on his contract, a result of the team signing him to a two-year deal this past offseason.  Even those players left exposed who will be RFAs aren't overly vital to the team's future success.  On defense, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Rozsival will be left unprotected, with van Riemsdyk being the more attractive of the two options.  At the goaltender position, Jeff Glass will be left exposed since he is the only other goaltender signed past this season besides Corey Crawford.
• The Blackhawks are lucky that Artemi Panarin is exempt from the Expansion Draft and doesn't have to be protected.  He is very talented and would certainly be protected, taking up another spot.  The team should be fine considering most of their depth at forward are young players who don't need to be protected.  Losing Jordin Tootoo wouldn't be a big loss for the team to overcome.  If Vegas drafts van Riemsdyk or Rozsival, it could test Chicago's defensive depth which has already been questionable in recent seasons.

*All cap and salary information come from CapFriendly.com*