NHL Expansion Draft - Montreal Canadiens

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	34	Thomas Plekanec	$6,000,000	UFA – 2018	X
RW	30	Alexander Radulov	$5,750,000	UFA – 2017	X
LW	28	Max Pacioretty	$4,500,000	UFA – 2019	X
C	25	Andrew Shaw	$3,900,000	UFA – 2022	X
RW	24	Brendan Gallagher	$3,750,000	UFA – 2021	X
C	23	Alex Galchenyuk	$2,800,000	RFA – 2017	X
LW	27	Dwight King	$1,950,000	UFA – 2017	X
C	32	Torrey Mitchell	$1,200,000	UFA – 2018	X
C	27	Paul Byron	$1,166,667	UFA – 2019	X
RW	28	Brian Flynn	$950,000	UFA – 2017	X
LW	21	Jacob De La Rose	$925,000	RFA – 2017	31GR
C	24	Phillip Danault	$912,500	RFA – 2018	X
C	34	Steve Ott	$800,000	UFA – 2017	X
LW	25	Daniel Carr	$725,000	RFA – 2018	7GR
LW	22	Connor Crisp	$646,667	RFA – 2017	40GR
LW	22	Charles Hudon	$625,000	RFA – 2017	37GR
LW	23	Stefan Matteau	$612,500	RFA – 2017	38GR
LW	27	Chris Terry	$650,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	24	Max Friberg	$587,500	RFA – 2017	40GR
RW	28	Bobby Farnham	$575,000	UFA – 2017	14GR

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	31	Shea Weber	$7,857,143	UFA – 2026	X
D	38	Andrei Markov	$5,750,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	29	NMC – Jeff Petry	$5,500,000	UFA – 2021	X
D	30	Alexei Emelin	$4,100,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	25	Brandon Davidson	$1,425,000	RFA – 2018	X
D	29	Jordie Benn	$1,100,000	UFA – 2019	X
D	24	Nathan Beaulieu	$1,000,000	RFA – 2017	X
D	24	Keegan Lowe	$750,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	24	Nikita Nesterov	$725,000	RFA – 2017	X
D	23	Dalton Thrower	$646,667	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	28	Zach Redmond	$612,500	UFA – 2018	17GR

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	29	Carey Price	$6,500,00	UFA – 2018
G	32	Al Montoya	$1,062,500	UFA – 2019

Exempt List

• RW Nikita Scherback
• RW Michael McCarron
• LW Artturi Lehkonen
• LW Martin Reway
• C Daniel Audette
• RW Mark MacMillan
• C Markus Eisenschmid
• C Andreas Martinsen
• C Jeremy Gregoire
• LW Jeremiah Addison
• D Mikahil Sergachev
• D Noah Juulsen
• D Tom Parisi
• D Ryan JOhnston
• D Brett Lernout
• D Joel Hanley
• D Victor Mete
• D Simon Bourque
• G Charlie Lindgren
• G Zachary Fucale
• G Michael McNiven

Explanation of my Protection List

• Montreal has no forwards with NMCs so they have the opportunity to protect a full seven of them if they would like.  Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw, Brendan Gallagher, and Alex Galchenyuk are absolute guarantees to be protected.  The team has invested or is prepared to invest in these players long-term and are key pieces to the team's current and future success. I also think with the way that Phillip Danault has played this season, he will be protected and he has two more seasons left on his contract after this season.  That leaves two spots and I think they will go to Paul Byron, who has emerged with 22 goals this season, and Torrey Mitchell, one of the team's most reliable two-way forwards.  With seven protection spots going to forwards, three spots are left for the team's defensemen.  Jeff Petry has a NMC so he will take one of the spots and I'm certain that Montreal will protect Shea Weber.  With their last spot, I would choose to make the tough decision and protect Alexei Emelin.  In net, there is really no other choice than to protect the best goaltender in the world, Carey Price.
• Chris Terry will be the only forward left unprotected.  On defense, Brandon Davidson and Jordie Benn will both be exposed and both have term left on their deals.  However, Nathan Beaulieu, Keegan Lowe, Nikita Nesterov, and Dalton Thrower are all RFAs but will be left exposed. Finally, Carey Price's backup, Al Montoya, will be exposed.
• Montreal should be fine after the Expansion Draft but losing one of their young defensemen (Brandon Davidson, Nikita Nesterov, or Nathan Beaulieu) would be something the team would like to avoid.

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