NHL Expansion Draft - New York Islanders

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
LW	31	NMC – Andrew Ladd	$5,500,000	UFA – 2023	X
C	26	NMC – John Tavares	$5,500,000	UFA – 2018	X
C	33	Mikhail Grabovski	$5,000,000	UFA – 2018	12GR
LW	30	Nikolai Kulemin	$4,187,500	UFA – 2018	X
C	26	Anders Lee	$3,750,000	UFA – 2019	X
C	26	Casey Cizikas	$3,350,000	UFA – 2021	X
LW	27	Josh Bailey	$3,300,000	UFA – 2018	X
RW	29	Cal Clutterbuck	$3,500,000	UFA – 2022	X
C	25	Brock Nelson	$2,500,000	RFA – 2018	X
C	23	Ryan Strome	$2,500,000	RFA – 2018	X
LW	37	Jason Chimera	$2,250,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	24	Shane Prince	$850,000	RFA – 2018	X
C	29	Ben Holmstrom	$800,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
C	35	Bracken Kearns	$800,000	UFA – 2017	38GR
C	24	Alan Quine	$612,500	RFA – 2018	X
LW	40	Eric Boulton	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	33	NMC – Johnny Boychuk	$6,000,000	UFA – 2022	X
D	26	Nick Leddy	$5,500,000	UFA – 2022	X
D	26	Travis Hamonic	$3,857,143	UFA – 2020	X
D	28	Thomas Hickey	$2,200,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	25	Calvin De Haan	$1,966,667	RFA – 2017	X
D	35	Dennis Seidenberg	$1,000,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	22	Ryan Pulock	$863,333	RFA – 2018	39GR
D	22	Adam Pelech	$854,333	RFA – 2017	X
D	23	Matthew Finn	$827,500	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	24	Scott Mayfield	$625,000	RFA – 2018	15GR
D	22	Loic Leduc	$615,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	22	Jesse Graham	$605,000	RFA – 2017	40GR

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	31	Jaroslav Halak	$4,500,000	UFA – 2018
G	31	Thomas Greiss	$3,333,333	UFA – 2020
G	25	Jean-Francois Berube	$675,000	UFA – 2017
G	24	Christopher Gibson	$660,000	RFA – 2017

Exempt List

• LW Anthony Beauvillier
• C Mathew Barzal
• C Joshua Ho-Sang
• LW Michael Dal Colle
• C Carter Verhaeghe
• C Kyle Schempp
• LW Ross Johnston
• RW Steve Bernier
• C Stephen Gionta
• C Connor Jones
• C Tanner Fritz
• C John Stevens
• D Devon Toews
• D Parker Wotherspoon
• D Mitch Vande Sompel
• D Kyle Burroughs
• D Jake Bischoff
• G Eamon McAdam
• G Stephon Williams

Explanation of my Protection List

• The Islanders are yet another team with at least four quality defensemen who they would love to keep for the future.  However, they also have more than four forwards that they will want to protect so I would protect the seven forwards/three defensemen.  In the forward group, both Andrew Ladd and John Tavares have NMCs so they must be protected.  I would also protect Anders Lee and his 30 goals, Casey Cizikas, and Josh Bailey.  That leaves two more spots and seven forwards with term.  I would protect Ryan Strome, who has flourished under Doug Weight's system, and Brock Nelson, who is still just 25 years old.  On defense, Johnny Boychuk has a NMC, leaving just two more open spots for other defensemen.  I am protecting Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic with these two spots.  At the goaltender position, I am protecting Thomas Greiss, who the Islanders signed to a three-year contract extension this season.  
• After the forwards I am protecting, Nikolai Kulemin, Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera, Shane Prince, and Alan Quine are all unprotected and with term left.  At the blue line, Thomas Hickey is the only player left under contract after this season, plus Calvin De Haan, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Matthew Finn, Scott Mayfield, Loic Leduc, and Jesse Graham, who are all RFAs.  In net, Jaroslav Halak is the only other goaltender signed beyond this season.
• The Islanders are almost guaranteed to lose something of value in the Expansion Draft and I'm guessing it will Thomas Hickey if nothing changes between now and then.  If the team's GM either moves Hickey or another defenseman, or finds a way to make a deal with Vegas, I think that a player like Cal Clutterbuck or Shane Prince will get taken.

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