NHL Expansion Draft - Philadelphia Flyers

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	29	NMC – Claude Giroux	$8,275,000	UFA – 2022	X
RW	27	Jakub Voracek	$8,250,000	UFA – 2024	X
C	25	Brayden Schenn	$5,125,000	UFA – 2020	X
C	33	NMC – Valtteri Filppula	$5,000,000	UFA – 2018	X
C	24	Sean Couturier	$4,333,333	UFA – 2022	X
RW	28	Wayne Simmonds	$3,975,000	UFA – 2019	X
RW	30	Matt Read	$3,625,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	28	Michael Raffl	$2,350,000	UFA – 2019	X
RW	28	Dale Weise	$2,350,000	UFA – 2020	X
C	33	Boyd Gordon	$950,000	UFA – 2017	X
C	22	Scott Laughton	$863,333	RFA – 2017	X
LW	23	Taylor Leier	$779,617	RFA – 2017	30GR
LW	32	Pierre-Edouard	$1,450,000	UFA – 2019	X
C	30	Chris VandeVelde	$712,500	UFA – 2017	X
C	24	Jordan Weal	$650,000	UFA – 2017	17GR
RW	32	Colin McDonald	$637,500	UFA – 2018	37GR
C	28	Andy Miele	$600,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
C	27	Greg Carey	$650,000	UFA – 2019	40GR
RW	33	Chris Conner	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	30	Andrew MacDonald	$5,000,000	UFA – 2020	X
D	26	Michael Zotto	$3,875,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	26	Radko Gudas	$3,350,000	UFA – 2020	X
D	34	Nick Schultz	$2,250,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	26	Brendon Maning	$975,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	23	Shayne Gostisbehere	$925,000	RFA – 2017	X
D	22	Jesper Pettersson	$645,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	28	T.J. Brennnan	$625,000	UFA – 2018	40GR
D	25	Mark Alt	$625,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
D	28	Will O’Neill	$612,500	UFA – 2017	40GR

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	28	Steve Mason	$4,100,000	UFA – 2017
G	29	Michal Neuvirth	$2,500,000	UFA – 2019
G	23	Anthony Stolarz	$753,333	RFA – 2017

Exempt List

• C German Rubtsov 
• C Michael Vecchione
• C Roman Lyubimov
• C Travis Konecny
• C Pascal Laberge
• RW Nicolas Kubel-Aube
• LW Danick Martel
• C Cole Bardreau
• LW Tyrell Goulbourne
• C Radel Fazleev
• D Ivan Provorov
• D Robert Hagg
• D Samuel Morin
• D Travis Sanheim
• D Reece Wilcox
• Mark Friedman
• G Alex Lyon
• G Carter Hart

Explanation of my Protection List

• I'm going with a protection list of seven forwards and three defensemen which is what I expect the actual team to do as well.  At forward, I'm just going with the seven forwards with the most expensive contracts: Claude Giroux (NMC), Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Valtteri Filppula (NMC), Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, and Matt Read.  All seven of these forwards are vital to the team now and the future, with the exceptions of Filppula who was acquired in a move that I still don't understand.  The Flyers have done an excellent job at not giving out contracts to aging forwards who will be burdens to the team in the future.  On defense, I am protecting Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning, and Shayne Gostisbehere, despite him being an RFA after this season.  At the goaltender position, I will protect RFA Anthony Stolarz as he is the youngest member of the position group and has the most upside.
• At forward, Michael Raffle, Dale Weise, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare will all be left exposed and with term left on their contracts.  Andrew MacDonald is the only defenseman left unprotected and under contract and Michal Neuvirth meets the team's exposure requirement at goaltender after signing an extension earlier this season.
• If Vegas decides to take one of the Flyers' forwards, they will only be losing a depth forward although I think Philly would like to keep Rafffl or Weise.  Ideally, I'm certain the Flyers would like to separate from Andrew MacDonald and his $5 million contract that runs through the 2019-20 season.  In net, the Flyers' situation is bizarre as they signed Neuvirth to an extension, have Steve Mason as a free agent, and Stolarz as an RFA but will probably be protected.  If Vegas takes Neuvirth, the Flyers will probably try and sign a new goaltender this offseason and if Vegas leaves him alone, Philly will go with Stolarz and Neuvirth next season.  Philadelphia's front office has been brilliant in not extending Michael Del Zotto or Nick Schultz yet in order to not have to protect either of them at the Expansion Draft.  I think that there is a strong chance that the Flyers offer Vegas something to take MacDonald off their hands and to free up $5 million in cap space to spend this offseason.  The Flyers should be in good shape in the Expansion Draft.

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