NHL Expansion Draft - Vancouver Canucks

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	36	NMC – Henrik Sedin	$7,000,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	36	NMC – Daniel Sedin	$7,000,000	UFA – 2018	X
RW	31	NMC – Loui Eriksson	$6,000,000	UFA – 2022	X
C	28	Brandon Sutter	$4,375,000	UFA – 2021	X
RW	30	Derek Dorsett	$2,650,000	UFA – 2019	X
LW	24	Sven Baertschi	$1,850,000	RFA – 2018	X
RW	26	Anton Rodin	$950,000	UFA – 2017	37GR
C	23	Markus Granlund	$900,000	RFA – 2018	X
C	22	Bo Horvat	$894,167	RFA – 2017	X
C	23	Brendan Guance	$863,333	RFA – 2017	X
C	24	Joseph Cramarossa	$724,500	RFA – 2017	X
LW	23	Reid Boucher	$715,000	RFA – 2017	X
RW	29	Jack Skille	$700,000	UFA – 2017	X
LW	24	Michael Zalewski	$632,500	RFA – 2017	39GR
C	25	Michael Cahput	$600,000	RFA – 2017	X
C	27	Jayson Megna	$675,000	UFA – 2018	X
RW	25	Alexandre Grenier	$600,000	UFA – 2017	37GR
RW	25	Borna Rendulic	$575,000	UFA – 2017	39GR

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	30	Alexander Edler	$5,000,000	UFA – 2019	X
D	27	Christopher Tanev	$4,450,000	UFA – 2020	X
D	27	Luca Sbisa	$3,600,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	25	Erik Gudbranson	$3,500,000	UFA - 2018	X
D	29	Alex Biega	$750,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	23	Andrey Pedan	$700,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	27	Chad Billins	$600,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
D	23	Tom Nilsson	$575,000	RFA – 2017	40GR

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	36	Ryan Miller	$6,000,000	UFA – 2017
G	27	Jacob Markstrom	$3,666,667	UFA – 2020
G	29	Richard Bachman	$650,000	UFA – 2018

Exempt List

• C Zack MacEwan
• C Griffen Molino
• RW Brock Boeser
• RW Jake Virtanen
• LW Nikolay Goldobin
• C Yan-Pavel Laplante
• C Joseph Labate
• LW Michael Carcone
• C Cole Cassels
• C Drew Shore
• D Olli Juolevi
• D Nikita Tryamkin
• D Troy Stetcher
• D Ben Hutton
• D Jordan Subban
• D Guillaume Brisebois
• D Ashton Sautner
• D MacKenzie Stewart
• D Anton Cederholm
• D Evan McEneny
• D Jalen Chatfield
• G Michael Garteig
• G Thatcher Demko

Explanation of my Protection List

• Vancouver is a team that I really struggled to even care about.  I mean they need to tear down and rebuild their roster but have given big contracts to aging players that will never pay dividends for the team.  Basically, as much salary as they can shed this summer the better off the team will be in the long run for it.  That's why it is a shame that the Sedins and Loui Eriksson both have NMCs because moving one or all of them would be ideal for Vancouver. That being said, there are several players on the current roster who are young, valuable, and are probably going to be pieces of the core when the team is competitive again in the future.  In addition to these three forwards, I am also protecting Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, and Bo Horvat, choosing to protect seven forwards.  On defense, I am protecting Chris Tanev, Luca Sbisa, and Alex Biega, all players who are under 30.  In net, I am protecting Jacob Markstrom who appears to be their goaltender for the immediate future.
• Derek Dorsett and Jayson Megna are the only two forwards left under contract for next season who are unprotected.  On defense, only Alexander Edler fits that description and Richard Bachman is the goaltender left exposed.
• If I am Vancouver's GM I am hoping, and perhaps convincing, Vegas to take Alexander Edler and his $5 million cap hit that runs through 2019.  He is expensive and doesn't really serve a purposed on the Canucks at this time since they won't be competitive again until after that time.  If Vancouver is unable to make that work, then most likely they will lose Jayson Megna because he probably has the most upside but could also lose Derek Dorsett just to help Vegas get to the cap floor.

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