NHL Expansion Draft - Washington Capitals

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	Alex Ovechkin	$9,538,462	UFA – 2021	X
C	29	Nicklas Backstrom	$6,700,000	UFA – 2020	X
C	26	Marcus Johansson	$4,583,333	UFA – 2019	X
RW	30	T.J. Oshie	$4,175,000	UFA – 2017	X
C	27	Lars Eller	$3,500,000	UFA – 2018	X
RW	35	Justin Williams	$3,250,000	UFA – 2017	X
C	24	Evgeny Kuznetsov	$3,000,000	RFA – 2017	X
C	32	Daniel Winnik	$2,250,000	UFA – 2017	X
RW	23	Tom Wilson	$2,000,000	RFA – 2018	X
RW	31	Jay Beagle	$1,750,000	UFA – 2018	X
LW	22	Andre Burakovsky	$894,167	RFA – 2017	X
RW	24	Brett Connolly	$850,000	RFA – 2017	X
C	22	Chandler Stephenson	$725,833	RFA – 2017	36GR
LW	23	Nathan Walker	$635,000	RFA – 2017	40GR
C	22	Liam O’Brien	$621,667	RFA – 2017	39GR
C	28	Zach Sill	$612,500	UFA – 2018	40GR
RW	25	Garrett Mitchell	$587,500	UFA – 2017	39GR
LW	31	Chris Bourque	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
LW	24	Christian Thomas	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR
C	28	Paul Carey	$575,000	UFA – 2017	33GR
RW	25	Stanislav Galiev	$575,000	UFA – 2017	40GR

Defensemen

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration	40/70
D	30	Matt Niskanen	$5,750,000	UFA – 2021	X
D	36	Brooks Orpik	$5,500,000	UFA – 2019	X
D	27	John Carlson	$3,966,667	UFA – 2018	X
D	28	Karl Alzner	$2,800,000	UFA – 2017	X
D	28	Kevin Shattenkirk	$2,592,500	UFA – 2017	X
D	25	Dmitry Orlov	$2,570,000	RFA – 2017	X
D	34	Tom Gilbert	$1,120,000	UFA – 2017	7GR
D	25	Nate Schmidt	$812,500	RFA – 2017	X
D	29	Taylor Chorney	$800,000	UFA – 2018	X
D	22	Christian Djoos	$711,667	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	23	Cody Corbett	$616,667	RFA – 2017	40GR
D	26	Aaron Ness	$612,500	UFA – 2018	38GR
D	23	Darren Dietz	$575,000	RFA – 2017	40GR

Goaltenders

POS	Age	Name	Cap Hit	Expiration
G	27	Braden Holtby	$6,100,000	UFA – 2020
G	24	Philipp Grubauer	$750,000	RFA – 2017
G	25	Phoenix Copley	$708,500	UFA – 2017

Exempt List

• LW Jakub Vrana
• C Travis Boyd
• RW Riley Barber
• C Tim McGauley
• C Beck Malenstyn
• LW Hampus Gustafsson
• C Garrett Pilon
• C Mason Mitchell
• D Lucas Johansen
• D Colby Williams
• D Connor Hobbs
• D Jonas Siegenthaler
• D Madison Bowey
• D Tyler Lewington
• D Kris Bindulis
• G Vitek Vanecek
• G Adam Carlson

Explanation of my Protection List

• The Capitals have no NMCs for any of their players so there are no spots already reserved.  I feel confident that they will protect seven forwards and three defensemen just as a result of the number of quality forwards they have.  I am protecting Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Lars Eller, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, and Andre Burakovsky. Kuznetsov and Burakovsky are both RFAs but are so vital to the team's future that Washington won't want to lose them at all.  On defense, Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, and Dmitry Orlov are who I am choosing to protect.  Orlov is another RFA but I'm certain Washington wants the first chance at negotiating with him.  At the goaltender position, Braden Holtby is the choice.
• With the way I created my protection list, Washington will have to re-sign one of their free agents or sign one off the market in order to meet exposure requirements.  Currently their only exposed forward under contract is Jay Beagle.  On defense, both Brooks Orpik and Taylor Chorney are under contract and will be left available.  Washington will also have to re-sign one of their goaltenders in order to meet exposure requirements.  I think this will be Phoenix Copley because their only other goaltender is Philipp Grubauer and he is an RFA and is extremely talented.
• If I am Vegas I am taking Philipp Grubauer and I'm not certain I could be talked out of not drafting him.  He is really good and could be the franchise goaltender for the Vegas team. Washington would love to get rid of Brooks Orpik's contract but that would probably cost them quite a bit in order to convince Vegas to take him.

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