Vegas club holding all the cards in expansion draft
Trade frenzy possible as NHL teams try to plot their way through the process
In the run-up to the last expansion draft in 2000 involving Columbus and Minnesota that bumped the NHL to 30 teams, about six deals could be traced to the machinations involving the two new clubs.
In 2017, the 31st entry, the Vegas Golden Knights, might have more side-door movement than the Jackets and Wild combined, as teams try to plot their way through the expansion draft next Wednesday in Sin City. Intrigue ramped up over the past couple of days as teams were allowed to ask players to waive no-movement clauses in order to protect their most important or cost-efficient talent.
Dion Phaneuf’s refusal to play ball in Ottawa was expected, but there is speculation the Knights and Anaheim Ducks already have something going that will preclude Anaheim having to ask aging defenceman Kevin Bieksa to waive. TSN reported some kind of deal is already in place since Bieksa, if he triggers his clause, would cause difficulties for his current team. Without such a strategy, the Ducks might not be able to protect a much younger defenceman, say Josh Manson.
Pittsburgh has no such worry with veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, with him anxious to play regularly with Vegas or another team. The Penguins are keeping Matt Murray as No. 1 and either exposing Fleury or trading him before the draft.
Teams can look at buying out players who won’t relinquish their clauses beginning on Thursday. When draft day comes, Vegas GM George McPhee can do very well in trading for decent players and stockpiling draft picks by skipping some prearranged names on the unprotected roll.
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS
The deadline for clubs to submit protected lists to NHL Central Registry is 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the lists distributed to all teams on Sunday morning. Vegas can then interview restricted and unrestricted free agents that could be chosen.
McPhee submits his list to Central Registry and the NHLPA on the morning of June 21 — each team will lose at least one player — and the results will be announced that night on the league awards show.
NOLAN, NICO AND SHERO
Two weeks from Friday, Devils GM Ray Shero will have to make the decision on Nolan Patrick versus Nico Hischier for No. 1 overall in the entry draft in Chicago. Or would Shero trade down to ensure helping the Devils in other areas as well as getting a high pick?
“I’ve gotten calls asking if there’s interest moving down and other calls where it’s been more specific and it’s something to think about,” Shero told NHL.com. “But I haven’t called them back. The idea is we’ll probably be picking, but we’re open to a lot of things.
“What would it get me to trade the No. 1 outright? I couldn’t even tell you. It hasn’t been done that much, but if we did do something like that it would be pretty apparent it was the right thing to do.”
ICE CHIPS
With playoffs done, the Sabres are expected to formally approach Nashville assistant and ex-Buffalo defenceman Phil Housley and Pittsburgh assistant Rick Tocchet about their vacant head coaching position ... The Penguins’ Cup parade begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. The team will not turn down a visit to President Donald Trump at the White House if offered, says a statement by team ownership, which includes a couple of Democratic party supporters. There are rumours the NBA champion Golden State Warriors will consider a boycott, but they’ve not been asked yet, either ... New Florida coach Bob Boughner could be handling Jaromir Jagr this year. They were Pittsburgh teammates in the 2000-01 season, but the 45-year-old UFA Jagr is still going. “I have trouble getting out of bed sometimes,” noted the 46-year-old Boughner ... There is some irony in the Maple Leafs being one of the teams in pursuit of Finnish defenceman Sami Vatanen of the Ducks, who was a fourth-round pick in 2009. The Leafs had no selection in that round, forfeiting theirs when they broke CBA rules in a disputed signing of Swedish defenceman Jonas Frogren ... TV ratings for Sportsnet/CBC in the playoffs showed an average per minute audience of 1.61 million, jumping 94 per cent from last spring’s cross-Canada shutout. The Game 6 Cup-clinching ratings on Canadian and American networks drew a combined 11.5 million, the most watched playoff game since the Chicago-Boston Game 6 in 2013 ... Adidas began releasing teasers for their new jersey deal with the 31 teams this week. While the changes mostly involve new material, Vegas did tip off fans that its primary home colour will be grey and not black ... Sportsnet points out Evgeni Malkin is the first player to lead post-season players in both points (28) and penalty minutes (53) since Maurice Richard in 1947 .