Protected lists expose intriguing roster possibilities for Golden Knights
Some surprises among players left available to Vegas for expansion draft
Three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, Nashville forward James Neal and Anaheim defenceman Sami Vatanen were among the high-profile players made available on Sunday for the Vegas Golden Knights to select in the NHL expansion draft.
Now it’s on Golden Knights general manager George McPhee to pore over the list of unprotected players and select one from each of the NHL’s 30 teams by Wednesday.
Fleury was left unprotected by Pittsburgh after he agreed to waive the no-movement clause in his contract. The Penguins instead protected Matt Murray a week after the second-year goalie led them to win their second consecutive championship.
The Predators were put in a bind by exposing Neal, a 10-time 20-goal-scorer, because they elected to protect a fourth defenceman. Vatanen was the odd-man out in being left unprotected from a deep and talented group of Ducks defencemen. The fifth-year player, however, won’t be ready for the start of the season after having surgery to repair a shoulder injury.
Neal wasn’t the only high-profile player left exposed by the Preds, who are coming off their first Stanley Cup Final appearance. Other notable Nashville players unprotected were forwards Pontus Aberg and Colton Sissons.
Other notable forwards left unprotected were: Minnesota centre Eric Staal, a ninetime 20-goal-scorer, Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown and Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec.
As for defencemen, Buffalo’s Zach Bogosian and Dallas’ Dan Hamhuis are available.
There’s also a wealth of proven goaltenders available given that teams were required to expose at least one. Aside from Fleury, other goalies exposed are Florida’s Roberto Luongo, Detroit’s Peter Mrazek and Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth.
The unprotected list includes players eligible to become restricted or unrestricted free agents, which the Golden Knights have the option to sign over the next three days. Any pending free agent signed would count as Vegas’ expansion-draft selection from that player’s team.
What’s uncertain is how many trades the Golden Knights have negotiated with teams to influence which player Vegas selects or avoids.
McPhee has said he’s had contact with all teams and was expected to have several trades in place.
In exchange, McPhee was intent on stockpiling draft picks to help spur the franchise’s growth through youth.
Those deals won’t be formally revealed until Wednesday.
There’s also nothing barring Vegas from having a deal in place to select a player in order to trade him to another team.
The Islanders were the only team to protect five defencemen: Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Travis Hamonic Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, leaving forwards Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome and defencemen Calvin de Haan and Thomas Hickey available.
Some players left unprotected, such as Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan, carry hefty contracts, which Vegas might shy away from so not to restrict the team’s payroll structure under the salary cap. Ryan has five years left on a seven-year $50.8 million contract and represents a $7-plus-million cap hit.
The Senators were handcuffed by veteran defenceman Dion Phaneuf’s decision to not waive his no-movement clause. That forced the team to also expose toppairing blueliner Marc Methot.
Among players with previous connections to McPhee available are Stars centre Cody Eakin, Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer and Neuvirth, whom he drafted in Washington.
The former Capitals GM also previously signed defenceman Nate Schmidt out of college and Sharks right winger Joel Ward in free agency, while once trading for Flames forward Troy Brouwer.
The Golden Knights are required to use up 26 of their 30 picks in filling 14 forwards, nine defencemen and three goalie spots.
The release of the protected lists kicks off a busy two-week stretch for the NHL. The league’s annual awards ceremonies will be held in Las Vegas on Wednesday and then teams will gather in Chicago for the two-day entry draft, which opens on Friday. Then comes the start of free agency on July 1.
Here are some of the more intriguing “available” names potentially in play for the expansion draft: 1. James Neal — Winger Age: 29 Contract status: Unrestricted free agent in 2018 Cap hit: $5 million His appeal: Neal has scored at least 21 goals in every season of his NHL career. The Whitby, Ont., native hit for 23 with the Preds last year, adding six more in Nashville’s run to the Stanley Cup final. Vegas may be challenged to score in the early-going and Neal would help those efforts as a one-year stop-gap. 2. Matt Dumba — Defenceman Age: 22 Contract status: Restricted free agent in 2018 Cap hit: $2.55 million His appeal: Like Manson, Dumba could be a nice long-term piece for the Vegas core, a former top-10 pick (seventh overall in 2012) coming off his finest NHL season. He has a bomb of a shot, throws a nasty open-ice hit and looks to be ready for more opportunity after soaking up 20 minutes per-game for the Wild last year. 3. Philipp Grubauer — Goaltender Age: 25 Contract status: RFA Cap hit: N/A His appeal: Grubauer posted numbers this past season in Washington that were actually slightly better (in far fewer starts mind you) than teammate Braden Holtby, a Vezina trophy nominee. The German netminder, who needs a new contract, might be the next Cam Talbot or Martin Jones, a backup ready to thrive with a starting opportunity. 4. Sami Vatanen — Defence Age: 26 Contract status: UFA in 2021 Cap hit: $4.875 million His appeal: Though he fell off offensively with a dip in luck this past year (24 points) and underlying numbers suggest he’s slightly overexposed in a top-pairing role, Vatanen remains an effective puck-mover and power-play asset. He’s also under control at a reasonable annual number for three more seasons. 5. Eric Staal — Centre Age: 32 Contract status: UFA in 2019 Cap hit: $3.5 million His appeal: Turns out Staal still might have more to give as a toptwo NHL centre — rebounding from a meek finish in Carolina with 28 goals and 65 points in his first season for the Wild. He would be a strong option down the middle for the Knights for the next two seasons. 6. Petr Mrazek — Goaltender Age: 25 Contract status: RFA in 2018 Cap hit: $4 million His appeal: Mrazek is coming off a rough season in Detroit, one that saw him post the league’s worst save percentage (.901) among those that played at least 40 games. Still, he’s young and only slightly removed from a stellar 2015-16 season (.921 save percentage). Detroit oddly chose to instead protect 33-year-old Jimmy Howard.
7. Jonathan Marchessault — Winger
Age: 26 Contract status: UFA in 2018 Cap hit: $750,000 His appeal: Marchessault was among the NHL’s best bargains last season, potting 30 goals and 51 points for Florida on the first year of a two-year deal worth $1.5 million. Another 30 goal-campaign is unlikely next year — his shooting percentage was high — but he could be a helpful scoring option. 8. Brock Nelson — Centre Age: 25 Contract status: RFA in 2018 Cap hit: $2.5 million His appeal: Nelson has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last three seasons — and a large bunch of them at even-strength.