Expansion draft is Las thing GM is worried about
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Blackhawks are used to losing players at the end of every season, either to trades or free agency. But this June, they’ll lose a player in a new way — the expansion draft.
The new Las Vegas franchise, which will unveil its name and logo Tuesday, will select one player from all 30 teams to build its roster for next season. Hawks general manager Stan Bowman isn’t dwelling too much on the looming draft, though.
“It’s not a huge concern of ours,” he said Saturday. “I mean, we’re going to lose one player; everybody’s going to lose one player. So it’s not like you’re going to lose four guys, and it’s not like you’re going to escape without losing anybody. We’re going to lose a player.”
Teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or eight overall skaters and one goalie. All players with nomovement clauses are exempt — so Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson aren’t going anywhere. And all first- and second- year pros and unsigned draft picks are exempt, so Artemi Panarin and Gustav Forsling are safe, too.
So while some teams have all sorts of possibilities, the Hawks don’t have a whole lot of flexibility. The most likely candidates to be taken are defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk or center Marcus Kru- ger, though rosters can change quite a bit between now and June.
“We have some flexibility,” Bowman said. “We’re going to be OK on that front. It’s not something that causes me a lot of stress, the expansion draft. There’s still a lot that can change. Your team as it looks today won’t be the same in June, when you submit your lists. But I think some teams have a lot harder things to look at. That’s not a big issue for us.”
No word on talks
Bowman declined to discuss anything related to Panarin’s contract extension talks. Panarin will be a restricted free agent this summer and is believed to be looking for at least $ 6 million a season, a number that will be tough for the Hawks to make work.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Bowman said. “We said in the beginning we weren’t going to give updates. When we have something to announce, we’ll let you know.”
Motte back
Tyler Motte was expected to miss two to three weeks after suffering a lower- body injury Nov. 6 in Dallas. He returned after only 13 days, rejoining the team in Calgary on Friday and playing in Vancouver on Saturday.
“He worked hard, as did the staff, getting him ready,” coach Joel Quenneville said.
Vinnie Hinostroza ( concussion) and Michal Rozsival ( healthy scratch) also got back into the lineup. Forsling was a healthy scratch.
No hard feelings
Despite the fact that he was scratched Saturday, Canucks fans already look at Forsling as potentially one that got away. The Hawks acquired Forsling from the Canucks on Jan. 29, 2015, for Adam Clendening, who lasted all of 17 games in Vancouver. Forsling was only 18, less than a year removed from being drafted in the fifth round.
Forsling had been to Rogers Arena before, for a prospect camp, but said it wasn’t weird to be back in a Hawks uniform.
“I didn’t expect it, but I’m happy to be in Chicago,” Forsling said. “No hard feelings.”
Follow me on Twitter @ MarkLazerus.