Post-Final action will be furious
Expansion team adds wrinkle to offseason
NASHVILLE The Stanley Cup will be won by June 14, and within 48 hours of the on-ice celebration, the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins will have to start thinking about offseason moves.
Important NHL happenings over the next four weeks: 1. Start of trading season: Usually teams wait until draft week to make trades, but the June 21 Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft has prompted general managers to discuss trades earlier because they will affect protected-player lists.
Talks are ongoing. Vegas general manager George McPhee is busy.
Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene is one of the big names who could be moved in the coming weeks. Defensemen Sami Vatanen (Anaheim Ducks) and Mathew Dumba (Minnesota Wild) or Jonas Brodin (Minnesota) along with forwards Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers) are others featured in trade speculation.
In addition, the player buyout period will open June 15 or 48 hours after the Cup Final. 2. Submission of protected lists: Teams must submit their protected list by June 17 at 5 p.m. ET. Teams can choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie or eight skaters (defensemen and/or forwards), plus a goalie. Players with nomovement clauses have to be protected.
Several teams are in danger of losing key players, notably the Ducks and Wild. That’s why players such as Dumba and Brodin have been the subject of trade speculation.
3. Expansion draft: The Golden Knights must make their selections by June 20. The selections will be announced June 21.
The Golden Knights also have a 72-hour window (June 18-21) to sign pending free agents. They are expected to take advantage of that opportunity.
Each team can lose only one player in the process, including a free agent who signs with Vegas.
McPhee is expected to load up on draft picks and prospects in exchange for not taking certain players.
4. The regular draft: The NHL draft, scheduled for June 23-24, doesn’t boast the bigname No. 1 pick as we have seen in the last two years with Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
This is considered a below-average draft, but projected top-two picks Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier can be impact players.
Patrick, a Canadian, is a 6-3 center, and Swiss-born Hischier is a center or wing who might be slightly more dynamic.
The New Jersey Devils have the No. 1 pick, and the Philadelphia Flyers are No. 2. The Golden Knights pick sixth. 5. Free agent signing period: The frenzy begins July 1. Right wings Alexander Radulov and T.J. Oshie and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk are the biggest names in the unrestricted free agent class.
But there also seems to be considerable interest in defensemen Brendan Smith and Karl Alzner.