On Tuesday, the NHL revealed the name and logo of the newest member of the league, the Vegas Golden Knights, to much acclaim. On Wednesday, Sportsnet acquired a list of players exempt from next summer’s expansion draft.
This list only includes those players who have no move clauses in their contracts. This list does NOT include the second and first year players that would also be exempt per the rules.
Here are the Columbus players who have NMCs and thus MUST be protected:
Sergei Bobrovsky
David Clarkson
Brandon Dubinsky
Nick Foligno
Scott Hartnell
There are no surprises here. It is likely that the league will grant a special exemption for Clarkson due to his long term injury, so he will be exempt from selection but will not count against Columbus’ protection limit.
Looking at other teams, Chicago’s list jumps out at me. They already have 4 forwards, 3 defenseman, and a goalie with NMCs. That leaves them either 3 additional forwards OR 1 additional defenseman to protect.
We’ll have more coverage of the expansion draft – and its impact on Columbus – as it approaches next June.
At this point in the season, have your protection lists for Columbus changed any?