![]() ![]() The no-movement clause debateĪ key point of contention in the expansion draft discussion is how to deal with no-movement clauses. Unfortunately, two other expansion draft rules throw a wrench into that line of thinking. The player doesn't waste a coveted "protection" spot, and the team can move on in a couple weeks. If a team has no interest in re-signing a player, they could just choose to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft. Still, at first glance, this doesn't seem to be much of an issue. What this means is that on June 20th (or whenever the expansion draft is held), a player on a soon-to-be expiring deal is technically still the property of his old team, even if that team has no intention of re-signing him. ![]() At midnight that night, all contracts flip over to the next season, and players on expiring contracts officially become free agents. The reason why free agency starts on July 1st is because the league year ends on June 30th. The problem is where mid-to-late June falls in the league calendar. Expansion teams would have the core of their roster built via the expansion draft, allowing them to use the normal draft and free agency to fill any holes left. Holding the draft at that time would not only preempt the normal draft, but also the start of free agency, which occurs on July 1st each year. The NHL has indicated that they plan to hold the expansion draft in June, after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals and before the normal entry-level Draft for upcoming prospects. The timeline makes everything complicated Until that question is answered definitively by the league, making accurate projections regarding each team's situation becomes a fool's errand. Because of the draft's spot in the league calendar, it's still unclear how expiring contracts will be treated in the expansion draft. With the draft likely to occur in June of 2017, it's become commonplace for fans to project which players would need to be protected now that the vast majority of rules have been released.īut one very important grey area remains. Of course, this has set off a firestorm of speculation on the part of fans, wondering which players their favorite team might be in danger of losing. ![]() The current rules would force those teams to expose at least a couple useful scorers and blueliners for potential poaching. Still, most contending squads have at least nine valuable forwards and four or five respectable defensemen. This allows for prospects and still-developing young talent to stay with their current teams. Players that have completed two or fewer professional seasons in North America at the time of the draft are exempt, and do not need to be protected nor can be poached by an expansion team. To that end, it became public knowledge this month that the league will allow current teams to protect a maximum of seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender in the forthcoming expansion draft. After all, allowing for the expansion team(s) to be at least mildly competitive in their early years goes a long way in helping them to build a fanbase in a new market. ![]() But by the same token, it's in the NHL's best interest to force those teams into some tough decisions regarding which players to keep. Of course, existing teams are allowed to protect their most important players in an expansion draft. Essentially, an expansion draft allows the newly-constituted teams to take certain players off the rosters of existing teams, in order to fill their new ranks. It's clear that NHL expansion is right around the corner, and with the addition of new teams to the fold comes talk of the inevitable expansion draft. ![]()
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