Expansion Draft - Who do you protect?

[nexttothemoon]

Best case scenario is the Oilers tell Russell prior to the draft the max they'll pay him on a deal but don't sign him. Let's say they will do $4 million x 4 years (not saying that's fair or reasonable... just throwing a possible deal out there).

Then if he is signed by Vegas for more... well so be it... Russell counts as the player the Oilers lose in the draft and the Oilers look elsewhere for another top 4 dman next summer.

 

[Kerricthebig]

I find it humorous that, as it stands right now*, the Flames will be required to expose one of Gio, Brodie, or Hamilton.

*Barring an extension to Wideman, Engelland, or Jokipakka prior to the draft exposure cut-off**.
**I assume that teams will have to provide their lists by a certain date prior to the expansion draft, for LV to make their decisions.

Oilers-centric I think the best route to go will be 7-3-1 protecting:

Talbot

Klefbom
Larsson
Sekera

Eberle
Nuge
Lucic
Maroon
Kassian
Drai
Khaira

Reasoning -
2 forwards under contract for next season must be exposed - Pou and Letestu
1 dman same as above - Fayne (and Davidson should meet that criteria by seasons end as well)
Protecting Maroon - great cost, fits all over the lineup as needed, team first guy
Kass - similar to Maroon, has come in and done exactly what he needed to do to stay, team first guy
Khaira - Don't want Vegas to sign him in their 48 hour FA window. Am liking his growth. Would also consider Pitlick in this spot depending on how the season goes.


If you have played around with CapFriendly's expansion draft tool, You will find some interesting issues about requirements by each team.

Examples:
Anahiem - Only goalie that meets exposure req's is Gibson.
Calgary - One of top 3 D must be exposed.
Carolina - Faulk or Murphy(if healthy for most of the season) are the only D that meet req's
Chicago - need to hope Kruger and Hartman stay healthy to meet req's
Colorado - Barrie is the only D that meets req's
Florida - Demers or Ekblad will need exposure
Minnesota - Dubnyk is the only goalie that meets req's
Montreal - Carey Price!! is the only goalie that meets req's

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

I think these expansion rules are too aggressive. I get the need to be competitive right away but they have to balance that with disrupting team building of existing franchises.

 

[ujju2]

Do you protect Sekera or do you protect Davidson?

If Sekera waives his nmc, I protect Davidson.

 

[ujju2]

Best case scenario is the Oilers tell Russell prior to the draft the max they'll pay him on a deal but don't sign him. Let's say they will do $4 million x 4 years (not saying that's fair or reasonable... just throwing a possible deal out there).

Then if he is signed by Vegas for more... well so be it... Russell counts as the player the Oilers lose in the draft and the Oilers look elsewhere for another top 4 dman next summer.

We don't look elsewhere, we look to one of Davidson or Nurse to step up into that spot. Davidson showed his capabilities last year, and Nurse has had a strong season so far.

 

[McXLNC97]

Best case scenario is the Oilers tell Russell prior to the draft the max they'll pay him on a deal but don't sign him. Let's say they will do $4 million x 4 years (not saying that's fair or reasonable... just throwing a possible deal out there).

Then if he is signed by Vegas for more... well so be it... Russell counts as the player the Oilers lose in the draft and the Oilers look elsewhere for another top 4 dman next summer.

Yeah but didn't Russell end up signing with the Oilers cause he wanted to be in Alberta? Not sure he would want to go and play in Vegas, especially since they will be an expansion team with no likelyhood at being serious contenders for probably at least 5+ years.

 

[McOylerz]

I'm still waiting to see if the league addresses this in any way, because it seems like a very easy way for teams to circumvent the rules and put Vegas in a worse spot off the bat. But yes that would be ideal.

I don't think there is anything to address. Teams take a huge risk not signing a UFA until the draft - if a UFA want's to ca$h in they are just going to wait a week and sign wherever they can get the most $$.

I wouldn't be surprised if Russell would rather be in Edmonton than anywhere else and the Oilers tell him they want him back but cant sign him until after the expansion draft - there is no circumvention there. If anything the circumvention is on Russell's part because who would want to sign somewhere just to be drafted away by an expansion team.

 

[The Nuge]

I'm starting to come around on the 7-3-1. As much as it would suck to lose Davidson, it's not the end of the world. Nurse will continue to develop and might be ready for top 4 duties, Reinhart has to make the team next year, and Russell could always be resigned. We're just fine with a defense of

Klefa-Larsson
Sekera-Russell
Reinhart-Nurse

I think the more important thing is lock up our RFA's before the draft. Vegas has a 48 hour window to sign any unsigned RFA.

This. Leaving a guy like Drai without a contract would be a killer. That said, leaving say Lander unsigned might work out well, since you might be able to manipulate who they take

 

[drewshoo]

I'm starting to come around on the 7-3-1. As much as it would suck to lose Davidson, it's not the end of the world. Nurse will continue to develop and might be ready for top 4 duties, Reinhart has to make the team next year, and Russell could always be resigned. We're just fine with a defense of

Klefa-Larsson
Sekera-Russell
Reinhart-Nurse



This. Leaving a guy like Drai without a contract would be a killer. That said, leaving say Lander unsigned might work out well, since you might be able to manipulate who they take

From what I understood about this 48 hour window is they can only to talk to players that aren't on the protected list, regardless of if they have a contract or not. If Drai is protected (which he will be) Las Vegas cannot approach him, even if he doesn't have a contract. What would be the point of having him on the list then if they could talk to him?

 

[Faelko]

From what I understood about this 48 hour window is they can only to talk to players that aren't on the protected list, regardless of if they have a contract or not. If Drai is protected (which he will be) Las Vegas cannot approach him, even if he doesn't have a contract. What would be the point of having him on the list then if they could talk to him?

You're right...that's how that works. Only unprotected RFA's can be signed by Vegas.

 

[The Nuge]

From what I understood about this 48 hour window is they can only to talk to players that aren't on the protected list, regardless of if they have a contract or not. If Drai is protected (which he will be) Las Vegas cannot approach him, even if he doesn't have a contract. What would be the point of having him on the list then if they could talk to him?

Ah. My understanding was they had to have a contract to be on the protected list

 

[Fourier]

Ah. My understanding was they had to have a contract to be on the protected list

I don't think this is the case. teams can protect unsigned RFA's and it look like with the new wrinkle about access to FA's that a team may even want to think about protecting a key UFA if they think there is a chance that LV may make a big push. Probably won't be many if any UFA's protected but you never know. For example would Montreal protect Radulov rather than letting LV get a shot at him. If they go the 7-3 route why not? Same with Plekanec