YOu realize they dont have to protect Benn right? I mean he is 30 and at a bargain deal but his trade value around the league is a 4th? maybe a 3rd? He is a great bottom pairing D and will likely not get taken and should he the habs can always strike a deal with VGK to get him back for said draft value.
BEaulieu although not reaching his potential is still an asset to this team regardless of what some here on HF think. He is 24 and just came off a 30 point season as a D man who ranked 4th amongst Dmen on the team in PP TOI.
IF he had regular minutes on the PP he would easily be a 35-45 point dman.
I say they protect Weber, Petry and Beaulieu
up front they protect hudon as the 7th forward.
and I believe VGK will slect either JDLR or emelin or Plekanec
Thank you! Some sanity injected into the thread. And I do really like Benn and think the trade to acquire him was a slam dunk win for MB. But Beaulieu, for all his shortcomings, is a significantly better asset. If left unprotected, he would almost 100% be taken in the expansion draft, even if McPhee just takes him to flip to another team for a pick or similar asset.
Weber/Petry/Beaulieu should/will be the 3 dmen protted, barring a trade.