Position eligibility for expansion draft

[xargon81]

First, I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere but I can't find a good answer anywhere.

I was considering who would be available in the expansion draft and a thought occurred to me; you have the option to keep 7F/3D or 8 skaters, but what stops someone from keeping a defenceman as a forward?

Consider the Winnipeg Jets, and ignore the fact that Trouba is asking for a trade for a minute . They have Enstrom, Trouba, and Myers all as defencemen who they would want to keep, which is their 3, leaving them with 7 forwards they can protect. Obviously they would want to keep Byfuglien as well, which would put them at 4D, reducing them to a max of 4 forwards they can protect. But Byfuglien has spent time playing on the RW, so can they protect him as a forward and still protect 6 others as well? Would he need to play a certain number of games as a forward this year, or is his position already determined?

I guess my question is, what are the rules for determining position eligibility for expansion protection?

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[BattleBorn]

Someone asked this question in regards to Brent Burns on the BoH. When I get to a computer I'll search and find it. There was a real answer, as I recall.

 

[xargon81]

I did a quick search for burns and expansion and didn't come up with anything, but you might have a better time finding it, knowing more keywords and whatnot. It will be interesting to find the real answer, because I think you could see some defencemen playing the minimum number of games to be eligible as a forward this year if that's how it works, especially playing for teams that are out of contention halfway through the season.

Thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate the help!

EDIT: I think the confusion for me comes from the fact that most NHL rules in regard to rosters only refer to skaters and goaltenders, there's not generally much distinction between defencemen and forwards.

 

[BattleBorn]

Apparently I was incorrect and the question wasn't actually answered.

This is as close as we got:

I don't recall any specific definitions of Defenseman - but I would assume a player would have to play the majority of his games as a D-man to qualify.

I'll ask around and see if anyone has heard anything on the Vegas hockey blog end.

 

[xargon81]

Sounds good, thanks. I'll be interested to find out if this is a loophole that can/will be used or if it has been defined somewhere. Seems like it's too large of a hole to be an oversight, but no mention has been made that I'm aware of.

 

[airbus220]

Here are some of the rules:

Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a club's player exposure requirements, UNLESS APPROVAL IS RECEIVED FROM THE NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection by the League.

The Las Vegas franchise must select one player from each presently existing club for a total of 30 players (NOT INCLUDING ADDITIONAL PLAYERS WHO MAY BE ACQUIRED AS THE RESULT OF VIOLATIONS OF THE EXPANSION DRAFT RULES).

For Byfuglien to count as a forward you would need approval from the NHL and I don't think you will get it because it circumvents the spirit of the expansion draft rules.
If a team does this crap Vegas will get additional players.
I guess everything will be determined how players were seen in the seasons before the expansion draft rules were made public.

If you are not sure if Byfuglien is a defender or a forward then Byfuglien must be a skater, so you should only use the "8 skater" mode for protection in the first place. If you still want to protect 10 skater Vegas should be allowed to draft one of skater #9/10 additionally.