Speculation: 2021 Seattle Expansion Protection Exposure Roster Speculation Thread Part 1

Exactly. But most people here are thinking that Chatfield only becomes eligible if he plays 27 games.

The most frustrating bit is that apparently NHL.com is giving incorrect information.

 

The interesting play with Chatfield is to use him as trade bait for other teams that might deal a dman but need an expansion draft eligible player in return to expose.

For example Toronto seems willing to trade Dermott but is worried about expansion draft implications in that case for their defense. Throw Chatfield in the deal, problem solved.

If we don't expose Myers I will be enraged.

I'd add Siegenthaler, C. Jones, Kulak and Foote as interesting targets.

 

As I said in the Management Thread, if Benning is still here I will be absolutely jaw-dropped if we don't protect Myers. Stunned.

It would basically be an admission that their biggest recent UFA signing is already another negative-value Eriksson only 2 years into his contract. Far easier and much less criticism to just pretend he's important and protect him. Or, more accurately, they probably do think he's really good and would be afraid to lose him.

 

You're probably right and I'm probably setting myself up to be mad when it happens instead of just accepting it.

I hold on to the hope that it will happen because they structured his contract to enable it as a possibility. When we were all predicting the signing I thought he'd get a NTC and be draft exempt and was pleased to see this wasn't the case. If he sticks with Hughes this season it'll pump up his stats by default and Seattle might take the bait.

 

Agreed. All good targets as well.

Seattle is going to have a solid blueline off the bat.

 

Now wholl they take? I doubt Holtby which maybe they neverd of taken anyways

Lindy boy? Shotgun?

Not much we are giving them just like with the Las Vegas Golden Knights back in 2017

 

As it stands now, the Vegas selection will almost certainly be one of these 4 players :

Virtanen
Gaudette
MacEwen
Juolevi

Lind might be a longshot. Virtanen probably gets traded before we get to that point.

 

Cant we protect THREE dmen tho? Myers Schmidt and Juolevi?

 

Juolevi will get protected. Edler is ufa and won’t be signed prior to the ED. Hughes is exempt.

Petey, bo, brock, Miller are your locks up front to protect. Motte likely next.
Leaves 2 spots for gaudette, Jake, Lind.

that is why is the Canucks are this bad better to clearly miss the playoffs. Sell their ufas and use a pick to unload a bad contract.

 

My guess is Gaudette, Motte and MacEwen would get the last three forward protection slots based on the current roster. Lind didn't even make the taxi squad; I don't think they'd protect him. Virtanen is burning bridges and would also be the most cost-efficient buyout on the roster.

Defence will be Schmidt, Juolevi and.... ? There will be teams with more useful defencemen than they can protect, hopefully Canucks will try to take advantage and acquire a useful guy with a low-mid cap hit without giving up too much. Myers at $6M x 3 would be a waste of a protection slot.

 

Lind’s development was better served in the A. Personally, no elc player should be on the taxi squad. It’s stupid that anyone of them are given that the A has started up.

 

At age 22 and with two AHL seasons already under his belt, Lind wasn't close to making the roster this season. If he's not good enough to make the roster next season he'll be exposed on waivers. Why protect him over other guys on cheap contracts who are already NHLers?

 

Only if Chatfield gets to 27 games, which doesn't look likely.

I suspect we'll have a new GM who will hopefully be smart enough to use one of our protection spots on a new defender. But you're right, we may use that spot on Juolevi and find a way to get another veteran defender to expose.

Still think the overwhelming favourite to be claimed is Gaudette.

 

If Juolevi is protected and we protect Myers and Schmidt, we don't have a defender with the required experience to expose.

 

There's no reason not to expose Myers. Seattle...The Kraken...???...are not going to burden themselves with his contract.

 

If/when we get a new GM, Myers will very likely be exposed.

 

Canucks were burdened with 1 way contracts. Lind wouldn’t kill penalties this season so who would he replace in the lineup? Thus no reason he would have made the roster over hoglander.

move Jake. Not working with him.

 

Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Miller, Gaudette, Motte, MacEwen. That's seven. Virtanen and Lind exposed (or moved).

I've watched Lind play a lot of AHL games in the past two seasons. I watched him in the streamed scrimmage in January and in the first two Utica games a couple of weeks ago. He's got plenty of improving to do in seven months to be NHL-ready. There was no development consideration last summer and he couldn't crack the 17-forward bubble group even though Leivo was lost to injury, Baertschi had opted out and Boucher had been released to sign in the KHL. It's not as though he has been knocking on the door.

 

Vegas took chances on long in the tooth prospects over big contracts and even though a bunch didn't pan out they were still better off then carrying that extra salary on the cap.

I expect Seattle will do the same given the option.

 

I don't see teams making deals with Seattle like they did with LV to protect a certain player. Teams will lose who they lose. Look at how Minny/Ana/Cbs got burned making deals with LV.

With that said, Seattle's strategy is likely to use their cap space in a flat cap to acquire talent. Thus makes sense for them to not take on overpaid contracts with term. Myers isn't like Eriksson who is over $5 million overpaid. He's closer to around $2 million overpaid.

So, they likely look at what Vancouver has and either takes a UFA/RFA that won't get a contract or they take a player if they get an asset in return.

That's why I think it's important for the Canucks at this point to be clearly out of the playoff picture at the end of March, like by 8 points (non prorated). They can't string any wins together.

See if they can use one of those picks they get at the TDL to move off a bad contract.

 

Expansion is really easy for us again, pretty much no difficult decisions.

Which is not what you really want twice in four years when you're supposed to be a competitive team full of players who you'd hate to lose.

 

Myers contract also is longer by two additional seasons beyond which Eriksson's contract expires. He's barely a #4 right now.

Vegas ate a contract like Garrison because it was only for one season (helped that it was front end loaded as well).

They'll take a subpar backup 30+ year old goalie like Holtby before Myers imho because of that (only one year left at that point on his deal).

 

Columbus didn’t get screwed they didn’t know what they had.

This is an interesting subject though. Which teams are likely to have a player they truly don’t want to lose and would pay for it?

 

They gave up a 1st round pick to protect a player. Losing W. Karlsson is something they could live with cause he had not done anything up to that point, but they threw in a 1st as well due to a NMC that someone had.

I doubt any team is doing that this time around.

Nashville has 4 Dmen. Jossi, Ellis, Ekholm, and Fabbro. If they go 4-4-1 then Johansen, Forsberg, Kunin likely are the 3 for sure. Duchene would have 5 years left at $8 mill per cap hit. Would Seattle take that? He would be 30 years old, so they have him until 35.
Minnesota has Brodin, Dumba, Spurgeon and Suter and D as well. Minny would need to ask Parise to waive his NMC since highly unlikely Seattle would take him. Zucs has a nmc. Fiala they would protect. Greenway and Eriksson Ek likely the other 2 if they go 4-4-1. Meaning Foligno is the best guy to take with 3 years at $3.1 mill per left on his contract. Unless they move a Dman out.
Colorado has 4 D with EJ having a NMC. If they go 4-4-1 then Mack, Rantenen, Kadri would get protected. Landy is UFA but I doubt they want to leave him that close to testing the market, otherwise they let one of Nuke, Donskoi, Compher, Burkosvky, Jost get taken and move on.
TB - McDonough does not have a NMC, so he could be made available as he turns 32 in 2021 and has 5 years left on the contract.

So, you could see some big names left exposed due to the term remaining on their contracts, taking them into their mid or even late 30's.

 

They did what you’re suggesting teams will try to Seattle to do. They traded the Clarkson contract as well as picks.