Expansion draft and waivers

[STL fan in MN]

Help me out here.

Vegas is going to take 30 players and all of them will be guys who can't be sent to the minors without waivers (because of the expansion draft rules).

An NHL roster is 23 players.

So Vegas is going to have to take 7 guys who will be put on waivers in training camp. Possibly more after free agency.

That should make waivers very interesting in September. It puts Colorado in a good spot to grab some good players.

Are there any special Vegas waiver rules for those extra guys? Can their old teams reclaim them first?

Or maybe Vegas drafts 7 guys and then trades them straight away for picks? That would make the most sense for them, right? But they would still have to draft the guys before trading them back or elsewhere and that's gotta shake things up.

Yes, Vegas will have to comply with the same 23-man roster as all other teams but they can solve their problem without losing a bunch of players to waivers in camp in two ways.

1. Trade a few of their draftees for picks or prospects. This is what I see them doing the most. I suspect a few of these deals may already be worked out before the expansion draft even takes place.

2. Draft some players that aren't waiver eligible. There aren't a ton but there are a few decent players that fall into the category of being eligible for the expansion draft but also waiver exempt. However, I don't see too many of these guys that would be the best asset to take from his respective team. IMO, Vegas would likely be able to get more bang for their buck by drafting a better established NHLer and trading that player to another team for picks/prospects.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

The off-season is gonna be a whirlwind

 

[ginner classic]

Yes, Vegas will have to comply with the same 23-man roster as all other teams but they can solve their problem without losing a bunch of players to waivers in camp in two ways.

1. Trade a few of their draftees for picks or prospects. This is what I see them doing the most. I suspect a few of these deals may already be worked out before the expansion draft even takes place.

2. Draft some players that aren't waiver eligible. There aren't a ton but there are a few decent players that fall into the category of being eligible for the expansion draft but also waiver exempt. However, I don't see too many of these guys that would be the best asset to take from his respective team. IMO, Vegas would likely be able to get more bang for their buck by drafting a better established NHLer and trading that player to another team for picks/prospects.

Is there not a rule that they cannot trade the players they select in expansion for a defined time period?

 

[Ezekial]

Haha I just had this thought last night and was about to post this very thread until I opened this.

They'll definitely be strategic in this facet when drafting I'd imagine. Any Wings fan hoping a terrible contract will be taken is going to be disappointed when Vegas takes a player for their AHL squad.

 

[BruinsBtn]

Haha I just had this thought last night and was about to post this very thread until I opened this.

They'll definitely be strategic in this facet when drafting I'd imagine. Any Wings fan hoping a terrible contract will be taken is going to be disappointed when Vegas takes a player for their AHL squad.

I think the smart thing for them to do is try and corner the market on defensemen. There's already a shortage and then you grab 15 of them and wait for teams to squirm.

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

They are going to trade some of their claim players its pretty obvious.

 

[uncleben]

Lots of them have 3 years pro. So again weird how they do it.

Of your list, (and not counting Bibeau bc mouser has explained the exception for goalies already) the skaters who have pro experience spread in three different seasons are:

Daniel Altshuller (14 pro games in 2014-15; 43 pro games in 2015-16; 24 pro games in 2016-17)
Julius Bergman (1;60;64)
Tyler Bertuzzi (2;71;55)
Chris Bigras (7;68;45)

That's it.
Altshuller played enough games each season, and is in the draft. He also is waiver eligible.

Bergman, Bertuzzi, and Bigras all played pro in the 2014-15 season, but it's not an all-or-nothing situation; you don't just "turn pro" after 1 game (unless you ask the NCAA...)
There is a minimum threshold and none of Bergman, Bertuzzi, or Bigras successfully reached that threshold, and that 2014-15 season was not counted as a year of pro experience for any of them, meaning they all have two seasons only (2015-16 & 2016-17) and are therefore draft exempt.