[News] Official expansion alignment, expansion draft rules, and 2017 entry draft rules

[sureLoss]

In Treliving's availability he said there was a GM meeting later today... expects to get clarification then.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Is it like a test for the GMs where they have to calculate/guess if a certain player is exempt or not? Why can't the teams go ask the league, according to the rules they set out, the status of the players?

This is addressed by sureloss, but I would think that there is no great urgency with a full calendar year ahead of the expansion draft for GMs to have all the details in hand. There is lots of time, and all of them are busy with other more pressing matters in the intervening weeks.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Here is a chart showing what the expansion draft for goalies CURRENTLY looks like.

Of course it will change as trades and UFA signings happen throughout the next year. Changes or not, there will be lots of really good goalies (both veteran and young with upside) for Vegas to choose from.





Philly is an interesting case for me. Both Neuvirth and Mason are UFA's after next season and are quality young starters, but if they extend either of them they still might be inclined to protect Stolarz who they seem very high on as their goalie of the future.

Also Vancouver has two UFA goalies after this season as well. But unlike Philly they just signed their goalie fo the future and wouldn't have to protect Demko from expansion. I imagine they'd like to extend Markstrom, but they might wait it out and attempt to snag a highly touted goalie for cheap at the 11th hour for peanuts.

Thanks for the chart. I think you are right on Stolarz and I can see Fleury and Bobrovsky being dealt due to their NMCs as well. I Just feel that is a group of younger goalies that won't be sought after to fill a protection spot and Brossoit fits within it. I feel he would be a solid #3 choice for goaltenders due to his upside and his likelihood of passing through waivers.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Again, this all depends upon who all the Oilers have left exposed on their unprotected list, and who every other team has left available. There are going to be a lot of fairly good goalies exposed, and the LV team will need to make decisions to select a specific number of forwards, defensemen, and goalies all meeting a minimum payroll requirement of $43 m.

You mean an expansion draft is dependent on who is protected and who is available? No #### Sherlock. Maybe that previous poster was right about you being more crotchety recently, kind of regretting defending you at this point in time because my post that said "I had a feeling" did not warrant this type of reply because you of all people are smart enough to know that I am well aware of point you made and did nothing to show otherwise.

The LV team will need to take 3 goaltenders, one of whom will most likely be AHL bound. So I think they will take a goaltending prospect that has some upside and a decent chance of clearing waivers. I think this is where Brossoit fits in, I think within the group of the prospect goaltenders available that have a decent shot at clearing waivers that Brossoit will be one of if not the top prospect.

Now you are welcome to go ahead and actually stimulate conversation, or you can continue to try and make yourself feel superior by pointing out obvious facts that most of us know already.

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Ill take that bet

Since when does a feeling mean one would be willing to bet on something happening?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

Since when does a feeling mean one would be willing to bet on something happening?

Man, you are sensitive.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

...

Good lord. Calm down.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Man, you are sensitive.

That is sensitive? It is more mild confusion than anything because your response and others weren't exactly warranted.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

This is addressed by sureloss, but I would think that there is no great urgency with a full calendar year ahead of the expansion draft for GMs to have all the details in hand. There is lots of time, and all of them are busy with other more pressing matters in the intervening weeks.

I think there is some urgency though, as 1 year is not really a long time in the hockey contract world. GMs will want to know who will and will not be protected under the rules, so they can manage their rosters better now. Nothing would be worse than expecting someone to be protected, making moves this year, and then not being able to protect them at the draft. There needs to be clarity pretty quick in my eyes.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

I think there is some urgency though, as 1 year is not really a long time in the hockey contract world. GMs will want to know who will and will not be protected under the rules, so they can manage their rosters better now. Nothing would be worse than expecting someone to be protected, making moves this year, and then not being able to protect them at the draft. There needs to be clarity pretty quick in my eyes.

Sure, but there is still a full week before the UFA market opens. My point is that this is not something that is immanent before the draft, and that is probably why NHL GMs have not been camped outside of the NHL head office looking for clarification. It will happen.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef

The LV team will need to take 3 goaltenders, one of whom will most likely be AHL bound. So I think they will take a goaltending prospect that has some upside and a decent chance of clearing waivers. I think this is where Brossoit fits in, I think within the group of the prospect goaltenders available that have a decent shot at clearing waivers that Brossoit will be one of if not the top prospect.

The Smart move for Edmonton may actually be to try adding by subtracting and tempt LV leaving Eberle and Sekera. The contracts are no good and Edmonton would probably be better off with the cap space.

Hall
RNH
Pouliot
Draisaitl
Yakupov
Lander
Korpikoski
Klefbom
Nurse
Fayne
Talbot

Looks about right for Edmontons no goodness

But I stopped expecting Edmonton along time ago.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Is it like a test for the GMs where they have to calculate/guess if a certain player is exempt or not? Why can't the teams go ask the league, according to the rules they set out, the status of the players?

I'm pretty sure the GMs and the league will sort this out well in advance of the expansion draft that is in 365 days.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Alignment


Western Conference (Pacific Division – 8 Teams)

Within Conference (Division): 29 games
* 6 Teams: 2 Home / 2 Away
* 1 Team: 3 Home / 2 Away
* 6 x 4 = 24 games
* 1 x 5 = 5 games

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if anyone has picked up on this, but the 3Home/2Away does not compute. Not all teams in the division can play an extra in division game at home...Any bets that we will end up with 3 visits to Honda Centre?

Hopefully they do this based on last year's standings - 1st plays @ 2nd, 3rd @ 4th, etc.

I can't see how this doesn't make a 42Hv40A and vise versa split for some teams though.

[Finger Cookin]

It says only one of the teams will play an extra division game at home.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

It says only one of the teams will play an extra division game at home.

Nope, the # of teams refers to opponents

[sureLoss]

This is probably a big relief to some teams

News Update

Larry Brooks ‏@NYP_Brooksie
Deputy Daly confirms that 2017 buyout period will open before expansion draft.

Means teams will have an opportunity to buyout just before the expansion draft and don't have to make a decision right now.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

This is probably a big relief to some teams

News Update

Larry Brooks ‏@NYP_Brooksie
Deputy Daly confirms that 2017 buyout period will open before expansion draft.

Means teams will have an opportunity to buyout just before the expansion draft and don't have to make a decision right now.

The Rangers especially, Staal and Girardi are terrible contracts with NMCs

[ThaBrink]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've seen so many posts saying that NMC that was still active when the draft happens need to be protected. But what about pending UFAs? Will we have to protect Wideman? Unless he decides to waive?

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by ThaBrink

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've seen so many posts saying that NMC that was still active when the draft happens need to be protected. But what about pending UFAs? Will we have to protect Wideman? Unless he decides to waive?

No. Any player with a NMC who's contract expires in the summer of 2017 will not have to be protected. Only players who have a NMC that continues for the 2017/18 season will have to be protected (unless they agree to waive the clause).

[ThaBrink]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

No. Any player with a NMC who's contract expires in the summer of 2017 will not have to be protected. Only players who have a NMC that continues for the 2017/18 season will have to be protected (unless they agree to waive the clause).

Thank you for clearing that up. Was hearing so many conflicted opinions.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if anyone has picked up on this, but the 3Home/2Away does not compute. Not all teams in the division can play an extra in division game at home...Any bets that we will end up with 3 visits to Honda Centre?

Hopefully they do this based on last year's standings - 1st plays @ 2nd, 3rd @ 4th, etc.

I can't see how this doesn't make a 42Hv40A and vise versa split for some teams though.

Yeah, they messed that up.

There should be two different breakdowns for the Pacific Division teams. Half the teams will host the extra game against one team in the Division, the other half will be the visitor for that one extra game. To offset that, the Pacific Division teams will play either one more or one less home game against the Central.


HALF THE TEAMS IN THE PACIFIC DIVISION PLAY

Against Pacific Division || 29 total games : 15 home/14 away

• 6 Teams: 2 Home (12 total) / 2 Away (12 total)
• 1 Team: 3 Home (3 total) / 2 Away (2 total)

Against Central Division || 21 total games : 10 home/11 away

• 3 Teams: 2 Home (6 total) / 1 Away (3 total)
• 4 Teams: 1 Home (4 total) / 2 Away (8 total)

Non-Conference || 32 total games : 16 home/16 away

• 16 Teams: 1 Home (16 total) / 1 Away (16 total)

HALF THE TEAMS IN THE PACIFIC DIVISION PLAY

Against Pacific Division || 29 total games : 14 home/15 away

• 6 Teams: 2 Home (12 total) / 2 Away (12 total)
• 1 Team: 2 Home (2 total) / 3 Away (3 total)

Against Central Division || 21 total games : 11 home/10 away

• 4 Teams: 2 Home (8 total) / 1 Away (4 total)
• 3 Teams: 1 Home (3 total) / 2 Away (6 total)

Non-Conference || 32 total games : 16 home/16 away

• 16 Teams: 1 Home (16 total) / 1 Away (16 total)

As you can see, that breaks down to 41 home and 41 away games for every team.

[sureLoss]

General Fanager has an updated FaQ for pro season:

http://www.generalfanager.com/teams/expansion

What does “first- and second-year professionals” mean?
Assuming the methodology used for calculating professional experience as it relates to free agency (CBA Section 10.2) applies for expansion as well:
A Player aged 18 or 19 earns a year of professional experience by playing 10 or more NHL games in a given NHL season
A player aged 20 or older (or who turns 20 between September 16 and December 31 of the year in which he signs his first SPC) earns a year of professional experience by playing 10 or more Professional Games under an SPC in a given League Year.
Note that while the 18/19 age threshold refers to NHL games, the 20+ age threshold refers to Professional Games. "Professional Games" includes the following: any NHL Games played, all minor league regular season and playoff games and any other professional games played, including but not limited to, games played in any European league or any other league outside North America, by a Player pursuant to his SPC.

Professional seasons are expected to only count while a player is under an NHL SPC. A player like Artemi Panarin for instance, who played several "professional seasons" in the KHL prior to signing with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2015-16 season, is expected to still be exempt from the Expansion Draft. This is because his seasons in the KHL were played before he signed an NHL SPC, so his first "professional season" for purposes of expansion is considered the 2015-16 season.

Furthermore, players who play professional games in the AHL or other professional leagues in a year where their contract slides are not expected to have those years count as "professional seasons" for purposes of expansion. This is because the player is 18/19 in the years that his contract slides, so only 10 or more NHL games would be considered a professional season.

Please visit the Protected Players tab for a full list of players who are likely to be exempt under these guidelines.

They list these players exempt:

Mark Jankowski C $925,000
Kenney Morrison D $925,000
David Rittich G $925,000
Daniel Pribyl C $925,000
Jon Gillies G $925,000
Hunter Shinkaruk C $863,333
Morgan Klimchuk LW $863,333
Emile Poirier LW $863,333
Mason McDonald G $822,500
Jakub Nakladal D $817,500
Rasmus Andersson D $786,666
Oliver Kylington D $761,666
Brett Pollock LW $711,666
Andrew Mangiapane LW $705,000
Hunter Smith RW $692,500
Garnet Hathaway RW $690,000
Austin Carroll RW $670,000
Keegan Kanzig D $630,833
Nick Schneider G $616,666