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

[FanIn80]

Hmm... do you have to protect players that are on LTIR?

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Hmm... do you have to protect players that are on LTIR?

The NHL has already announced that the following players are exempt from the expansion draft due to injuries:


Everyone else still needs to be protected or will be exposed.

[Roof-Daddy]

I'm sure they would still be able to find a taker for Vatanen, just might affect the return.

Long term he's still a nice piece for a team to trade for.

Bieksa waives

Perry, Getzlaf, Rackell, Silfverberg, Kesler, Cogliano, Vermette
Lindholm, Fowler, Manson
Gibson

If Vatanen isn't traded then that's who Vegas takes.

People ask why would Bieksa waive? Well if he wants to stay in Anaheim waiving is his best chance to do so. Vegas probably isn't going to take him. If he doesn't waive then Anaheim is forced to buy him out and then he's gone from there 100%

[saXon]

Sweet merciful crap. Bolland? I completely forgot about that dude. Didn't know he was still active in the NHL.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by saXon

Sweet merciful crap. Bolland? I completely forgot about that dude. Didn't know he was still active in the NHL.

He's not. That's why he's exempt from the expansion draft. He still has two years left on his contract though, so he hasn't officially retired.

[Matty81]

I don't understand why there seems to be a double standard when it comes to protecting "third year" pros. We have to waste a spot on Bennett after his 12 nhl games that first season but Vancouver gets a free pass on Virtanen even though he played 10 ahl games. AHL games don't count or something?

Edit.. Noticed Montour is the same except he played 14 ahl games and the ducks still get a pass. I'm guessing their contracts rolled over for some reason but doesn't seem fair to me.. 10 pro games should be at any level.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't understand why there seems to be a double standard when it comes to protecting "third year" pros. We have to waste a spot on Bennett after his 12 nhl games that first season but Vancouver gets a free pass on Virtanen even though he played 10 ahl games. AHL games don't count or something?

Edit.. Noticed Montour is the same except he played 14 ahl games and the ducks still get a pass. I'm guessing their contracts rolled over for some reason but doesn't seem fair to me.. 10 pro games should be at any level.

The issue is how they define pro seasons. They appear to be using this definition from the CBA:

the term "professional season" shall:
(A) for a Player aged 18 or 19, mean any season in which such Player plays in eleven (11) or more Professional Games (including NHL Regular Season and Playoff Games, minor league regular season and playoff games, and games played in any European professional league, while under an SPC), and (B) for a Player aged 20 or older, mean any season in which such Player plays in one or more Professional Games (including NHL Regular Season and Playoff Games, minor league regular season and
playoff games, and games played in any European professional league, while under an SPC).

In Virtanen's case as he was 18 years old during the 14/15 season, he needed to play 11 pro games for it to count as a professional season. He only played 10 AHL games.

In Montour's case the 14 AHL games he played in 14/15 won't count as a pro season because he wasn't under NHL a Standard Player's contract (SPC). His ELC was set to kick in for the 15/16 season.

[Matty81]

Yeah makes sense that it aligns with the cba and I understand the rationale but it just doesn't pass the sniff/logic test for me still. If the standard is 10 pro games for an nhl organization in the name of equity there should be no special exemptions. Probably my first mistake is expecting equity and rational behaviour from the nhl.

[Anduril]

The question is what kind of return do the likes of Nashville and Minnesota get back on these young established NHLers. Picks won't be enough and they can't take on any players that would need to be protected and the other team needs to be able to take on an additional protected player.

Ideally that means some combination of a high grade prospect and picks. Arizona, Toronto and maybe Carolina seem like ideal places with their age group, needs, space and assets.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't understand why there seems to be a double standard when it comes to protecting "third year" pros. We have to waste a spot on Bennett after his 12 nhl games that first season but Vancouver gets a free pass on Virtanen even though he played 10 ahl games. AHL games don't count or something?

Edit.. Noticed Montour is the same except he played 14 ahl games and the ducks still get a pass. I'm guessing their contracts rolled over for some reason but doesn't seem fair to me.. 10 pro games should be at any level.

Lets be honest. I'm not sure LV would pick up Virtanen even if he was unprotected. There are zero indications he can play in the AHL let alone the NHL. Hunter Shinkaruk looks like a better player at this point and that's not saying much.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Lets be honest. I'm not sure LV would pick up Virtanen even if he was unprotected. There are zero indications he can play in the AHL let alone the NHL. Hunter Shinkaruk looks like a better player at this point and that's not saying much.

no, Shinkaruk is not looking like a better prospect than Viertanen.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

no, Shinkaruk is not looking like a better prospect than Viertanen.

What exactly has Virtanen done in the AHL or even CHL to show he's a better player? They are only one year apart and Shinkaruk has outproduced him at every level. I'm not bullish on Shinkaruk but Virtanen looks like he could be a total bust where Shinkaruk could have a good AHL career at least.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

no, Shinkaruk is not looking like a better prospect than Viertanen.

Virtanen is Rene Bourque without the elite hockey sense that Rene has. Rene thinks the game like Ray Bourque compared to Virtanen.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Virtanen is Rene Bourque without the elite hockey sense that Rene has. Rene thinks the game like Ray Bourque compared to Virtanen.

Haha, wut???

I think Virtanen is terrible, but when did Rene Bourque ever have 'elite hockey sense'??

I mean, even in the 3 years once upon a time when Bourque was a pretty good NHL player it's pretty funny to say he had 'elite hockey sense' even then, especially given the frustratingly stupid penalties and stupid plays he'd make back then.

Now as for Virtanen, he's currently about as good as the Rene Bourque of now that is just washed up.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

What exactly has Virtanen done in the AHL or even CHL to show he's a better player? They are only one year apart and Shinkaruk has outproduced him at every level. I'm not bullish on Shinkaruk but Virtanen looks like he could be a total bust where Shinkaruk could have a good AHL career at least.

2 years apart (22 months), Virtanen was drafted really young

Virtanen has shown he can take an NHL shift, he can still be a 3rd/4th line winger who can crash and bang, he did that for 55 games as a 19 year old with solid possession numbers

Shinkaruk's floor is a scoring forward in the AHL/Europe

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

People ask why would Bieksa waive? Well if he wants to stay in Anaheim waiving is his best chance to do so. Vegas probably isn't going to take him. If he doesn't waive then Anaheim is forced to buy him out and then he's gone from there 100%

While true he's soon to be 36 and only has one year left on his contract worth $4m, If I were him I would take the buyout and the $2.7m and pick the best destination offered as a UFA. In all likely hood someone would offer him somewhere around $2m x 2.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

2 years apart (22 months), Virtanen was drafted really young

Virtanen has shown he can take an NHL shift, he can still be a 3rd/4th line winger who can crash and bang, he did that for 55 games as a 19 year old with solid possession numbers

Shinkaruk's floor is a scoring forward in the AHL/Europe

???

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Karl

Haha, wut???

I think Virtanen is terrible, but when did Rene Bourque ever have 'elite hockey sense'??

I mean, even in the 3 years once upon a time when Bourque was a pretty good NHL player it's pretty funny to say he had 'elite hockey sense' even then, especially given the frustratingly stupid penalties and stupid plays he'd make back then.

Now as for Virtanen, he's currently about as good as the Rene Bourque of now that is just washed up.

My point was that Virtanen does not have any hockey sense.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

My point was that Virtanen does not have any hockey sense.

Yes, that's true.

I just thought it was off target when you said Rene Bourque has (or even implying had) 'elite hockey sense'. That's where you really went off the rails for me.

[TheScorpion]

I think that the poster in question was being sarcastic.