[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Split98

For me, here's where things get muddy.

So, the expansion draft will reportedly happen before the entry draft... so before July 1. So technically, Smid, Engelland, Wideman, Bollig and Raymond would be under contract with the Flames still... no?

If they aren't, what about our RFAs? Jokipakka, Ferland, Hathaway and Bennett are all players on the roster right now who would need new contracts. Who knows how that'll change next year, but those numbers are all over the place right there.

Let's carelessly throw money around:
Jokipakka: $2M
Ferland: $1.75M - $3M (definitely a player who's role is TBD)
Hathaway: $1M (who knows what he'll do next year)
Bennett: $4M (I just hit a button...)

What if this is how our RFAs shake out? That's $8.75M - $10M, or 11.8% - 13.5% of a $74,000,000 salary right there. Now, I have no idea if those numbers work with a $74,000,000 salary and everything else we'd have, but they can't be so far off that the point doesn't stand.

Can the NHL say that your UFAs are off the books, AND RFAs don't count, but expose 25%? That 25% thing is a total mess.

I am not sure how it would work out, but I am pretty sure Bennett would be protected and his cap hit wouldn't count towards the 25%. It is hard to say what the exact rules would be, because the NHL didn't quite figure them out yet.