[FlamesAddiction]

Protect Tanev. I don't think they take Giordano. They may not take Tanev either, but I would take him over Giordano at this point. The only reason they might take him is because they see some value in possibly trading him at the deadline for an asset, so he would be a placeholder for something in the future. But gambling on a 38 year old to put up a strong enough season to get a good return is risky and isn't worth the opportunity cost IMO. It would be like trading the boat for the mystery box.

I think the strongest candidates to be selected are; Dube, Backlund, and Kylington (not necessarily in that order). It sucks to admit it, but the Flames are not going to be exposing anyone who is a must-have for Seattle. They are going to have a fair number of veteran players to select from that teams want to dump, who are younger and more productive, so I can't see them wasting space on a 38 year-old. That's really the missing piece for trying to predict who they pick. It depends a lot on who is available from other teams. Dube and Kylington both have the most untapped potential. Francis is smart and I doubt he is going to draft veteran experience over potential when that can always be supplemented through trades and free agency. The expansion draft only happens once.

This of course is barring any trades. If we trade any key players for picks or prospects, it frees up another protection slot. I would much rather go that route than give up an asset to Seattle to not select a player that was part of this colossal failure of a season.