NHL expansion team in Las Vegas could steal a Canuck

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      There will be an NHL team in Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season. This is disappointing for many in Lotusland, given that the Nevada-based team—they don’t have a name yet, but early rumours are the “Black Knights” — may have taken a spot from a possible team in nearby Seattle or in Quebec City.

      Keep in mind, though, that halfway through the first season, when ticket sales start to fall off, it’ll probably cost less for Vancouverites to fly down for a Black Aces game than to see one at Rogers Arena! 

      Las Vegas will need players, however, and they will be acquiring them through an expansion draft. The rules for the draft were outlined earlier this week, and it’s worth examining them to see who the Canucks could lose.

      From the NHL:

      Protected Lists
      * Clubs will have two options for players they wish to protect in the Expansion Draft: 

      a) Seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender

      b) Eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender

      * All players who have currently effective and continuing "No Movement" clauses at the time of the Expansion Draft (and who to decline to waive such clauses) must be protected (and will be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).

      * All first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward their club's applicable protection limits).

      Player Exposure Requirements
      * All Clubs must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the Expansion Draft:

      i) One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

      ii) Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2017-18 and b) played in 40 or more NHL games the prior season OR played in 70 or more NHL games in the prior two seasons.

      iii) One goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. If the club elects to make a restricted free agent goaltender available in order to meet this requirement, that goaltender must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the club's protected list.

      * Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a club's player exposure requirements, unless approval is received from the NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection by the League.


      For the Canucks, the seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender option seems like the safe call.

       

      Forwards

      Henrik and Daniel Sedin are no-brainers here. Not only are they still the most productive forwards on the Canucks, the twins both have no-movement clauses in their contracts, meaning, unless they waive them, that they must be protected in the draft.

      Bo Horvat will be protected, as he is one of the only younger Canucks that is eligible to be snapped up by Vegas—Jake Virtanen and Ben Hutton will have spent two years in the league at that point, making them automatically protected.

      It’s easy to see the Canucks also protecting Sven Baertschi, as he just signed an affordable two-year extension at just over $1.8 million per.

      They’ll also be shielding centre Brandon Sutter after inking him to a five-year pact last August.

      It’s important to note that the Canucks roster will probably look much different a year from now than it does currently. Alex Burrows, Chris Higgins, and Radim Vrbata will sign elsewhere or be traded either this offseason or next.

      That leaves a three-way battle for the last two protected slots.

      Derek Dorsett is signed for a longer and richer contract than either Jannik Hansen or Markus Granlund. Dorsett brings hustle, but his limited skill set will probably result in him being exposed.

      Hansen has been one of the only consistent players on the team in the past couple of years and is firmly entrenched as a fan favourite. Granlund, meanwhile, cost the Canucks Hunter Shinkaruk. GM’s hate admitting they made mistakes, so Granlund will be retained.

       

      Defencemen

      The Canucks are lucky in that two of their projected top-six defencemen—promising sophomore Ben Hutton and monstrous Nikita Trymakin—aren’t able to be plucked.

      This makes the three defencemen relatively easy to project. Barring any surprises, it’ll be Alexander Edler, Chris Tanev, and newly acquired Erik Gudbranson. That’ll leave Jim Benning praying that Las Vegas picks up turnover-machine Luca Sbisa and his laughable $3.6-million deal.

       

      Goaltenders

      Well, only one goaltender can be protected, and due to the fact that his $6-million deal expires after this season and he’ll be turning 37, Canucks fans can probably wave goodbye to Ryan Miller, as the team will surely elect to protect Jacob Markstrom.

      Who Does Vegas take?

      It’s hard to predict exactly what will unfold a year from now. If the Canucks sign a high-profile free agent in the vein of Milan Lucic or Troy Brouwer, then Granlund or Hansen could easily be scooped up by Vegas.

      But although there will definitely be younger options in goal for the Black Knights, given that Miller is a high-profile, American-born player, it’s very easy to see him starting in net on the Strip in a year’s time.

       

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