Updated: NHL gives further clarification on expansion draft rules

Updated:
NHL Vegas (CBC)

NHL Vegas (CBC)

Chris Johnston reported yesterday for Sportsnet updates regarding the potential upcoming expansion draft.

Here are the key bullet points from his article:

  • A minimum of two forwards and one defenceman must be exposed who have played 40 games the previous season, or a total of 70 over the previous two.
  • There is also a requirement that the 40/70 players are under contract for the first expansion season.
  • If a team is not in compliance for the draft, the penalty could result in a loss of picks/players
  • Each team will be allowed to protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goalie – a breakdown that has remained constant since Daly first outlined the potential draft process to reporters in March.
  • Players holding no-movement clauses – including those modified by limited no-trades, such as Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury – count against the protection limit, provided that those contracts and clauses extend through the 2017-18 season.
  • Players with no-movement clauses on deals that expire June 30, 2017 like Calgary Flames defenceman Dennis Wideman or Minnesota Wild forward Thomas Vanek wouldn’t have to be protected for a draft that is likely to be held a week or two beforehand.
  • Teams will also be permitted to ask players to waive their no-movement clauses for inclusion in the expansion draft.
  • Any player traded away during that period can’t be reacquired until after Jan. 1 the following season.
  • Players with two years of professional experience or less will be exempt from the process. Determining who that covers is based on the definition included in the collective bargaining agreement – meaning that 10 games played in the NHL at age 18 or 19 counts as a season, as does any American Hockey League or NHL season for players older than that.

 
Update 2:51PM

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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