Rangers goalies and the Seattle Expansion Draft

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Alexandar Georgiev, at this moment is not only eligible to be drafted by Seattle in 2021, but would need to be exposed. The keywords people seem to overlook are “at this moment”. Yesterday, I did a full write up on the 2021 Expansion draft, and I included Georgiev as being potentially exposed. This led to a fury of accusations of “clickbait”, and my favorite, “do your research”. Well time to come with those receipts.

Seattle Expansion Rules and Rangers Goalies

You can go over the full rules here, but this is what you must know about the requirement on exposing at least 1 goaltender.

One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team’s protected list.

Georgiev (Photo: Anthony J. Causi)

The Rangers are not going to let Alexandar Georgiev walk away this off-season or intend on trading him. That means he will be under contract in 2021 and eligible for the expansion draft. Both Igor Shesterkin and Adam Huska are exempt due to the 2 year rule. So who will they expose? Let’s dive into that next.

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Clearing Up Confusion on Henrik Lundqvist and JF Berube

This has been the biggest point of contention with many who read yesterday’s article. Many think Hank can be exposed, or that JF Berube can be exposed. I mean why else did they get Berube right? Couldn’t be that Adam Huska and Tom McCollum were struggling and the Pack had Championship aspirations. No couldn’t be that. Here’s the problem, both will not be under contract for the 2021 Expansion draft.

Let’s go back to the rules I mentioned above:

One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22.

Guess what, the only goalie today that will meet that standard is Alex Georgiev once he signs this off-season. They can’t protect him unless they have another goalie to expose. Do we get this issue now? Because it is pretty clear.

Don’t Worry, Georgiev Is Going Nowhere

Simply because there was so much push back, I reached out to a team source to clarify my understanding and make sure public info on Berube’s contract was accurate. Not only was I told “yes”, I was told clearly that “someone will have a contract that qualifies to be exposed.”

Listen, there is no way the Rangers went with a three goalie rotation only to lose Georgiev to Seattle in expansion. The Rangers could very well extend JF Berube and expose him in the draft. Or they Rangers can sign or trade for a goalie next season to meet the criteria. Are we good now? If not, I’m sure someone will let me know.

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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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