NHL Expansion Drafts

The Rules (Yr. 2000)

Columbus & Minnesota alternating picks.

Teams could protect: 9 forwards / 5 defensemen / 1 goaltender or 7 forwards / 3 defensemen / 2 goaltenders.

-- IF protecting only one goaltender there was no experience requirement for those left unprotected.

-- IF protecting two goaltenders, each goaltender left unprotected must have appeared in 10 NHL games that preceding season or 25 games over the last two preceding seasons. An 'appearance' required at least 31 minutes of playing time.

-- A team had to leave, unprotected, at least one defenseman who had played in 40 games in the preceding season or 70 games over the last two preceding seasons.
-- A team had to leave, unprotected, at least two forwards who had played in 40 games in the preceding season or 70 games over the last two preceding seasons.

-- Only one goaltender or one defensemen could be selected from each franchise.

-- Exempt from the Expansion Draft are (i) all first and second-year pros and (ii) unsigned draft choices (excepting certain unsigned European draftees).

Today (End of 2007/08 Season)

A sample protected list for the Edmonton Oilers

9 Forwards

Horcoff, Stoll, Pouliot, Torres, Moreau, Nilsson, Hemsky, Pisani, Jacques/Stortini/Thoreson

5 Defensemen

Souray, Staios, Pitkanen, Smid, Greene/Grebeshkov/Gilbert

1 Goaltender

Roloson/Garon

Assuming the Oilers had the foresight to sign Reasoner to a cheap extension and keep Gilbert from passing the 70 game barrier the available players list would look like so:

(F) Reasoner and two of Jacques/Stortini/Thoreson

(D) One of Greene/Grebeshkov

(G) One of Roloson/Garon

Not a killer set of losses. The only real danger is on defense where, if Greene and Grebeshkov have good seasons, the loss would sting. The predictable losses would be:

Jacques or Thoreson and Grebeshkov

Kind of easy to see that shortening the protected list would make a huge difference: 8 forwards, 4 defensemen and 1 goaltender would make a big difference in terms of the overall talent available.

The Lucky Team(s)

As with other expansion drafts it is certain that the successful suitors will be getting a whole lot of dreck. I didn't go through and do the work but a quick scan tells me the Oilers actually have one of the better lists of talent from which to pick.

The toys billionaires will spend hundreds of millions to get.

Should of got batteries.

In 2000 the Oilers lost Bert Robertsson and Jim Dowd to expansion. In hindsight, losing Dowd hurt the Oilers as he was a great 3rd/4th line guy who was pressed into 1st line service in Minnesota and didnt embarrass himself.

Losing Thoreson and Grebeshkov would probably hurt more. Grebs will be a player.

Notables lost in the 2000 expansion draft include: Schneider, Roloson, O'Donnell, Odelein, Sanderson, Wright, Drake

Why This Post?

The writing is on the wall - in the next year or four the league will expand by another two teams. I merely wanted to provide a setting for future posts. July, dog days of summer and all that.

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Have a great evening everyone.