The Seattle Kraken are set to have its expansion draft in June 2021. The upcoming expansion draft will be the 13th in NHL history, and second in four years.
How do expansion drafts work, and what are the rules for the Seattle expansion draft? Let's break it down.
WHAT IS THE FORMAT FOR THE UPCOMING EXPANSION DRAFT?
Seattle will fill its roster by selecting one player from each of the NHL's 30 teams except for the Golden Knights, who are exempt. Seattle must select 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies.
Of the players Seattle selects, at least 20 of the 30 players must be under contract for the 2021-22 regular season. The other players they select are allowed to be pending free agents, but they can not select any more than 10 pending free agents.
The total value of cap hits for players Seattle selects must total between 60 and 100 percent of the prior season's salary cap upper limit, which is $81.5 million.
The players Seattle selects are not eligible to be bought out of their contracts by Seattle any earlier than the summer of 2022.
Because the Golden Knights will not be participating in the upcoming expansion draft, they will also not get a cut of Seattle's $650 million expansion fee that will be divided up between the league's other 30 teams.
WHO CAN/MUST TEAMS PROTECT?
The rules differ from draft to draft, but the upcoming Seattle expansion draft will follow the same format as the Golden Knights' expansion draft.
NHL teams must all protect only one goaltender, and can choose one of two options for protecting skaters. Teams can protect seven forwards and three defensemen for a total of 10 skaters, or teams can protect any combination of eight skaters.
Teams must protect players with no-movement clauses in their contracts, unless the player elects to waive the clause. They do not have to protect players with only no-trade clauses.
All first- and second-year NHL players, and all unsigned draft choices are exempt from the draft. They do not count toward a team's protected list.
Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games may be exempt from being selected with league approval.
WHO MUST TEAMS EXPOSE?
A team's list of players who are not protected in the draft must meet certain requirements.
Of a team's defensemen exposed to the draft, at least one must be under contract in 2021-22 and have played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season, or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
Teams must expose two forwards who under contract in 2021-22 and have played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season, or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
Of the goaltenders who will be exposed, at least one must be 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 goaltender is exposed who is a restricted free agent, he must have already received his qualifying offer. If Casey DeSmith is still in the Penguins' organization and has not been traded by the expansion draft, he meets this requirement for the Penguins because he is under contract through 2022.
Teams can not use players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games to meet the above requirements.
WHO DID THE PENGUINS CHOOSE TO PROTECT LAST TIME?
Last expansion draft, the Penguins elected to protect eight total skaters and one goaltender. Of the skaters, they protected four forwards and four defensemen: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Justin Schultz.
Marc-Andre Fleury has a no-movement clause, but waived it so the Penguins could protect Matt Murray in the draft.
WHO ON THE PENGUINS MUST BE PROTECTED?
The Penguins only have three players under contract next summer who have no-movement clauses: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
Other players have no-trade clauses, but no no-movement clause. Only no-movement clauses protect a player in an expansion draft.
WHO ON THE PENGUINS IS EXEMPT?
Samuel Poulin, Nathan Legare, and any other prospects who have yet to make their NHL debuts at this point are exempt from being selected in the draft and do not have to be protected. Since first- and second-year players are exempt, that won't change if a prospect makes his NHL debut in the next year.
John Marino is the only current player on the NHL roster who will be exempt from the draft because next season will only be his second NHL season.
