5 players have waived their No Movement Clauses for the expansion draft.

Several players agree to waive for the draft.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
5 players have waived their No Movement Clauses for the expansion draft.
Daniel Lea/CSM/Zuma

We are drawing tantalizingly close to the National Hockey League's expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken and over the last 24 hours or so we have seen some huge shakeups around the league as several general managers have been forced to make tough decisions when it comes to which players they will protect and which players will be exposed to the Kraken in the draft.

One thing that complicates matters for NHL general managers is the fact that players with No Movement Clauses must be protected in the draft. When Las Vegas held its own expansion draft for the introduction of the Golden Knights in 2017 only two players agreed to waive their clauses in order to be exposed, veteran goaltender Marc Andre Fleury, who would go on to become the face of that franchise, and defenseman Toby Enstrom. For this draft though there have been several more players who have agreed to waive their No Movement Clauses for the purpose of the expansion draft, including some pretty big names.

Here are the 5 players who have agreed to waive for this year's expansion draft:

#1 Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens

Far and away the most shocking name on the list, not only did Price agree to waive his no movement clause for the purpose of this draft but there have been several credible reports that now indicate the Canadiens have left Price exposed in the draft. After witnessing what a brilliant job the Golden Knights did of marketing a star goaltender with Fleury, I have to believe that the Kraken will seriously consider picking up price in spite of the fact that he has 5 years remaining on a deal that counts for $10.5 million against the cap.

#2  Ben Bishop - Dallas Stars

The Kraken will have some pretty good options when it comes to goaltending and Dallas Stars veteran Ben Bishop has agreed to add another name to the list by waiving his NMC for this draft. Bishop is a much more uncertain option than Price given that he missed most of last season due to a knee injury, but he also comes at a much more manageable number with a cap hit of just $4.9 million.

#3 Jeff Skinner-  Buffalo Sabres

There were some questions this week about whether or not Buffalo Sabres' forward Jeff Skinner would waive his NMC this week and it was eventually revealed that he had in fact agreed to waive. My only question is why was anyone curious in the first place? At a cap hit of $9 million per season on a contract that will last through 2027, why would the Seattle Kraken ever select Skinner? The former first round pick (7th overall) looked awful last season putting up 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points in 53 games, not exactly the kind of production you expect out of a guy earning $9 million.

#4 Milan Lucic - Calgary Flames

Much like with Skinner I don't see a world in which the Seattle Kraken select veteran forward Milan Lucic, but he has waived his no movement clause for the purpose of the draft. Lucic carries a cap hit of $6 million per season on a contract that runs for 2 more seasons and at that number he simply does not bring enough value to the table to warrant a selection. 

#5 Erik Johnson - Colorado Avalanche

It was revealed this week that the veteran defenseman had waived his NMC. Johnson missed almost all of last season due to an upper body injury and as a result I suspect the Kraken may choose to steer clear of him as a selection. No doubt the Avalanche and Johnson suspect as much as well and I believe that played a big role in him agreeing to waive here. Johnson is under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $6 million per season.

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