NHL identify 18 players that are exempt from the expansion draft

In just two weeks, on July 21, the expansion draft for the 32nd franchise in the National Hockey Legue, the Seattle Kraken will take place.

Each of the 30 teams in the league (the Golden Knights being exempt from the process) will have to submit an official list of their protected players by then, leaving several names available for the new expansion team to choose. They pick one from every club to make up their own roster. 

As stipulated by the NHL rules, any player with a no-movement clause in his contract must be on his team’s protection list. Unless that same player agrees to waive his clause to join the expansion team. 

Until recently, the Chicago Blackhawks were the team that was hit the hardest by this rule, as the Hawks have four players who are automatically placed on the protected list with their clause. However, the retirement of veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook has changed a lot of things as he no longer has to be protected. The same goes for forward Andrew Shaw, who hung up his skates during the season.

When it comes to the Calgary Flames, forward Milan Lucic announced a few weeks ago that he had agreed to lift his no-move clause. Therefore his name will not have to be added to his team’s protection list.

These are all details that will need to be considered by the Kraken, along with the league’s announcement of 18 players still under contract that ultimately will not have to be protected by their respective teams.

Here is the complete list, thanks to Cap Friendly: 

Ryan Kesler (Ducks), Marian Hossa (Coyotes), Brandon Dubinsky (Blue Jackets), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks), Andrew Shaw (Blackhawks), Stephen Johns (Stars), Henrik Zetterberg (Red Wings), Corey Crawford (Devils), Luca Sbisa (Predators), Johnny Boychuk (Islanders), Matt Niskanen (Flyers), Zach Trotman (Penguins), Alex Steen (Blues), Marian Gaborik (Lightning), Anders Nilsson (Lightning), Michael Ferland (Canucks), Bryan Little (Jets) et Henrik Lundqvist (Capitals).

When it comes to players with a no-movement clause in his contract, Cap Friendly has confirmed 46 players hold one and, as you will notice with the list here below, some teams have a bigger challenge ahead of them in the weeks leading to the expansion draft in Seattle. 

ANAHEIM DUCKS (0): No one. 
ARIZONA COYOTES (2): Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Phil Kessel.
BOSTON BRUINS (3): Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle.
BUFFALO SABRES (1): Jeff Skinner.
CALGARY FLAMES (1): Jacob Markstrom and -Milan Lucic-.
CAROLINA HURRICANES (1): Jordan Staal.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (3): -Brent Seabrook-, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
COLORADO AVALANCHE (1): Erik Johnson.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (0): No one. 
DALLAS STARS (4): Ben Bishop, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov.
DETROIT RED WINGS (0): No one. 
EDMONTON OILERS (0): No one. 
FLORIDA PANTHERS (3): Sergei Bobrovsky, Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau.
LOS ANGELES KINGS (1): Drew Doughty.
 MINNESOTA WILD (5): Jarred Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Ryan Suter, Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello.
MONTREAL CANADIENS (3): Carey Price, Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS (1): Roman Josi.
 NEW JERSEY DEVILS (0): No one. 
 NEW YORK ISLANDERS (0): No one. 
 NEW YORK RANGERS (4): Jacob Trouba, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
OTTAWA SENATORS (0): No one. 
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (2): Claude Giroux and Kevin Hayes.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (3): Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
SAN JOSE SHARKS (2): Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
ST. LOUIS BLUES (0): No one. 
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (3): Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (1): John Tavares.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS (0): No one. 
WASHINGTON CAPITALS (1): Nicklas Backstrom.
WINNIPEG JETS (1): Blake Wheeler.