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Expansion Draft Resources
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| Anaheim Atlanta Boston Buffalo Calgary Carolina Chicago Colorado Columbus Dallas Detroit Edmonton Florida Los Angeles Minnesota Montreal Nashville New Jersey NY Isles NY Rangers Ottawa Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh San Jose St. Louis Tampa Bay Toronto Vancouver Washington |
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Who They'll Trade - After dealing for Giguere we're not sure what they'll do. Do they trade or expose Hebert? If they protect two goalies do they trade a d-man or two (Trnka, Marshall, Trepanier, Haller)? Leclerc, Aalto or Kohn could also be on the move. Who They'll Keep - It looks like they're going to go (2G, 3D, 7F). If that's the case then it will be:
Now if they decide to expose Hebert it's likely they would also protect Pascal Trepanier and Jason Marshall on defense, and Mike Leclerc and Jeff Nielsen up front. Talented Ducks exempt from the draft include:
Who They'll Expose - If they don't make any trades they'll likely expose:
Who They'll Lose - There isn't a lot of talent on the board here, but there are some interesting options. If the Ducks expose Hebert, it's likely he'll be chosen as will Leclerc. However, if they decide to keep two goalies, then it's quite likely that Trepanier and Leclerc could go. |
Boston Bruins Who They'll Trade - Boston doesn't have a lot of quality players that have to be exposed right now. However a player like Eloranta or Knuble could be traded for a draft pick. Who They'll Keep - Unless something radically changes it would seem that Boston is going (1G, 5D, 9F). They will likely protect:
The Bruins are lucky enough to have the following guys exempt from the draft:
Who They'll Expose - The guys most likely to be there include:
Who They'll Lose - There are two players that stand out on this list - Heinze and Tallas. Depending on the goaltending that's been acquired by both expansion clubs prior to this draft, they could do a lot worse than Tallas. As for Heinze, he could play a valuable leadership role for either team. |
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Buffalo Sabres Who They'll Trade - The Sabres have a difficult decision to make. Do they protect Dominek Hasek and Martin Biron, forcing them to expose an additional 4 players (2 F and 2 D) or do they follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Calgary and trade their young goalie. Or do they do the unthinkable and trade Hasek. With such short timelines working out a deal for Hasek would appear to be impossible and with the Dominator's retirement imminent the likelihood of dealing Biron is slim. As a result, we see the Sabres exposing or trading additional forwards. Who will they trade? Players like Geoff Sanderson, Chris Taylor, and Vladimir Tysplakov will likely be available. The interesting trade scenarios come on defense. If the Sabres can only protect 3 d-men, then someone like Alexei Zhitnik, Jason Woolley or Richard Smehlik will have to be exposed if they are not traded. As well, a young forward like Erik Rasmussen, could be dealt. Players on the bubble who may have value would be Stu Barnes and Dixon Ward. If it wasn't for the fact that Chicago was picking up so much of Doug Gilmour's salary, he might be exposed in the Expansion draft. Who They'll Keep - Unless something radical happens, Buffalo is probably going to go (2G, 3D, 7F). Those protected would likely be:
If they decide to trade Biron it's likely they would also protect Woolley and Smehlik on defense, and probably Rasmussen and Tysplakov up front. Some of the Sabre regulars exempt from the draft include:
Who They'll Expose - If they don't make any trades they'll likely expose:
Who They'll Lose - With Hasek sticking around for another year, the Sabres stand to lose a couple of very good players. They are guaranteed to lose a d-man (likely Smehlik) and one of the expansion clubs would likely love to take a chance on Sanderson. However, if they're looking to save money a team could dip into the Sabres minor league system and take Hamel. |
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Calgary Flames Who They'll Trade - After trading JS Giguere, for a 2nd round pick, to Anaheim, Calgary has freed themselves up a little bit. However, trading Giguere, considered one of the top young goalies, in the NHL may come back to haunt them. The only players who are likely to have any value prior to the expansion draft are Steve Dubinsky, Martin St. Louis and Sergei Krivokrasov. Some or all of these guys could be exposed if not traded. Who They'll Keep - They will likely protect:
Robyn Regher is exempt. There will be some debate about the eligibility of Sergei Varlamov who played 1 game in Calgary and 3 games in St. John (during the AHL playoffs) in 1997/98. If it turns out he is not exempt, the Flames will likely protect him and expose or trade St. Louis. Who They'll Expose - The guys most likely to be there include:
Who They'll Lose - The question will be
first - will Krivokrasov be left unprotected (we had this debate at Puckjunkie HQ) and
secondly would somebody take him. The answer to both questions is an unqualified maybe
thanks mostly to the fact that new GM Button is still getting settled. If Al Coates was
there Krivo would probably be a Flame for a little while longer. A player of Werenka's calibre will likely not last even though he is an UFA. As well, a
veteran like Bureau or
Lindsay will also be chosen. |
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Carolina Hurricanes Who They'll Trade - It's possible that a young player like Ian MacNeill could be dealt prior to the deadline, but the Hurricanes can't afford to lose too much of their young talent. Of the players on their roster who are on the bubble, they really don't have much that anyone would want. It's possible that Kron or Karpa could be dealt. Who They'll Keep - They will likely hang on to:
Tommy Westlund is exempt. Who They'll Expose - The guys most likely to be there include:
Who They'll Lose - An expansion team could do worse than selection Leschyshyn or Kron. They are both veterans who could help the team through its first couple of years. Coffey could be an attractive option for a team looking to pick up a compensatory draft pick. It's unlikely Paul would sign with an expansion club, but he will go somewhere. |
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