Winnipeg Jets Expansion Protection Projection
The 2017 Expansion draft has been long awaited by the NHL and hockey fans. Although it will make NHL management cringe, considering they will be losing a solid player. The Jets have one of the worst situations in the league…
The preliminary rules for expansion are that each NHL club can protect 7 forwards 3 defense, and a goalie. Those players cannot get selected by the Las Vegas team. Or, each team can protect 8 skaters (forwards or defense), and a 1 goalie. Once again those players cannot be chosen by Las Vegas. All players who have a No Movement Clause, are forced to be protected by a team. Any player who has yet to complete his third year of professional hockey is exempt from the draft, and does not need to be protected.
So looking at those basic rules, what would the Jets do?
First off Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey, Nic Petan, Brendan Lemieux, Chase De Leo, and Eric Comrie are all exempt from the draft, so they don’t need to take up a slot. Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien both have No Movement Clauses, so they have to be protected. This is where the problem starts…
Since they have to protect Enstrom, and Byfuglien, that would leave them with only one other defenseman protection spot. To fix that, the Jets would go with 8 skaters protected instead, which would give them the luxury of also protecting Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers.
The Jets single goaltender slot would most certainly go to Connor Hellebuyck. Ondrej Pavelec is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and may not be retained. Michael Hutchinson has not shown as much potential as Hellebuyck, but could be a good 3rd goalie for Las Vegas to take.
With four defense protected, that leaves only four slots for forwards. Mark Scheifele is the Jets future number one center, so he’s an obvious choice to be protected. Blake Wheeler also drops into that category, as he has been near the top 10 in points the last few seasons. Bryan Little is another easy protection. Drew Stafford is a free agent at the end of the season, so he won’t be protected.
And then there was one…
The final expansion slot could be used so many different ways, and will most likely be determined by how each player plays this season.
“(Perreault) has shown his versatility in many different ways, whether on the Power Play or in the dressing room – Kevin Cheveldayoff”
The first option, and most sensible, is Mathieu Perreault. He has the experience of a 20 goal scorer, and had the most points of any option. Joel Armia, Marko Dano, and Alex Burmistrov are other expansion options. Armia has the most upside and skill of the three. Dano was the main return in the Andrew Ladd trade, meaning he has lots of value as well. Burmistrov has played well since returning from Russia, but expectations of being a 1st Round Pick have drowned him. The final option would be Adam Lowry, who in his rookie season looked like he would become a premier defensive centerman. Sadly a sophomore slump hit him in the worst way this season, and plummeted his value.
The Jets still have a long time to decide how they will complete their final expansion spots, and that’s a good thing. Tough decisions are to come.