The Seattle Kraken will debut in the NHL in the 2021-22 season, and to build its roster, the 32nd team in the League will take part in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on July 21. The Kraken will need to select one player per team, from among those left unprotected. Each team, with the exception of the Vegas Golden Knights who are exempt from this process, can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie, or eight skaters from any position, and one goalie. Full rules for the Expansion Draft can be found here.
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By July 17, the deadline for teams to submit their protection list, LNH.com will draw up a portrait of the situation of each of the teams in the League in relation to the players they will have to protect and the choices that they will have to do. Today, the New York Rangers.
ON THE ROAD TOWARDS EXPANSION: Stars | Flyers | Flames | Senators | Blackhawks
Players who must be protected: Artemi Panarin (A), Chris Kreider (A), Mika Zibanejad (A), Jacob Trouba (D)
Players to protect without hesitation: Ryan Strome (A), Pavel Buchnevich (A), Alexandar Georgiev (G)
Players who could complete the list: Kevin Rooney (A), Colin Blackwell (A), Tim Gettinger (A), Filip Chytil (A), Brett Howden (A), Julien gauthier (A), Ryan Lindgren (D), Anthony Bitetto (D), Libor Hajek (D)
The Rangers can rest easy in the lead up to the expansion draft, as no up-and-coming player assembled by the team when it opted for a rebuild in the 2017-18 season is in danger.
Under the rules of expansion, Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller, to name a few, cannot be exposed to the Kraken. The plot is set to play out with deep forwards, as new GM Chris Drury will have to figure out which ones he wants to keep.
Since they have a no-move clause in their contract, forwards Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider will have their names put on the Rangers protection list. It can also be assumed that Drury will do the same with those of Buchnevich and Strome. The former has just had the best season of his career with 48 points, including 20 goals, in just 54 games, while the latter is the number two center for Rangers and has developed a great chemistry with Panarin.
That leaves two places of protection for Filip Chytil, Colin Blackwell, Kevin Rooney, Julien Gauthier and Brett Howden. Chytil is only 21 years old and he has just collected 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 42 games, almost always playing on one of the last two lines of the team. Presumably Drury won’t take the risk of losing him for nothing. Blackwell surprised many with 12 goals and 22 points in 47 games, while Gauthier and Howden, at 23, failed to reach their full potential. Perhaps the Kraken could get their hands on a good young depth player with Gauthier or Howden, even if they haven’t made a big impact in the NHL yet. It will be interesting to see who Drury favors.
There could have been a bit of spice on the defense, but the fact that Tony DeAngelo is no longer with the organization makes it easier for Rangers, who should secure the services of Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek after Jacob Trouba, which benefits from a non-movement clause. Lindgren has been the fifth most used player on average in New York this season (8:00 p.m.) and he agreed to a three-year contract extension on May 10.
No dilemma in front of the net either, as Alexandar Georgiev will undoubtedly be preferred to Keith Kinkaid. Shesterkin is not eligible for the expansion draft, and retaining Georgiev’s services will give New York a solid goaltending duo next season.
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