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Pacific Expansion Options Offer Weak Value To Vegas

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When looking at the massive lists that were released today, the Pacific Division might have produced one of the weaker set of options for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Again, while many of these names may be intriguing to hockey fans, that doesn’t mean that Las Vegas will take all of them. The team has been active on the trade market and continues to work hard to acquire as many draft picks that can build the franchise’s future over the next five years. So, there are many side deals that will dissuade the Golden Knights from taking certain people. On top of that, the team may also look to draft several players with the hopes of flipping them to another pick for even more picks.

The Anaheim Ducks list stands out the most. They have two obvious names that stand out in defensemen Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen. Manson had a breakout year with his physical play and Vatanen is a top defenseman despite an off year. While both would be perfect pieces to a brand-new franchise as they are both high-quality and young defenders, most people believe that there is a side deal already in place that will prevent the Golden Knights from taking either one. The Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, has little of value as the Oilers were able to protect most of what they needed to keep their core intact as well as several key players were exempt from the expansion draft.

The San Jose Sharks also didn’t have expose too much, although defenseman David Schlemko might be a solid veteran who has three years left at a reasonably priced $2.1MM per year. However, Las Vegas may attempt to kick the tires on star free agents Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau instead. The Calgary Flames have a few options available that could intrigue Las Vegas. The team could go after veteran forward Troy Brouwer, but he still has three years remaining at $4.5MM. Another option would be 23-year-old blueliner Brett Kulak, who is an emerging young defenseman. Again, Las Vegas might be better off going after one of their unrestricted free agents instead, either defenseman Michael Stone or veteran winger Kris Versteeg.

The Los Angeles Kings also are a team that didn’t have to expose too much. Perhaps their most interesting option is defenseman Brayden McNabb, who is an excellent physical defenseman. However, a collarbone injury derailed much of his season this past year and he wasn’t the same upon his return. The Arizona Coyotes are another team that didn’t have to protect too much. Forwards Jamie McGinn and Brad Richardson might be the best two options unless Las Vegas can convince veteran forward Radim Vrbata to sign with them. The Vancouver Canucks exposed center Brendan Gaunce, who has a lot of promise, but has never been able to put up numbers at the NHL level. Gaunce, a former first-round pick in 2012, had just five assists in 57 games.

Early Expansion Protection News: Capitals, Kings, Flames, Predators, And More

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The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft is an exciting process. If you’re too riled up to wait until the lists are officially submitted in the morning, you’re in luck. As could be expected, information leaks are flooding in on who was and wasn’t protected by their teams ahead of the deadline this afternoon. This list will be updated all night long as more news comes in:

  • One not so obvious choice has been made in Nashville. Adam Vingan of The Tennessean answered a question on the minds of many, reporting that the Predators did in fact protect forward Calle Jarnkrok. With the rest of the eight-skater list all but set in stone with goalie Pekka Rinne, defensemen Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, and star forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Viktor Arvidsson, the final forward spot came down to Jarnkrok, signed long-term, or James Neal, an elite scorer with just one year remaining on his contract. It seems that Neal will be open for selection, alongside names like Colton Sissons, Colin Wilson, and Craig Smith. Vignan adds that no deal has been struck between Vegas and the Predators to protect any of those players, with Nashville especially liking to retain Neal and Sissons.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that, interestingly enough, young Detroit Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet was not protected by his team. This is the first real surprise of the expansion process and the first protection news that doesn’t match up with PHR’s Expansion Primer projections. The 23-year-old skated in 66 games this season for Detroit, third most among defenseman, and his 12 points tied that of top-pair man Danny DeKeyser. Yet, Ouellett will not join DeKeyser and Mike Green in protection, instead beaten out by another teammate. GM Ken Holland, who has gotten the reputation of perhaps being too loyal, possibly chose aging veteran Niklas Kronwall over Ouellet. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite the rebuilding Red Wings.
  • Another name confirmed to be unprotected is young Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Gaunce. Vancouver sports anchor Rick Dhaliwal was told that that Gaunce, a 2012 first-round pick, did not make the protection list for the Canucks, expected to be a 7/3 format, meaning that the team saw him as outside the top seven forwards on the team. The 23-year-old two-way specialist has upside, but after registering just five points in 57 games last season, no one will blame Vancouver for that choice.

NHL Snapshots: Carolina/Pittsburgh Goaltending Coaches, Kesler, Johnson

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The Carolina Hurricanes felt they solved their goaltending problems in April when they traded for and later signed (4-year, $4.15MM cap hit) Chicago Blackhawks backup goaltender Scott Darling. The 28-year-old goalie proved to be an outstanding backup for three seasons and many believed he would find a starting job when he became an unrestricted free agent. Darling finished this past season with a 2.38 GAA and a .924 save percentage in 32 games.

However, the Hurricanes are going to make sure that they do everything they can to ensure Darlings’ success as a full-time starter. Carolina has signed away Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending coach Mike Bales to be their goaltending coach, tweets AP’s Stephen Whyno. Bales, who has been with the Penguins for the past four years, including their back-to-back title runs is considered to be one of the top goalie coaches and should be able to aid Darling to a big season as a full-time starter.

The Penguins quickly responded to the loss by promoting developmental goaltending coach Mike Buckley to the Penguins coaching staff. Buckley has worked with Penguins starter Matt Murray with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in previous years and now gets to work with him again. Buckley, has helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltenders to the lowest goals-against in three of the last four seasons, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  • The Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Kesler will be out 12 weeks following hip surgery, tweets Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens. Kessler had bone fragments removed from his hip. The 32-year-old center finished the year with 22 goals and 36 assists for Anaheim, but only scored one goal in 17 playoff games. That timetable would likely still have him ready for training camp.
  • Calgary Sun/Herald reporter Eric Francis tweets to not be shocked if the Flames turn around and sign back goaltender Chad Johnson, whose rights were traded to Arizona today, to be newly acquired goaltender Mike Smith’s goalie-mate. The 31-year-old Johnson, who is coming off a disappointing season with a 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage in 36 contests, did have a solid year in 2015-16 when he had a 2.36 and a .920 save percentage in 45 games with the Buffalo Sabres.

Flames Acquire Mike Smith From Coyotes

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The Flames and Coyotes have agreed on a trade that sends goaltender Mike Smith to Calgary in exchange for defensive prospect Brandon Hickey, a conditional 2018 third round pick, and the negotiating rights to Chad Johnson.  The pick will become a second rounder if the Flames make the postseason in 2017-18.  Both teams have announced the deal.

Feb 13, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) guards his net against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY SportsSmith has spent the last six seasons in the desert but is coming off a down season where he recorded a 2.92 GAA and a .914 SV% in 55 games.  He carries a cap hit of $5.67MM for the next two seasons and at the age of 35, he’s not a great long-term fit for an Arizona team that is clearly in a rebuilding process.  He also has a partial no-trade clause and can block a trade to eight teams.  Arizona will retain 25% of the contract in the trade.

Calgary brought in a brand new goaltending tandem last summer in Brian Elliott (trade with St. Louis) and Johnson Chad Johnson (free agency) but neither player really got the job done, posting identical .910 save percentages.  Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents in two weeks time.  The Flames’ 2018 3rd rounder had been included as a conditional pick in the Elliott trade last June (contingent on him re-signing) and the fact it has again been dealt here is pretty much a guarantee that Elliott won’t be back.

Flames GM Brad Treliving is certainly familiar with Smith as he was the assistant GM with the Coyotes when the netminder was signed to his current contract.  With two years left on Smith’s deal, the length of the contract is ideal as the team is hopeful that some of their youngsters such as Jon Gillies or David Rittich will be ready to make the NHL jump within the next year or so while the team also has youngsters Tyler Parsons and Mason McDonald in their system.

Johnson has bounced around in recent years and hasn’t spent more than one year in an organization since his time with the Rangers from 2009-10 to 2011-12.  He played in 36 games with Calgary, compiling a 2.59 GAA along with that .910 SV%.  Johnson has also spent time with the Bruins, Islanders, Sabres, and the Coyotes (four games back in 2012-13).

Hickey was a third round pick of the Flames (64th overall) back in 2014.  He recently completed his third season at Boston University, recording four goals and 11 assists in 35 games.  He was also part of Team Canada’s World Junior entry back in 2016.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the two teams were working on a trade. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the draft pick and Hickey’s inclusion with TSN’s Aaron Ward added Johnson’s inclusion.  Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic was the first to add the conditional pick details.

Snapshots: Despres, Shero, Hextall, Flames

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Anaheim general manager Bob Murray released a statement regarding the buyout of defenseman Simon Despres. The 25-year-old was placed on waivers earlier in the day with the intention of being bought out. Murray said the following from Anaheim’s twitter account:

“Simon Despres is a good hockey player and a good person. But, at this point, we feel it is the best interests of both Simon and the organization to part ways. We wish him the very best in the future.”

Despres responded as well on Twitter, writing:

“I’d like to thank the for a wonderful 2 and a half years. I wish my teammates all the best moving forward.”

  • Ray Shero still has the #1 pick with a week to go before the draft writes the AP’s Tom Canavan. Shero isn’t denying that he could still trade the pick away, but for all intents and purposes, he told his staff to prepare for taking someone with the first overall choice. The next question: who would they take? Shero told Canavan that the draft reminds him of 2013, where there were four very good players in Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, and Seth Jones. Canavan writes that the Devils need a goal scorer, which would definitely be found in either Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier, both believed to be the top two prospects in the draft.
  • Flyers general manager Ron Hextall might still make a move writes Philadelphia Inquirer’s  Sam Carchidi. Saying there was a 25-75% chance he makes a move, Hextall is going with the 7-3-1 format and has to decide between Michal Neuvirth and Anthony Stolarz when choosing the one goaltender to protect. Hextall calls it a more “philosophical” decision than a “difficult” one since it essentially comes down to picking a veteran or a rookie. Carchidi also writes that Hextall may still re-sign Steve Mason while saying that he will not be buying out any contracts. Sitting behind New Jersey with the second pick, Hextall also professes to having “no idea” what the Devils will do with the first overall pick.
  • Postmedia’s Kristen Odland reports that the process of an expansion draft is especially taxing to players who have no idea what to expect. She quotes assistant general manager Craig Conroy, who survived an expansion draft with the St.Louis Blues in both 1998 and 2000. Conroy likened it to the trade deadline, saying there’s nothing players can do about it and that they “signed up for this.” Odland lists netminder Brian Elliott as a question mark, wondering if he’ll be protected as free agency looms. With a goalie market that isn’t exactly full of options, she believes that he could be protected, but his struggles during the playoffs may be a reason he’s left off the list.

Pacific Notes: Foo, Tanev, Treliving

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The Union College standout Spencer Foo looks to be closing in on a decision as to where he will sign in the NHL. The right-winger netted an impressed 62 points in 38 games as a junior. An Edmonton native, he appears to be closing in on signing with the Edmonton Oilers, per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. He has also been linked to the Flyers, where he would almost certainly see a more favorable landscape when it concerns openings in the top-12 forward group. Foo, leading scorer of the Dutchmen, was announced as one of the 10 semi-finalists for the Hobey Baker award. The forward plays a gritty, greasy game and already appears to have embraced the physicality of an adult game. He has enough offensive upside to easily grow into a top-9 role.

  • Dallas is still on the hunt for a defenseman to aid newly acquired Ben Bishop, and according to Matheson have interest in Vancouver’s Chris Tanev. He only played 53 games last season, and struggled a bit alongside the rest of his Canuck teammates. Matheson ponders whether Dallas would be willing to move the #3 pick if more pieces were added, but this is difficult to imagine unless the addition is a far bigger get, probably including the Canucks’ own #5 selection. Second pairing defenseman are generally worth 2nd or 3rd rounders, whereas Dallas will have the opportunity to draft a real difference maker at their current position, conceivably standout defensive prospect Cale Makar. Dallas wants to compete now but the decision ultimately lies in Vancouver’s court.
  • Calgary has a large decision ahead of them, and it seems as though they could be the icebreaker on the goalie front. GM Brad Treliving has tough work ahead – the Flames seem intent on letting Brian Elliott go after his post-season struggles, and he’s arguably the best free agent goalie available. The team has been linked (with varying degrees of certainty) in trade talks to New York’s Antti Raanta and Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury, and Arizona’s Mike Smith is a name that has been widely mentioned as available. Treliving will likely want to sort the situation out before July 1st when the pickings will get far slimmer. Peter Budaj and Mike Condon are options, but there will be other teams lobbying for their services.

Evening Notes: Flames, Sound Tigers, Rinaldo

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The Calgary Flames have opted to go with the 7 F/ 3 D / 1 G protection scheme, per Kristen Odland. With the team having both Dennis Wideman and Michael Stone hitting unrestricted free agency, this seems like a no brainer. Still, it is worthy of note that the team will not opt to protect any but the likely three of Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, and T.J. Brodie. As mentioned by PHR’s own Gavin Lee, Troy Brouwer seems the most likely candidate for a claim, though a smart move on Vegas’ part would be to opt for underrated prospect Hunter Shinkaruk.

  • The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have inked two players to amateur tryout contracts. A 5’9″ winger from Boston College, Matt Gaudreau is most notable for being the younger brother of Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau. Matt is more of a depth player, potting only 8 goals in his senior year. By comparison, Johnny Gaudreau scored 36 goals to accompany his 45 assists in his junior year at the same school. John Stevens also has an NHL tie-in, as he is the son of the L.A. Kings head coach of the same name. Stevens (the player) is far safer of a bet to make an impact, as he had showed offensive growth before being sidelined by an injury his senior year at Northeastern. His advantage in size should also give him an edge, as he has 5 inches in height and 35 pounds on the younger Gaudreau.
  • Boston’s Zac Rinaldo will not be extended an offer to re-join the team, per Andy Strickland. Rinaldo will become an unrestricted free agent, as he is 26, although the market for him will essentially be non-existent. Of note is the fact that Boston GM Don Sweeney traded a 3rd-round draft selection to Philadelphia to acquire his services in the summer of 2015. Rinaldo was waived and played no games for the team in 2016-17 after being suspended  for a combined 10 games in the NHL and AHL the year prior. He only competed in 29 contests in Providence this season. The Bruin fanbase certainly hasn’t been enthusiastic about the organization’s asset management and this will only add fuel to that fire.

Expansion Primer: Calgary Flames

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

The Calgary Flames came into this season with a new head coach, a new starting goaltender and a familiar goal: get back to the playoffs. They’d missed in 2015-16 for the sixth time in seven seasons, but had added a good young player in Matthew Tkachuk who would provide more than anyone expected of him as a teenager, and had signed the duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan long-term.

The goaltending tandem of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson had what you would call a roller coaster season, struggling at times before catching fire to get the team into the playoffs. As with any up there must come a down, and down it came in the first round as Elliott posted just an .880 save percentage and was yanked after just one goal in the deciding fourth game. The Flames will lick their wounds and try to find a different option in net this summer, while being at little risk of losing anything of value in the expansion draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, Mikael Backlund, Matt Stajan, Lance Bouma, Emile Poirier, Hunter Shinkaruk, Freddie Hamilton, Sam Bennett, Alex Chiasson, Micheal Ferland, Linden Vey, Curtis Lazar

Defensemen:

Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, Matt Bartkowski, Ryan Culkin, Tyler Wotherspoon, Brett Kulak

Goaltenders:

Tom McCollum

Notable Exemptions

Matthew Tkachuk, Daniel Pribyl, Dillon Dube, Josh Healey, Nick Schneider, Tyler Parsons, Jon Gillies, Oliver Kylington

Key Decisions

The Flames have put themselves in a fairly enviable position when it comes to the expansion draft, making savvy moves like signing Matt Bartkowski during the season to fill the defensive exposure requirements. Recently, GM Brad Treliving spoke about the difficulties some teams will have when deciding on their protection lists, and how Vegas will be hard-pressed to find NHL-caliber centers in the draft. That problem is emulated perhaps best by the expected protection on the Flames. They will likely choose the 7-3-1 protection scheme, allowing them to keep their depth down the middle. Troy Brouwer

Up front, the Flames have just a few decisions to make on the back end of their list, as their five-man core (including three centers, Monahan, Mikael Backlund and Sam Bennett) are easy to point out. In the final two spots, the team will juggle some combination of Troy Brouwer, Curtis Lazar and Micheal Ferland, with the latter two likely earning the slots. Leaving Brouwer exposed is a tough decision to make just one year removed from signing him to an $18MM contract, but after a career-worst 25 points this season his contract may be all the protection he needs. After all, Treliving believes the Golden Knights will be acquiring assets instead of building a team, and Brouwer holds much less value than either of the other two young forwards.

Lazar, acquired at the deadline is another (part-time) center that will be unavailable to Vegas, even though he scored just four points in 37 games this season. The Flames gave up a second-round pick to get him from the Ottawa Senators, and still have big plans for his future in Calgary. The 22-year old was the 17th-overall pick in 2013, and will need a new contract this summer.

Ferland, a former fifth-round pick who has overcome a tremendous amount of personal struggle to even be in the NHL, found success alongside Gaudreau and Monahan at times and showed promise to become similar to what Brouwer has been throughout his career; a physical middle-six winger capable of adding some secondary scoring. While his 25 points are nothing to write home about, he is only 25 years old and showed that he may be capable of a 20-goal season at some point in his career.

There is the possibility Calgary could surprise and protect one of Hunter Shinkaruk or Alex Chiasson, both of whom are former high picks (24th and 38th respectively) that have shown either potential or performance at times throughout their career and are still young enough to contribute to Vegas. Both are long-shots, but could present some value for the Golden Knights if left available.

Matt BartkowskiOn defense, there isn’t much debate on the three who will be protected. Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton and T.J. Brodie are easy choices, and the reason Bartkowski was acquired in the first place. None of the other potential unprotected defensemen fulfill the requirement of a player who is signed through 2017-18 and played either 40 games this season or 70 the last two combined.

In net, the team actually only has Tom McCollum among non-UFA goaltenders, and signed him earlier in the year in order to fulfill the goaltending requirements. That means they could potentially re-sign Johnson or Elliott before the draft, or acquire another goaltender that would need protection. Marc-Andre Fleury, who has waived his no-trade clause in order to go to Vegas but is still an option for Calgary, as are several of the elite backups around the league. The Flames could go after Antti Raanta, Philipp Grubauer, Aaron Dell or Calvin Pickard in order to provide some value to a team afraid of losing them for nothing, but with such a strong goaltending pipeline may look to the free agent market instead for a shorter term option.

The Flames do have one interesting name when it comes to a free agent Vegas may be interested in: Michael Stone. The 27-year old defenseman is right-handed and has logged big minutes for Arizona in the past. His two-way game fit in quite well with the Flames, but they’ll have to wait to re-sign him until after the draft which gives Vegas an opportunity to talk with him in their exclusive window. If the Golden Knights thinks a long-term deal with Stone is worth more than one of the forward cast-offs, perhaps he is a target for them next week.

It’s worth mentioning that Linden Vey, who may have deserved protection a few years ago is set to play in the KHL next season and will likely be off the radar of both the Flames and Golden Knights. Calgary is expected to qualify him in order to retain his rights for the time being, but will not get to see him in the lineup this year.

Projected Protection List

F Johnny Gaudreau
F Sean Monahan
F Michael Frolik
F Mikael Backlund
F Sam Bennett
F Micheal Ferland
F Curtis Lazar

D Mark Giordano
D Dougie Hamilton
D T.J. Brodie

G Chad Johnson

The Flames are in a good spot for the next few days, able to calmly assess the goaltending market and perhaps help a team out of a jam by taking an asset off their hands. When one of the worst things the team can lose is an overpaid 31-year old year old winger with three years left on his deal, you know you’ve done good work setting yourself up for the draft. It will be interesting to see which forwards fill out the last few spots, and even more interesting to see who Vegas decides to go with for their selection. Will it be a veteran player who can add leadership to an expansion franchise, or a lottery ticket from the minors who could develop into something under the right coaching?

In all, the team can look ahead to a summer filled with tougher tasks like RFA negotiations, rebuilding the bottom half of their defense and finding an answer in net. Some of those may be answered in the next few days, but more likely will stretch into July. With ample cap space and several vacant positions, Calgary will be one of the most interesting teams to follow in free agency.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Goalie Market Far Too Crowded

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Although the expansion draft and entry draft are the immediate matters on the minds of those not involved with the Finals, there is still ample reason to speculate on the UFA class. After all, the ability for teams to start signing players is less than a month away. In a particularly weak free agent class, however, one factor sticks out quite prominently. There are 10 goaltenders who played regularly for their teams this season, who will be vying for far fewer NHL roster spots. Only two teams are truly desperate for a starter, those being the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets.

None of the available goaltenders even cracks my top 25 free agents, which should indicate how poor some of the tenders’ seasons have been. That said, these 10 names combined have played thousands of NHL games. By my estimation, still leading the pack should be former Calgary Flame Brian Elliott. Elliott’s career stats are decent, and he’s only one season removed from a 38 win, .930 save percentage year with the Blues. However, he melted down in grand fashion this off-season en route to a sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. It may not be fair, but that will absolutely impact his perceived value around the league. His one-year contract gamble, which looked wise at the time, may cost him now. Also in the “top tier” of goaltenders available are Peter Budaj, who had a career year in Los Angeles, Mike Condon, who is one of the most valued backups league-wide, and Jonathan Bernier, who had 21 wins and a respectable .923 save percentage in the regular season before being totally usurped by John Gibson.

Then there is the “middle tier” of goaltenders who likely won’t see a ton of interest, but could easily serve backup duty, some only on a severely reduced contract. These include Ryan Miller, Chad Johnson, and Steve Mason. Ryan Miller is nearly 37 years old, and although he may still have a bit left in the tank, it’s impossible to imagine a team opting to make him their starter. Complicating matters is that Miller will likely want a multi-year agreement to bring him security. Chad Johnson will likely find work, but it could be a long while waiting. Teams will more than likely scour the field for the bigger names first, and only circle back to him as a security backup. Steve Mason is an interesting reclamation project, especially when you consider that his stats weren’t totally horrendous (.908 SV%, 2.66 GAA). However, his career numbers just aren’t that solid, and the absolute fury he invoked from the Flyers fanbase didn’t boost his confidence or stock. Mason will need to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer a number one goalie, nor will he be paid as one – he earned $4.1 MM on his last contract and he’ll see nowhere near that this time around.

Rounding out the “bottom-most” group is Ondrej Pavelec, Jhonas Enroth, and Curtis McElhinney. Out of these, McElhinney seems the only with a solid hope of finding a gig. He only played in 21 games this past year between Columbus and Toronto, but performed decently. His .917 save percentage, well up from his .905 career, might be just enough to negotiate a contract, perhaps in the event of an injury. Pavelec has been nothing short of a disaster in Winnipeg, with his only good statistical year being 2014-15. He played just 8 games last season, with a .888 SV%. He may be forced to look overseas for employment. Enroth hasn’t fared any better – he’s only played 17 games in the last two seasons, not even tallying a win in 2016-17.

Essentially, none of these goalies will be highly sought after. Condon could realistically see a starting role next season, as could Budaj, which would have been unthinkable in the not-so-distant past. Teams have many options when it comes to goaltending, but none of them are particularly awe-inspiring. The prices on contracts will likely be diminished substantially due to the abundance of available players, and agents could see this situation extend deep into the summer months.

 

Flames Perspective On Expansion Draft

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Calgary Flames GM Brad Treviling spoke to Sportsnet 960 radio yesterday and opined about how the team is addressing the expansion draft. At the outset, Treviling acknowledges that the Flames—alongside 20 or so teams—do not have any major expansion issues, and only those teams with potential significant losses are the focus of the Vegas Golden Knights right now.

Treviling also thinks that Vegas will approach the expansion draft to accumulate assets rather than try to build the perfect team. He predicts that Vegas will have strong goaltending and good defenseman. It will be harder, Treviling intimates, to find quality forwards at a good price, and will be very difficult to find good centers.

And because Vegas takes 30 players, those extra players may be flipped to other teams for draft picks. Unlike other teams, Vegas does not have a farm system in place yet. That means it might be more valuable to take a player and then trade him for numerous lower round draft picks. Vegas may value quantity over quality in the short term.

The Flames have run at least three mock drafts so far, and update monthly its lists of who they think teams will protect. Treliving points out that it is a difficult process given the positional restrictions and many moving parts.

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