Scott Darling Trade Reactions
The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes hooked up yesterday for a rare April trade, with pending UFA goaltender Scott Darling departing the Windy City in return for a third-round draft pick in the 2017 entry draft. The Hawks get the third-rounder originally acquired by Carolina at the trade deadline from Ottawa in exchange for veteran winger Viktor Stalberg. The Canes, meanwhile, bring in Darling, who played well as Corey Crawford‘s understudy and was likely going to depart Chicago as a free agent to pursue a starting job elsewhere. Now it appears he’ll have that opportunity in Carolina, presuming he agrees to sign with the team rather than test the open market, of course.
On the surface this deal certainly wouldn’t qualify as a blockbuster, but all one has to do is look north to Edmonton to see what can happen when a quality backup goalie is given a chance to be a #1. Cam Talbot, previously Henrik Lundqvist‘s #2 in New York, has developed into a quality starter for the Oilers and has so far guided his team to a surprising 2 – 0 lead over Anaheim in their Western Conference semifinal match. Talbot also led NHL netminders this season in several categories, including games played, wins and shots against. While there is no guarantee Darling will follow Talbot’s career trajectory, the latter’s success is evidence that deals like this can sometimes pay off.
Here’s a rundown of reactions from around the league:
- Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times likes the deal from both perspectives, arguing that the Hawks got solid value for a player they had no room to re-sign while the Hurricanes add a potential long term starter between the pipes. Lazerus does, however, opine that the move, albeit inevitable, leaves the club perilously thin in goal. Beyond Crawford, Chicago has no goaltender in the organization with NHL experience, though Jeff Glass is around to meet the team’s expansion draft requirement of exposing one goalie under contract for 2017-18. The scribe also adds that Chicago gave no thought to extending Darling while attempting to move Crawford. Lazerus suspects Darling could get close to $4MM on the open market but the potential cap savings evidently wasn’t compelling enough to cause Chicago to reconsider their goaltending situation.
- Adam Gretz of NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk writes that Carolina’s acquisition of Darling is “worth the risk,” borrowing a quote from Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. As Gretz notes, Carolina has long received substandard play between the pipes and it was more of the same in 2016-17. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack combined for a S% of just 0.901, good for just 26th in the league. In fact, Carolina has fared no better than 25th in that category in any of the previous five seasons. For a team looking to break an eight year playoff drought, improved play in net would go a long way to improve their postseason chances in 2017-18. Gretz also points out that the Hurricanes boast an impressive amount of 2017 draft capital, with their own first-rounder, three seconds and two thirds even after acquiring Darling’s rights. As a result, the team can afford to take this gamble given their enviable entry draft wealth.
- Luke DeCock of The News & Observer is satisfied to at least see Carolina attempt to make changes in goal, even if the team fails to extend Darling, after what he describes as “two unsatisfying years of the Cam Ward/Eddie Lack tandem.” According to DeCock, a third-round pick may be a substantial price to pay for just two months of exclusive negotiating rights but considering Carolina still has six choices in the first three rounds and 10 overall in 2017, it’s a reasonable cost assuming the Hurricanes can lock the 28-year-old goalie to a long term deal. The scribe feels Darling is just entering his prime and has the potential to solve the team’s longstanding issues between the pipes. DeCock believes the deal also means Carolina already has an agreement in place or feels confident in their ability to consummate one with the Vegas Golden Knights that would result in one of Ward or Lack being selected in the expansion draft. The duo accounts for a combined $6MM cap charge and with Darling expected to command around $4MM annually, a budget team like Carolina simply cannot afford to keep all three in the organization. Ultimately, DeCock feels entering the 2017-18 campaign with the Ward/Lack duo would have been “utter folly,” and considers any change “an improvement.”
Oilers Notes: Hart Trophy, Lander, Hall
The Edmonton Oilers may have lost a big game to their division rivals in Anaheim last night, but it was a big night for their captain, Connor McDavid.
McDavid scored a goal and three points to increase his lead at the top of the scoring race. He now has 85 points in 73 games, which is four points more than Sidney Crosby has, albeit in 66 games. Brad Marchand and Patrick Kane each have 80 points in 73 games.
While he’s leading the scoring race, a bigger question is where he’s at in the MVP race. While Cam Talbot has been superb for the Oilers this season, there’s no question that McDavid is the main reason for the team’s rise up the standings. The Oilers surpassed last season’s win total in mid-February, and have improved their goal differential by 63 goals. They finished in 29th last season, and are currently sitting in a divisional playoff spot this season. The biggest difference between this year and last? McDavid is healthy and arguably tied with Crosby for the title of best player in the NHL. Winning the scoring race would clear things up; in the past five years, the Hart has gone to either the Art Ross or Rocket Richard winner four times.
If McDavid does end up winning the Hart Trophy for league MVP, he will be the first Oilers player to win a major award since Andrew Ference won the King Clancy Award for off-ice leadership in 2013-14. McDavid would be the first Oiler to win an award for on-ice play since 1989-90 when Mark Messier and Bill Ranford took home the Hart, Lindsay, and Conn Smythe.
- Oilers minor-league centre Anton Lander has signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL for next season, according to KHL insider Aivis Kalniņš. A former second-round, Lander has struggled at the NHL level with just 35 points in 215 games. His only sustained success was back in 2014-15, when he scored 20 points in 38 games. But in the AHL, Lander is dominant. He has 22 goals and 46 points in 31 games this season for the Bakersfield Condors. The deal will be announced after the AHL season ends, and will make Lander one of the highest-paid imports in the KHL according to Kalniņš. Back in October, we reported on the top KHL salaries, and the highest-paid import on the list was Stephane Da Costa who makes approximately $1.3MM USD. That range would be a nice raise over Lander’s current contract which pays him $990K. It seems unlikely that the Oilers will tender Lander a qualifying offer in the spring.
- Taylor Hall may not be in Edmonton anymore, but he can’t escape the questions about his former team. Hall was asked today if he would watch and cheer for the Oilers in the playoffs. His answer? “No.” After six bottom-ten finishes with the Oilers, Hall once again finds himself at the bottom of the standings with the Devils while his former team is going to make the playoffs. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox quoted Hall as saying the situation has “a weird dynamic. You’re happy for your friends, that they’re doing well and they’re going to experience the playoffs, but you can’t help but be a bit jealous.”
Playoff Puzzle: Western Goaltending Experience
Corey Crawford must feel like an old man these days. When the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender looks around at the creases of his main rivals in the Western Conference, one thing is constant: inexperience. He knows it well, from when he took on the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 as a rookie. At the other end of the rink was a 31-year old Roberto Luongo, who had already been through three playoff runs and was about to win the Jennings trophy for dominating in the regular season.
Crawford and the Hawks would lose in seven games, but it was an important step towards their cup win in 2013 when he would post a .932 save percentage—still the best mark of his career. It’s not easy to backstop a team to the Stanley Cup, even if you do have an excellent group in front of you. Just ask Martin Jones, who actually played his best hockey last year in the Finals against Pittsburgh, despite losing. It took a while for him to really find his groove and even then it wasn’t enough.
So when Crawford sees the standings and notices a trend among the biggest contenders, it might make him even more confident heading into this year’s tournament. Perhaps even if he is a bit older, that experience will pay off in the toughest two months of any sport.
Evening Snapshots: Radulov, Fleury, Oilers
If not for a certain one-for-one swap in late June, Alexander Radulov would have been the most fascinating move of the summer for the Montreal Canadiens.
Radulov spent the better part of eight seasons in the KHL, with two controversial stints in Nashville, before signing a one-year, $5.75MM contract with the Canadiens. The term suggested this was very much a “show-me” contract, and show them he has. Radulov has been one of the Canadiens best players, with 42 points in 59 games thus far. Now, the Canadiens will have to lock up their Russian star long-term.
They won’t be the only team with interest in the big winger. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported that Radulov is a “strong position” to negotiate with the Canadiens (link in French). Radulov and T.J. Oshie are the only big names under the age of 35 set to hit unrestricted free agency. The KHL is also an outside option for Radulov, but staying in the NHL with Montreal appears to be his first choice.
[Related: PHR’s Midseason UFA Power Rankings]
This advantage give Radulov “every reason” to wait until July 1st, according Lavoie. Even though he’s expressed interest in staying in Montreal, this summer is likely his last chance to hit a home run in free agency. His former coach and friend Barry Trotz suggested he would be “shocked” if Radulov didn’t end up signing long-term in Montreal. Last Saturday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that Radulov wants to sign long-term, perhaps even looking for a six-year pact. That would take him to age 37, which might make the Canadiens uncomfortable. Power forwards tend to drop off a cliff sometime in their mid-thirties, so GM Marc Bergevin would be taking a risk to sign Radulov for that kind of term.
Kypreos suggested the Canadiens could offer Radulov a five or six year contract worth somewhere around $4.5 or $5MM per season, but would need to go to the $7MM neighbourhood to keep the term to three years. The Canadiens have some money coming off their cap this summer, but have Radulov, franchise goaltender Carey Price, and captain Max Pacioretty due for new contracts in each of the next three summers. With those big money signings on the horizon, it’s no wonder that Bergevin is considered “all-in” on this playoff run.
- Despite needing to address his goaltending situation before this June’s expansion draft, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would prefer to keep both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury for the remainder of this campaign, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. Murray has been significantly better this season, and with Fleury’s no-move clause (NMC), the Penguins need to make a move to avoid losing their young starter. If Rutherford doesn’t trade Fleury before next Wednesday, then the wily GM will have to convince him to waive his NMC in the spring for either the Golden Knights or a trading partner. Two teams to watch are the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Bob McKenzie of TSN reported on Thursday that the Flames are looking to improve their current goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson; while there hasn’t been any reports of interest on the part of Winnipeg, they’re currently two points out of a wildcard spot while only one of their three goaltenders have a SV% above 0.900 (Connor Hellebuyck). Should the Jets get stable netminding, then they could be a darkhorse candidate in the Western Conference.
- Speaking of goaltenders, an interesting tidbit came out of Edmonton today regarding their 2015 acquisition of Cam Talbot. The Oilers acquired Talbot at the 2015 NHL Draft, trading three picks (2nd, 3rd, and 7th) for the then-unproven goalie and a seventh round pick. While discussing the Oilers’ interest in trading for Kevin Shattenkirk, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported that Talbot “told the Oilers point-blank ‘don’t trade for me because I’m not going to re-sign here.'” Just six months later, Talbot signed a three-year extension to stay with the rising Oilers. Talbot has been the Oilers’ MVP (non-Connor McDavid category) with 30 wins and a 0.921 SV% in 54 games so far this season. Seravalli’s anecdote is notable as Talbot and Shattenkirk share an agent, and it shows GM Peter Chiarelli has previously been able to pitch Edmonton to players who were originally not interested in staying long-term.
Could Stars Follow Columbus, Minnesota Blue Print?
A year after surprisingly capturing a Central Division title and an appearance in the second round of the postseason, the Dallas Stars have stumbled this season to a 19-20-10 start and are currently three points out of a potential playoff berth. While there is still plenty of time to right the ship, it’s nonetheless fair to say the team has failed to meet preseason expectations. It’s at least conceivable that barring a deep postseason run the Stars could look to make some significant changes this summer. However, as Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild may have already provided a solid blue print the Stars could follow in their search for success.
Currently Columbus and Minnesota reside among the best teams in the league, which is a far cry from where the were last year. While the Wild made it to the playoffs, they were eliminated in the first round and looked nothing like a Stanley Cup contender. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets were once again one of the worst teams in the league and appeared to be at least a few years away from contention. However, as Heika points out, each team has benefited immensely from recent coaching changes – with John Tortorella taking over early last season in Columbus and Minnesota turning to Bruce Boudreau this past summer – and that could provide the Stars with a more palatable option than potentially making wholesale roster changes.
Current bench boss Lindy Ruff has had a long and accomplished career as a head coach in this league, first with the Buffalo Sabres and then for the last four in Dallas. On the heels of what can only be considered a successful 2015-16 campaign it might seem unwarranted to move on from Ruff after a season derailed by injuries to several key regulars. Nonetheless, Ruff is in the final season of his contract and it’s feasible general manager Jim Nill may conclude a fresh voice and approach is needed at this point.
However, despite some calls from fans to make a move now while the current campaign can still be saved, Heika advises against such a decision, and suggests waiting until after the season when more candidates will be available. As the scribe notes, Gerard Gallant certainly qualifies as an appealing option and any team interested in hiring might be best served doing so now with so few jobs open. But as Heika points out, a veteran bench boss like Gallant would require a three or four-year guaranteed commitment and it might be best to wait until after the season instead of caving to immediate pressures to go that direction.
Heika also identifies goaltending as an area the Stars could look to upgrade and while their are long-term options available now – Marc-Andre Fleury jumps immediately to mind – he cautions that the team might be better off trying to identify a young, up-and-coming net minder that represents more of an upside play rather than taking a chance on an expensive veteran. Martin Jones and Cam Talbot are two goalies that the scribe references that fit the former category. With teams looking ahead to the expansion draft, several backup types could be made available at a reduced rate as opposed to potentially losing them for nothing to the Vegas Golden Knights.
There is no questioning the impact that Tortorella and Boudreau have had on their respective team’s fortunes this season and it makes sense that the Stars could look to duplicate that success by bringing in their own new coach. It’s an easier move to make than trying to trade an expensive core player and/or trying to reshape the organization with blockbuster acquisitions. Yet there are no certainties regardless of what direction the Stars take. Hiring a new bench boss could pay off in Dallas as it has for Minnesota and Columbus. Or, as has been the case in Florida, the move may not yield the dividends the team hopes for.
Oilers Send Gustavsson To AHL, Recall Laurent Brossoit
After waiving backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson on Monday, the Oilers have sent him to the AHL today. In his place, the team will recall Laurent Brossoit, their top goaltending prospect and AHL starter.
Brossoit has played in 21 games at the AHL level this season but isn’t posting his regular stellar numbers. Carrying only a .908 save percentage into the call-up, the 23-year old netminder has taken a step backwards from last year. He does have six games of NHL experience under his belt over the past two seasons, but has yet to record a win. Part of that is the bad Oilers teams he’s played for, but some of it is the ugly .896 save percentage in those games.
For Gustavsson, this might be end of his run in Edmonton. As we wrote yesterday, head coach Todd McLellan didn’t trust him when he was with the team, allowing him to see the ice just seven times. For a once highly regarded prospect, Gustavsson has never been able to put it together in the NHL.
It’s an interesting move for the Oilers, who clearly need to give Cam Talbot some more rest. The starting goaltender is on pace to play 74 games (a top-20 all-time mark for goaltenders) and with the Oilers looking at a possible playoff spot he’ll be needed past the regular season.
A possibility is that the Oilers also put in a claim on Curtis McElhinney, but were beaten by the Maple Leafs who claimed him yesterday. They’ll now turn to their young netminder to give the team a real backup goaltender, at least until they can find an answer somewhere else.
The Edmonton Oilers’ Backup Situation
Following the Oilers spectacular 6-5 loss on Thursday night, much digital ink has been spilled about their backup goaltending. Jonas Gustavsson allowed six goals on 31 shots as the Oilers blew a pair of two-goal leads.
GM Peter Chiarelli signed Gustavsson on July 1 to a one-year, $800K contract to serve as backup to Cam Talbot. While Gustavsson is thought to be a good guy on the bench, his career numbers (0.902 SV%, 2.87 GAA) are well below league-average. His numbers through six appearances this season are even worse: his 0.893 SV% and 2.90 GAA rank fifth-last among goaltenders who have played at least six games. Gustavsson has just one win this year, back in early November in his first start with the club.
OilersNation writer Jonathan Willis wrote that the Oilers should quickly move on from Gustavsson, pointing out that “if he’d made one extra save last night—and given the number of bad goals he surrendered, it’s easy to imagine that… That would work out to [his career] save percentage of 0.902.”
Based on his usage of Talbot and Gustavsson, it’s clear that coach Todd McLellan has little faith in his backup. Talbot has played two more games than any other goalie in the NHL at 26. He’s on pace to start 71 games, which would be the highest since Braden Holtby started 73 back in 2014-15. Meanwhile Gustavsson has only started four games, all of which were part of back-to-back situations.
Willis wrote that the best defense of the signing was that the Oilers have faith in their minor league starter, Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit has progressed very well in his three seasons as their AHL starter. His save percentage has risen from 0.918 to 0.920 to a sparkling 0.927 this season. The only concern that the Oilers may have about Brossoit is the expansion draft. Because Brossoit is eligible to be selected, bringing him to the NHL and showing him off may prompt Vegas to pick him. However, this would mean the Oilers would be able to keep Brandon Davidson, the most likely player to be taken by the Golden Knights. As well, the Oilers have another AHL goalie, Nick Ellis, who has played very well in his eight games with a 0.931 SV% to take over the mantle in Bakersfield.
If not Brossoit, the Oilers could possibly take a look at Reto Berra, who’s buried behind Roberto Luongo and James Reimer in Florida, or even swap struggling backups with Leafs and see if a change of scenery helps Jhonas Enroth.
How Will The Expansion Draft Impact Canadian Teams?
Continuing our look at different expansion draft angles, CBC’s Amy Cleveland examines how the draft will affect the seven teams in Canada. Laying out the rules for the draft, Cleveland looks further and prognosticates who she sees as “potentially protected” versus those players who would be “intriguing” in being exposed. She further writes that all seven Canadian teams will be able to protect the bulk of their important players. The Flames sit prettiest without any non-movement clauses in contracts while the Leafs and Senators have only one player with an NMC (Nathan Horton, and Dion Phaneuf respectively).
Below are Cleveland’s picks for each team. Going to CBC’s page with the story includes in depth reasoning behind each of Cleveland’s choices.
Calgary Flames
NMC protected players: None.
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik, Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland
- Defencemen Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano
- Goalie Chad Johnson
Intriguing exposed:
- Matt Stajan (F), Lance Bouma (F), Brett Kulak (D)
Edmonton Oilers
NMC protected players: Milan Lucic (F), Andrej Sekera (D), Cam Talbot (G)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Lucic, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Patrick Maroon, Tyler Pitlick, Zack Kassian
- Defencemen: Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson
- Goalie: Talbot
Intriguing exposed:
- Benoit Pouliot (F), Mark Letestu (F)
Montreal Canadiens
NMC protected players: Carey Price (G), Jeff Petry (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Alexander Radulov, Max Pacioretty, Paul Byron, Andrew Shaw, Phillip Danault
- Defencemen Petry, Shea Weber, Nathan Beaulieu
- Goalie: Price
Intriguing exposed:
- Tomas Plekanec (F), Jacob De la Rose (F- RFA), Alexei Emelin (D), Greg Pateryn (D)
Ottawa Senators
NMC protected players: Dion Phaneuf (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Curtis Lazar
- Defencemen: Phaneuf, Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci
- Goalie: Craig Anderson
Intriguing exposed:
- Bobby Ryan (F), Marc Methot (D)
Toronto Maple Leafs
NMC protected players: Nathan Horton (F)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Matt Martin, Connor Brown
- Defencemen Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, Connor Carrick
- Goalie Frederik Andersen
Vancouver Canucks
NMC protected players: Loui Eriksson (F), Daniel Sedin (F), Henrik Sedin (F)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Eriksson, Sedin twins, Brandon Sutter, Bo Horvat, Markus Granlund, Jannik Hansen
- Defencemen Alexander Edler, Christopher Tanev, Erik Gudbranson
- Goalie Jacob Markstrom
Intriguing exposed:
- Sven Baertschi (F), Derek Dorsett (F), Luca Sbisa (D)
Winnipeg Jets
NMC protected players: Dustin Byfuglien (D), Toby Enstrom (D)
Potentially protected:
- Forwards: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry
- Defencemen: Byfuglien, Enstrom, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba
- Goalie Connor Hellebuyck
Intriguing exposed:
- Mathieu Perreault (F), Marko Dano (F), Mark Stuart (D)
Metro Division Snapshots: Raanta, Calvert, Capitals
New York Rangers backup net minder Antti Raanta is 5 – 0 – 0 in six starts this season after besting the Penguins 5 – 2 Monday night and since joining the Blueshirts in 2015, the Finnish goalie 16 – 6 – 2 with a GAA of 2.20 and a Save % of 92.4%. While he isn’t a threat to the job of longtime Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, his superb play at the bargain basement price of $1M this year and next does give the Blueshirts one of the best backup bargains in the league, writes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.
Raanta was acquired from Chicago in the summer of 2015 in exchange for minor league forward Ryan Haggerty to replace Cam Talbot as Lundqvist’s understudy. He spent two seasons with the Blackhawks and saw action in 39 games. Raanta was originally inked by Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
Even though “King” Henrik is the unquestioned starter in New York, the plan is for the Rangers to limit his usage somewhat in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs. As such, Raanta is expected to see action in around 25 games this season. His stellar play means there is little to no drop off from Lundqvist when Raanta is in goal.
Even though Raanta is under contract for one more season, it’s quite possible he won’t be with the Rangers beyond the 2016-17 campaign. With the Rangers required to protect Lundqvist in the expansion draft, the new Vegas Golden Knights franchise will have the option of selecting the 27-year-old Raanta. At the very least he would be an excellent #2 goalie at an inexpensive price for the Golden Knights in their inaugural season.
More from the Metro Division:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced via their official Twitter account that Matt Calvert would miss tonight’s game against Calgary with an upper-body-injury. To take his place the team recalled forward Markus Hannikainen from Cleveland of the AHL. Calvert, who was hit by a shot in a recent game against the Rangers which ultimately required 36 stitches to his forehead, has two goals in 17 games this season. Hannikainen, 23, made his NHL debut tonight and was held scoreless in 9:47 of ice itme. He has five goals and eight points in 14 games for the Monsters.
- With just more than $700K in salary cap space, the Washington Capitals have had to be creative managing their roster as injuries have begun to pile up, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post writes. After forward Paul Carey was reassigned to the AHL following Sunday’s game, the Caps were left with just 11 healthy forwards. Subsequently, reserve defenseman Nate Schmidt skated as a forward at practice. It’s an option head coach Barry Trotz may need to employ in an actual game should the situation warrant it. The piece gives an interesting insight into the complexities of roster management in the salary cap era. Every day the Capitals can avoid having to call up a minor league player such as Carey adds to the amount of salary cap space the team banks for use later in the campaign. While they may need to recall a player to play in a game, there is no sense carrying him on the roster during breaks in the schedule.
Full List Of Mandatory-Protection Players In Expansion Draft
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has published the full list of players who, due to no-movement clauses in their current contracts, must be protected in the upcoming expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights. These are players who will count against the protection limits should they choose not to waive their NMC rights prior to the draft.
Each team has the right to protect either:
A) Seven forwards, three defenders, one goaltender
or
B) Eight skaters, one goaltender
These players will count against those numbers, and as Johnston points out, there are some notable inclusions and omissions from this group. Players like Jordan Staal, Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan all had incorrect information spread about their contracts. The former two will now need protection, while the latter will not, due to his deal only having a no-movement to the minors clause.
The Chicago Blackhawks, with eight players listed, will have little flexibility at the draft, with only four forward spots (or one defenseman) left to use. Many others, according to Johnston, including Toronto’s Nathan Horton, are likely to be made exempt if they are still on LTIR as the draft approaches.