In late June, the Vegas Golden Knights’s inaugural roster will take shape during the NHL’s first expansion draft since the turn of the millennium. The Washington Capitals are bursting with talent everywhere on their 22-man roster, which is why they will likely lose a beloved member of the organization.
While that’s a depressing thought, I do have some good’ish news. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston got his hands on the memo which outlines the 66 players that are currently considered exempt from the expansion process (because of no-move clauses). The Caps are one of four NHL teams that do not have any players that fit that bill. So that means, the players the Capitals choose to protect — a) seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or b) eight skaters (forwards/defensemen), and one goaltender — will be protected because of strategy and not because their hands are tied with bad contracts.
Via Sportsnet, here are the 66 players who are ineligible to be drafted.
Anaheim (4)
Kevin Bieksa
Ryan Getzlaf
Ryan Kesler
Corey PerryArizona (1)
Alex GoligoskiBoston (4)
David Backes
Patrice Bergeron
Zdeno Chara
David KrejciBuffalo (1)
Kyle OkposoCarolina (1)
Jordan StaalColumbus (5)
Sergei Bobrovsky
David Clarkson
Brandon Dubinsky
Nick Foligno
Scott HartnellChicago (8)
Artem Anisimov
Corey Crawford
Niklas Hjalmarsson
Marian Hossa
Patrick Kane
Duncan Keith
Brent Seabrook
Jonathan ToewsColorado (2)
Francois Beauchemin
Erik JohnsonDallas (2)
Jamie Benn
Jason SpezzaDetroit (1)
Frans NielsenEdmonton (3)
Milan Lucic
Andrej Sekera
Cam TalbotFlorida (1)
Keith YandleLos Angeles (1)
Anze KopitarMinnesota (4)
Mikko Koivu
Zach Parise
Jason Pominville
Ryan SuterMontreal (2)
Jeff Petry
Carey PriceNashville (1)
Pekka RinneNew Jersey (1)
Ryane CloweN.Y. Islanders (3)
Johnny Boychuk
Andrew Ladd
John TavaresN.Y. Rangers (4)
Dan Girardi
Henrik Lundqvist
Rick Nash
Marc StaalOttawa (1)
Dion PhaneufPhiladelphia (1)
Claude GirouxPittsburgh (5)
Sidney Crosby
Marc-Andre Fleury
Phil Kessel
Kris Letang
Evgeni MalkinTampa Bay (4)
Ryan Callahan
Valtteri Filppula
Victor Hedman
Steven StamkosToronto (1)
Nathan HortonVancouver (3)
Loui Eriksson
Daniel Sedin
Henrik SedinWinnipeg (2)
Dustin Byfuglien
Toby EnstromTeams without any players that they’re required to protect: Calgary, San Jose, St. Louis, Washington.
While several players on the Capitals, including Brooks Orpik, have partial no-trade clauses, that does not give them the same rights in the expansion draft as players who have full or partial no-move clauses.
Headline photo: Bruce Bennett
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