Habs News: NHL Seattle Expansion Draft Rules, Montreal Canadiens Mock Protection List, Marc Bergevin, Jake Allen, Ben Chiarot, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens 2020-21 season is in the books. As difficult as a loss in the Stanley Cup final is for the organization and the fans, I think that when everyone takes a step back, they will be proud of the season. It was a season that was physically and mentally taxing.

While the players rest before beginning their respective summer workout program, Marc Bergevin immediately started preparing for the 2021-22 season. The Canadiens general manager has until Saturday 5:00 pm. ET. to submit the protection list for Seattle expansion draft.

In this week’s column, I will project the protection list that will be submitted to the league prior to the deadline.

Expansion Draft Rules

The Kraken will select one player from each team except the Golden Knights. Vegas is exempt from this year’s expansion draft. These are the guidelines for the remaining 30 teams:

Each organization can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie, under the following conditions:

• All players with no movement clauses at the time of the draft, and who decline to waive those clauses, must be protected and will be counted toward their team’s applicable protection limits.
• All first- and second-year professionals, and all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection and will not be counted toward protection limits.

In addition, all NHL teams must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the draft:

• One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
• Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
• One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team’s protected list.

After reviewing all options, I think the Canadiens best option is to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie.

Goalies

Carey Price will be on the protection list due to the no movement clause on his contract. Remember when some fans during the regular season that wanted the goalie waive his clause for the expansion draft?

Price is coming off playing at an elite level throughout the team’s playoff run. The Canadiens goalie finished with a 13-9 record, 2.28 goals against average, and .924 save percentage in the post season.

The Kraken will have the option of selecting Jake Allen. The backup goalie won 11 of the 29 games that he appeared in the regular season, maintaining a 2.68 goals against average, and .907 save percentage. Allen made no appearances during the playoffs, but gave his team a chance to win when he started during the season.

“I understand what’s at stake. I signed here to play with the Montreal Canadiens, and that’s where I am right now. Unless something changes, that’s my number one objective. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes, but I understand that this is not a normal year,” Allen said when asked about the expansion draft.

Prior to the start of the season, Allen signed a two-year extension that counts for $2.875-million against the salary cap. Seattle may find the cap attractive for a good backup goaltender.

“Decisions have to be made and we’ll see what happens. I expect to play for the Montreal Canadiens and that’s why I signed my two-year extension. I also understand there’s a business side to it. Things happen in this business that are out of your control and we’ll see where it goes,” Allen added.

Protected: Carey Price

Unprotected: Jake Allen, Michael McNiven, Charlie Lindgren (UFA)

Exempt: Cayden Primeau

Defencemen

In the post season, Dominique Ducharme heavily relied on four defencemen to carry the workload. The organization will need to expose one of them to the draft.

By default, Jeff Petry is protected due to the no movement clause on his contract. Shea Weber is a lock to take a spot on the protection list. Weber is a leader in the dressing room, and a great role model for the young players on the roster.

The difficult decision will be to determine the final spot on the protection list between Ben Chiarot and Joel Edmundson. Both defenders had a significant role in the playoffs.

Chiarot led the team in ice time with 25:15 during the playoffs, an increase of 3:28 from the regular season. He was primarily paired with Weber on five-on-five, and on the first penalty kill. The pair consistently faced the oppositions top forwards.

Edmundson averaged 23:23 of ice time in the post season, an increase of 3:20 from the regular season. Edmundson was paired with Petry during five-on-five, and was on the second penalty kill unit. He led the team with plus-28 during the regular season.

I believe that the Canadiens will enter Edmundson’s name on the protection list for three reasons. First, Edmundson has three years remaining, while Chiarot is entering the final year of his contract. Second, Edmundson is two years younger than Chiarot. Finally, Edmundson has won a Stanley Cup, an attribute that Bergevin looked out for when signing the defenceman.

Protected: Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson

Unprotected: Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak, Erik Gustafsson (UFA), Jon Merrill (UFA), Cale Fleury, Xavier Ouellet, Gustav Olofsson

Exempt: Alexander Romanov, Josh Brook, Kaiden Guhle, Gianni Fairbrother, Mattias Norlinder, Corey Schueneman

Forwards

The decision for the forward group is simpler than on defence. Brendan Gallagher with a no movement clause on his contract, along with Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are already printed on the protection list.

Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Artturi Lehkonen, Jake Evans are on my short-list for the three remaining spots. Lehkonen and Evans are my choices to take two spots, with one of Danault, Drouin or Byron to slot in as the seventh protected forward.

Ultimately, I think Danault will be protected regardless of the contact situation. Seattle will have an exclusive window from July 18th to 21st to negotiate with unprotected unrestricted free agents (UFA). If Danault hasn’t signed with Montreal by Sunday, protecting him will give both sides an additional week to negotiate. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there was a gap of $500,000-$750,000 per year separating the two parties during negotiations last Fall.

There’s very little news about Drouin’s absence and any potential return. The latest update was provided by Bergevin, advising that Drouin is doing a lot better but the situation remains sensitive.

Byron has two seasons remaining on his contract that carries a $3.4-million cap hit. Byron has speed, plays on the penalty kill, and is a good leader. Those are great qualities to have on a roster, but I don’t think he’s producing to the value of the contract.

Protected: Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Artturi Lehkonen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jake Evans

Unprotected UFAs: Tomas Tatar, Joel Armia, Eric Staal, Michael Frolik, Corey Perry, Jordan Weal, Charles Hudon

Unprotected: Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Michael Pezzetta, Joseph Blandisi, Laurent Dauphin, Lukas Vejdemo, Brandon Baddock

Exempt: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ryan Poehling, Jesse Ylonen, Cameron Hills, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Joel Teasdale, Alex Belzile, Jake Lucchini, Jan Mysak, Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Selected Player

There’s only one benefit for the Canadiens to protect eight skaters and one goalie instead of the format consisting of seven forwards, three defencemen and a goalie. It would allow Montreal to keep their top-four defensive unit intact, at the expense of losing a key player from the forward group.

It’s difficult to project the player that the Kraken will select from the Canadiens. Teams can make side deals with Seattle to entice them to select or avoid a particular player. If I had to predict, I expect for it to be between Allen and Chiarot.

The National Hockey League is expected to publish the protection lists on July 18th. Seattle’s selections will be announced on July 21st at 8:00 pm. ET. on Sportsnet and ESPN.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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