Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Outlook: Anaheim Ducks
The Vegas Golden Knights are chomping at the bit to pluck one of Anaheim’s top players.
The fans of the Vegas Golden Knights have a little while longer to wait for an NHL roster to shape up. But as many people know, there is a process to the expansion draft.
First of all, all 30 NHL franchise’s must pick their poison. Option A) Keep 7 Forwards, 3 Defensemen and 1 Goaltender or Option B) Keep 8 Skaters and 1 Goaltender. If a player has a no movement clause in their contract, that player must be kept on the protection list. The team has to ask the player to waive their no movement clause if they want to expose the player. All first and second year players will be exempt from selection and not counted towards a team’s protection list.
"Regulations Relating to the Vegas Golden Knights* Vegas must select one player from each presently existing club for a total of 30 players (not including additional players who may be acquired as the result of violations of the Expansion Draft rules).* The Vegas Golden Knights must select the following number of players at each position: 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.* The Golden Knights must select a minimum of 20 players who are under contract for the 2017-18 season.* Vegas must select players with an aggregate Expansion Draft value that is between 60-100% of the prior season’s upper limit for the salary cap.* Vegas cannot buy out any of the players selected in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following its first season."
With the way these rules are laid out, teams are going to be in deep trouble of losing some good players. And the Anaheim Ducks are one of those teams.
The Ducks are one of those team’s who have an overbalanced roster and can’t keep everybody. Anaheim will make a trade or two at the deadline to bolster their roster come playoff time. But as of now, If I’m the Ducks, I think you go with 8 skaters and a goalie. Young players like Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore will all be exempt which is the good news. The bad news is Kevin Bieksa’s no movement clause creates a log jam of problems for Anaheim.
The Ducks can always ask Bieksa to waive his no movement clause but there’s no guarantee that will happen. Therefore if Bieksa doesn’t waive his no movement clause, Ducks should protect John Gibson, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen and Bieksa. However Anaheim’s forward group will take a huge hit. In all likelihood, the Ducks are going to keep Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler. With one spot remaining between Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg who are both having tremendous seasons for the Ducks.
Rickard Rakell just signed a team friendly contract for six years worth 3.8 million dollars annually. He has already surpassed last seasons goal total. In 46 games played, Rakell scored 22 Goals, 10 Assists and 32 Points. Meanwhile Silfverberg is no slouch himself. Silfverberg is part of one of the best lines in hockey with Kesler and Andrew Cogliano. SIlfverberg totaled 17 Goals, 19 Assists, 36 Points in 56 games played.
If somehow, some way, General Manager Bob Murray finds a way to keep both Swedish superstars and his young core players it would be a near miracle. Not only would those players be up for grabs, but young 25-year-old defenseman Josh Manson would not be a bad choice by George McPhee either. The former Northeastern Huskie plays a rock solid defensive game, play 20 minutes a night and brings a shutdown ability to his game. Not to mention he’s a heavy hitter and sticks up for his teammates.
In the end, I see Ducks GM Bob Murray somehow keeping and protecting both Swedish born players. If either Rakell or Silfverberg are unprotected, you have to jump all over them. Which would only leave Manson to the Vegas Golden Knights. If your George McPhee you take the 6’3 defenseman any day of the week.
Next: Former NL MVP Visits The Vegas Golden Knights!
Golden Knight Prediction: Josh Manson