Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Outlook: Chicago Blackhawks

ST. PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 8: Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Minnesota Wild during the game on February 8, 2017 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 8: Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Minnesota Wild during the game on February 8, 2017 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)

Chicago Blackhawks have their hands tied in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft.

There’s no other team like the Chicago Blackhawks. A dynasty that’s looking for even more championships. With a young core group of players, they’ll be just fine. However, when the expansion draft is here and Chicago is ready to send out their protection list, it’ll be pretty much already done for them. What I mean by that is the Blackhawks have eight players under no movement clauses. Which means they must protect all eight players unless a player is asked to waive their no movement clause. Also means Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee pretty much already knows who he’s going to pick from Chicago.

The eight players that have a no movement clause are Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson and Corey Crawford. I just don’t see how you can ask any one of those players to waive their respective no movement clauses. Luckily for the Hawks, Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte and Gustav Forsling are all exempt. Chicago would really be in a mess if that occurred.

The Blackhawks would have to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie. What other choice do they have? They could go four forwards, four defensemen and one goalie but I can’t see this team leaving Richard Panik, Marcus Kruger and Ryan Hartman out of the equation. Protecting those three forwards is a must for the team from the windy city.

Here lie’s the problem. With Chicago protecting Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson by default, the team will be forced to expose Trevor van Riemsdyk. The 25 year old got a good shot from the point and is versatile playing the left or right side on the blue line. Additionally, van Riemsdyk  has learned a lot from his pairing partner Brian Campbell over the year. Another thing that makes van Riemsdyk so attractive is his contract with a very low cap-hit of $825,000. What van Riemsdyk need’s to continue to work on is improving his defensive zone coverage and being more physical. Van Riemsdyk’s stats aren’t very flashy (Three Goals, Five Assists and Eight Points) but with the upside at his age, he could prove to be a steal for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Van Riemsdyk’s stats are because he’s mostly on the bench during powerplay’s and most offensive zone opportunities. As a matter of fact, van Riemsdyk totaled 29 seconds of powerplay time in the last 11 games. This is probably due to the fact that Chicago just has too much talent on the team to spread around.

The New Hampshire Wildcat seems destined to have a new home in 2017 barring something crazy happening. The Vegas Golden Knights will gladly take Trevor van Riemsdyk with no problem.

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Golden Knight Prediction: Trevor van Riemsdyk