Which Nashville Predators should be protected in the SB Nation Mock NHL Expansion Draft?
by Dirk Hoag on Aug 27, 2010 2:09 PM EDT
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This weekend's conversation ties in to the mock expansion draft that the SB Nation hockey blogs are conducting. As polls determine which cities will receive these fictional teams, we can turn out question to how the Nashville Predators should handle such a situation. The last time the NHL expanded, the Predators were brand new and didn't have to expose any of their players to the draft, but if it happened these days, they'd have some tough decisions to make.
Follow after the jump for the guidelines, and sound off in the comments!
Quoth our rules:
Ground rules on protected lists:
- Teams can protect either "1 goalie, 5 defensemen and 9 forwards" OR "2 goalies, 3 defensemen and 7 forwards."
- If you go the two goalie route, at least one goalie left unprotected must have played in at least 10 games last season OR 25 games in the last two seasons combined. One game = at least 31 minutes.
- Each team must leave unprotected at least one defenseman who appeared in 40 games last season OR 70 games in the last two seasons combined.
- Each team must leave unprotected at least two forwards who appeared in 40 games last season OR 70 games in the last two seasons combined.
- Players who have played in 49 or fewer games are automatically exempt and do not need to be protected.
With Nashville, obviously we'd go with the "one goalie" route, as everyone else in the system is exempt due to the games-played requirement.
A few other players who don't need to be protected due to games played: Colin Wilson, Cal O'Reilly, Nick Spaling, and Alexander Sulzer.
My initial list would be:
Goalie: Pekka Rinne
Defense: Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Kevin Klein, Francis Bouillon, Cody Franson (exposing Ryan Parent)
Forwards: David Legwand, Martin Erat, Matthew Lombardi, Patric Hornqvist, J.P. Dumont, Marcel Goc, Steve Sullivan, Alexander Radulov and Joel Ward (exposing Wade Belak, Jordin Tootoo, Jamie Lundmark, Jerred Smithson, and Sergei Kostitsyn)
UPDATE: I had totally spaced out on Alexander Radulov. You bet I'm adding him to the list... but then that makes things more difficult. I exposed Tootoo, but know that could be a very unpopular option. In terms of winning hockey games, however, I think that would be my pick.
I'd like to get your input over the course of the weekend in the comments below, and once we winnow things down to a few key decisions, perhaps we can run a poll on them next week. The plan is to publish our "protected list" Thursday evening. So...
Which Nashville Predators would you protect in a mock NHL expansion draft?
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I agree with your list, Dirk, the only thing I’d think twice of is swapping Bouillon for Parent. Even then, though, its too close to call.
OtF: our captain can beat up your captain.
Bitter and Blue: if you can't beat 'em; buy 'em.
Agreed
I’d swap Parent for Bouillon. Frankie was great in a limited role for us last season, but is at the tail end of his career, while Parent was just re-acquired as a 23 year old with the hopes of getting him healthy and putting him into a position to realize his potential…
Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
Follow me on Twitter: @SLakePreds
This year...
will be an important one for Parent. He got benched by Philly in the playoffs, so its questionable whether he’s a keeper. I’m optimistic that he can be successful in Nville though.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Aug 27, 2010 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions
i agree
as well. thats the exact list i would protect. due to his age i would consider not protecting sully, but i dont see anyone else thats a “must protect”.
You can make a case for gambling that due to age or contract you might get away with exposing Sully, Dumont, or Erat, really.
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.
I wouldn’t expose Erat. He still has 3-4 years of this level production in him.
OtF: our captain can beat up your captain.
Bitter and Blue: if you can't beat 'em; buy 'em.
by Chris Burton on Aug 27, 2010 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions
And Poile will still be talking about the hope that he’ll come up with a 70-80 point season!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.
Clarification
Could you even expose players with an NMC? I would think players with an NTC would be eligible, but wouldn’t an NMC entail that the team has to do everything in their power to keep said player at the NHL level?
Predators Hockey: Live it, Love it...
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Dang, good question. I’ll do some looking. Do any Preds have NMCs, though? I think its just Dumont and Erat with the NTCs.
OtF: our captain can beat up your captain.
Bitter and Blue: if you can't beat 'em; buy 'em.
by Chris Burton on Aug 27, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Good question, I would think that NMC’s would tie the team’s hands and force them to protect that player.
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.
I think I’ll give David the benefit of the doubt after this past summer. ;)
OtF: our captain can beat up your captain.
Bitter and Blue: if you can't beat 'em; buy 'em.
by Chris Burton on Aug 27, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I would swap radulov and kostitsyn. I think an expansion team would rather pick up a player who might actually play for them, and not one who has already bolted to the khl.
"It's gonna be fun on the bun."
by flyalder on Aug 27, 2010 7:50 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
And this was supposed to be an interactive experience?
It is just that except for maybe one player, this is the list that most people could agree on. Interesting to think about. Would a GM and coach, knowing that someone could get poached off of their team, play a d-man or forward so that he would meet the game number requirements? Is the draft before the RFA and UFA deadlines?
In this case, the guidelines make it pretty clear who the Preds would likely protect, but there is a case to be made for some of these guys. Am I wrong to protect Radulov, or expose Tootoo?
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker.
By the time an expansion draft would come along, we would know if Radulov was going to be playing in the NHL again. An expansion team, though, might really want someone like TooToo to drum up the crowd. On the other hand, if you don’t like Rads, making him suffer on an expansion team might be just desserts. Not having seen much of Rads play since he left, I would prob cover TooToo. Honestly, the team gets to protect a few more players than I thought could be protected, so, for the Preds, I think there is only one, maybe two changes that most people would make from your initial list. Chicago after the cup last year would be a different story, but with their payroll problems it might have been a blessing, although they would not have got anything in return. I am going to check out some other teams lists and see who they’ve got protected.
Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the organization to expose either Sully or Dumont if not both. Strictly from an age perspective.
As for the Tootoo or Radutraitor debate, Tootoo has done everything this organization has asked of him. I have a hard time believing Poile would leave him unprotected considering how pleased they must be with his progression. They did just reward him with a multiyear deal.
Is there any compensation for losing a player in an expansion draft? Or if you lose one then you cannot lose another until a certain point?
Goalie: Pekka Rinne
Defense: Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Kevin Klein, Francis Bouillon, Ryan Parent (Exposing Cody Franson)
Forwards: David Legwand, Martin Erat, Matthew Lombardi, Patric Hornqvist, J.P. Dumont, Marcel Goc, Steve Sullivan, Alexander Radulov and Joel Ward (exposing Wade Belak, Jordin Tootoo, Jamie Lundmark, Jerred Smithson, and Sergei Kostitsyn)
Nashville has a glut of offensive defensemen, Parent should be protected with Blum, Laakso, and Ellis in the picture.
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