A new expansion draft detail the Montreal Canadiens should watch out for

The Seattle Kraken will have players by the end of July, and there’s a new twist the Montreal Canadiens should keep in mind towards the end of the season.

In 2017, the Montreal Canadiens lost Alexei Emelin to the Vegas Golden Knights. It was by far a great subtraction from the roster as the organization kept Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Carey Price, to name a few, protected. In 2021, it’ll be a new expansion draft with the Seattle Kraken being the 32nd team to join the NHL, and the damages may be a little more impactful.

As far as the rules go, there doesn’t seem to be too much of a difference. The Kraken must select 14 forwards, nine defencemen and 3 goaltenders. The Golden Knights are exempted from the upcoming expansion draft, while the remaining 30 teams in the league can protect 7 forwards, 3 defencemen and a goaltender or 8 skaters and one goaltender.

First and second-year NHL players are exempt from the draft, as well as unsigned draft picks. At the same time, players with no-movement clauses must be protected. And as far as who needs to be made available, all teams must leave:

• One forward under contract in 2021-22 with at least 40 NHL games of experience in the previous season or a total of 70 in the last two
• Two defencemen with the same experience criteria
• And a goaltender under contract in 2021-22 or a goaltender who will be an RFA with a qualifying offer before the 2021-22 season.

The big date is set for July 21st, but we learned some interesting information from Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. All teams will have to submit their protection lists by 5:00 PM EST on July 17th. Apparently, the Seattle Kraken will then be able to interview any unprotected RFAs and UFAs who can be signed to deals before the actual expansion draft.

The Montreal Canadiens have a number of RFAs and UFAs this offseason. Some are “guaranteed” to be extended like Jesperi Kotkaniemi while it’s up in the air for others Phillip Danault, Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, Victor Mete, Tomas Tatar, Noah Juulsen, Cale Fleury, etc.

Several of these players could be looking for a payday, and Marc Bergevin does like to take his time. However, if the Kraken can offer money and an opportunity to play a significant role, those interview periods could be detrimental to their efforts to keep them on board if it’s in their plans.

Take a player such as Lehkonen. He started his NHL career in a top-nine role breaking in as a goal scorer. Since then, he hasn’t been able to produce at a decent enough rate and has now been held to more defensive roles in the bottom six.

Armia had his best season with 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points in 58 games. He’s also on another bridge deal making $2.6 million. Seattle would be a very attractive environment for a player like Armia.

Asset management will be key for Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens. If he doesn’t play his cards right, the expansion draft may not be the only means of losing players next offseason.