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Montreal Canadiens: Important Offseason Dates to Keep in Mind

By Maria Bouabdo

(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jun 21, 2019; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Cole Caufield after being selected as the number fifteen overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jun 21, 2019; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Cole Caufield after being selected as the number fifteen overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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You probably have heard it or read it by now, there are lots of events happening this offseason, specifically this month, and the Montreal Canadiens will have many important decisions to make, whether about the Seattle expansion draft, entry draft, trades, or free-agent signings.

Here are the key dates you should keep in mind if you want to make sure to follow everything happening around the NHL this offseason.

July 17: Protected lists

Every team participating in the expansion draft (in other words, every team in the NHL except the Vegas Golden Knights) will have completed their lists of protected players.

July 18-20: Seattle negotiation period

The Seattle Kraken will be able to negotiate contracts with free agents who aren’t on the protected lists and will be exposed in the draft.

July 21 at 8 p.m. EST: Seattle expansion draft

They will select one player from each team, for a total of 30 players, and a minimum of 14 forwards, 9 defencemen, and 3 goalies. Each team has the choice to either protect seven forwards, three defencemen, and a goalie, or eight skaters and a goalie.

July 23 at 8 p.m. EST: NHL entry draft Round 1

The Canadiens have the 30th pick in Round 1 of the entry draft.

July 24 at 11 a.m. EST: NHL entry draft Rounds 2 to 7

Round 2: the Canadiens have the 62nd and 63rd picks.

Round 3: 75th and 86th picks.

Round 4: 112th, 125th, and 126th picks.

Round 5: 141st pick.

Round 6: 190th pick.

Round 7: No picks.

July 28 at noon EST: Free agency begins

The Canadiens will have seven UFAs: Corey Perry, Joel Armia, Phillip Danault, Eric Staal, Tomas Tatar, Jon Merrill, and Erik Gustafsson; and two RFAs: Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Artturi Lehkonen. If they don’t re-sign by then, they will be free agents and will have the opportunity to look at contract options with other teams.

While all the big events will be over in a few weeks, free-agent signings can keep going for a while, so a lot will still be happening around the league.

Then, in September, things will hopefully be going back to normal.

Mid-September: Training camps

End of September: Pre-season

The pre-season will be starting, and the Seattle Kraken are set to play their first game on Sept. 26 at Spokane Arena against the Vancouver Canucks.

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