A Canuck fan’s guide to the Seattle 2021 NHL expansion draft
Canucks protected list
Congratulations if you dug in and made it this far; it was plenty to digest. Your reward is this complete and fair assessment of the Canucks franchise ahead of the Seattle 2021 NHL expansion draft.
Much nonsense considered, GM JBenning may arrive at the following:
Protected
Goalie: – Markstrom
Seven forwards – Pettersson, Horvat, Miller, Brock Boeser, Jake Virtanen, Adam Gaudette, Antoine Roussel
Three defencemen– Tryamkin, Tyler Myers, plus one
Exposed
Forward – Jay Beagle, Micheal Ferland, Josh Leivo, Tyler Motte, Loui Eriksson, Nikolay Goldobin
Defence– Plus one
Goalie– Plus one
Exempt: Hughes, Juolevi, DiPietro, Woo, Rafferty, Lind, Gadjovich, Josh Teves, Guillaume Brisebois, Jalen Chatfield, Ashton Sautner, Mitch Eliot, Zack MacEwen, Justin Bailey, Lukas Jasek, Francis Perron
Free agents: Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, Jordie Benn, Oscar Fantenberg, Brandon Sutter, Tanner Pearson, Tim Schaller, Sven Baertschi, Reid Boucher, Tyler Graovac, Richard Bachman, Zane McIntyre
Traded: Demko
As for skaters, little explanation is needed as to why protect young core forwards Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Virtanen and Gaudette. This handful is the future of the franchise and eligible for selection. They simply must be protected.
Youth served, there should still be room to protect a couple of the veteran forwards. Players like Miller and Roussel represent incredible character and talent, and are key elements in the chemistry of this team. Both would be worthy additions to the protected list, at least more so than the other notable assets.
Of the players listed above as exposed, while Canucks head coach Travis Green might not want to lose the likes of Motte or Leivo — two players that may interest Seattle — either could easily be replaced a couple of weeks later during the July 1, 2021, free agent frenzy. The fandom needn’t lose any sleep.
There’s not much to report about the Canucks blue line yet, as nearly all contracts for veteran defencemen are set to expire beforehand. As a result, the Canucks could re-sign one of their pending-free-agent defencemen if only to expose for sacrifice, plus another to fill that final vacancy on the protected list.
Hail the hockey gods, Canucks fans. Seattle’s rite of passage should concern Benning, who may be planning to protect his assets as apprised above, and move out Demko before the 2021-trade deadline. Behold this vision of your blessed team in the light of the upcoming NHL-expansion draft, and forsake those who dare cast shadow on its glory.
Next. Canucks: Presenting the 2010s all-decade awards. dark
Don’t be shy! Join writer Stephe K in the comments section below. Let us know how your list would differ, or why you agree with his sentiments above. Should the Canucks rather risk exposing Markstrom and pray for a chance to keep both goalies? What kind of asset should Benning target if he decides to trade a goaltender? So much to cover, please shout out if anything important was overlooked. What story do you wanna read next? Give us your best!