Blues are ready to lose someone in expansion draft
Channel: Flash video
Date: 18/06/2017

Blues' protected list will be announced soon
From years of speculation to last summer’s confirmation, NHL expansion has toe-dragged out. But with the Stanley Cup Finals complete, the league is now just days away from the formation of its 31st franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights.

The other 30 clubs had until 4 p.m. Saturday to submit their protected lists, and after those are revealed to the public at 9 a.m. Sunday, Vegas’ inaugural roster, beginning play in 2017-18, will be revealed at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday during the NHL’s awards show.

There’s excitement in the desert and anxiety everywhere else around the NHL, as teams such as the Blues brace to lose a player they would rather not part with. But it’s part of the process of adding revenue and jobs within the league.

“Ultimately when they select a player, it’s going to be someone that we wish we had in our organization, but we understand that there’s a new team coming in and they have to field a team too,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

The NHL has given teams plenty of time to prepare for its 11th expansion draft and the first since 2000. The rules were announced a year ago, allowing clubs the option of protecting seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or, for teams that want to protect more than three defensemen, eight skaters and one goalie.

The Blues have confirmed they’ll use the 7-3-1 option and most of their choices seem cut and dried. They have met many times with regard to the list, and Armstrong acknowledged there wasn’t much debate.

“We were really very, very similar on all except maybe one or two players for one spot, so it wasn’t as complicated,” he said. “The goalies seemed to be evident, the defense seemed to be evident. There was just a little difference on forwards and we talked through it.”

Six of the seven forwards the Blues will likely protect are Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny, Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund. Players with two years or less of professional experience, such as Robby Fabbri, are exempt, so that leaves one spot for David Perron, Ryan Reaves, Jori Lehtera, Dmitrij Jaskin and Kyle Brodziak.

There is belief the Blues might protect Reaves, and while Armstrong wouldn’t disclose the team’s list, he offered some insight into its logic.

“It’s like you’re building a team, not an All-Star team, and so you want to have the proper elements that check a lot of the different boxes,” he said.

Speculation has surfaced that the club could be interested in enticing Vegas to select Lehtera, who has two years left on his contract with a salary-cap hit of $4.5 million, by sweetening the pot with a draft pick. But Armstrong seemed to dispel that notion.

“Some teams are going to give up assets to protect certain players,” he said. “You’re not giving up assets to lose players; you’re giving up assets to protect players.”


When it was pointed out that it could be seen as protecting another player by making a trade to “lose” a player, Armstrong replied: “I can’t be much clearer. We’ve got our list.”

The Blues’ list likely will see Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester and Joel Edmundson protected on defense, and with Colton Parayko exempt, that would leave Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo exposed. In net, Jake Allen will be shielded, so backup Carter Hutton will be available.

The Blues aren’t in the position of teams like Minnesota, which has more top-end defensemen to protect and thus was being forced to seek a trade before a moratorium that excludes Vegas kicked in Saturday.

“If we would have signed a player like Kevin Shattenkirk last year anytime during the season, it would have certainly changed what we’re going to do at the expansion draft because we’d have one more defensemen to protect,” Armstrong said.
The NHL will reveal the protected lists of the Blues and 29 other teams at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

They are the players whom the clubs can not lose in Wednesday's NHL expansion draft, as the league ushers in the Vegas Golden Knights.

The lists were submitted Saturday and after being revealed Sunday, the Golden Knights will have until Wednesday morning to make their selections. The team will be announced during the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas.

The Blues choice to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie. Here's what general manager Doug Armstrong was saying about the process heading into Sunday's announcement ...