2017 NHL Expansion Draft

The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft conducted by the National Hockey League on June 18–20, 2017 to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2017–18 season, the Vegas Golden Knights. The team's selections were announced on June 21 during the NHL Awards ceremony at T-Mobile Arena.
==Background==
In the off-season before the 2015–16 NHL season, the league opened a window for ownership groups to bid for expansion teams for the first time since 2000. Two ownership groups submitted bids to the league, one each from Las Vegas and Quebec City. If chosen, the Vegas bid would be the first "Big Four" major professional sports league to place a franchise in Las Vegas (not counting the city's short-lived and ill-fated football teams in the Canadian Football League and XFL, who played in 1994 and 2001 respectively), but the NHL has had a limited presence in the city with annual pre-season games, beginning with an outdoor game in 1991 and the Frozen Fury series held each year since 1997. Quebec City was previously home of the Quebec Nordiques, a team that had moved in 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche; it has hosted occasional preseason games since that time, and has constructed a new ice hockey arena to receive a potential NHL team. Due to political delays, a bid was not submitted from Seattle despite the presence of three different ownership groups publicly campaigning to start an NHL team; a number of other potential expansion sites, such as Kansas City and Saskatchewan, declined to place bids because of cost concerns.
Las Vegas was approved for the 2017–18 NHL season on June 22, 2016; at the same time the Quebec City bid was deferred, largely because of concerns over the Canadian dollar's value and the geographic balance of the league's conferences.
==Rules==
The initial proposal of the rules for the draft were decided upon by the NHL in March 2016. They allowed each team to either protect seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender or, one goaltender and eight skaters regardless of position. Because the NHL wanted to ensure the competitive viability of any new teams, the number of protected players allowed was lower than in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft which populated the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, when each team could protect nine forwards, five defencemen, and one goalie, or two goalies, three defencemen, and seven forwards. Under these rules, each of the 30 teams would lose one top-four defencemen or third-line forward per number of new teams. Only players with more than two years of professional experience — NHL or AHL as defined in the collective bargaining agreement—were included in the draft.
Teams had to submit their list of protected players by June 17, 2017, and they had to expose at least two forwards and one defenceman that had played at least 40 games in the 2016–17 season or more than 70 games in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons combined and had to still be contracted for the 2017–18 season. The exposed goaltender had to either be under contract for the 2017–18 season or became a restricted free agent in 2017. At least twenty of the thirty players selected by Vegas had to be under contract for the 2017–18 season, and they were required to select a minimum of fourteen forwards, nine defencemen and three goaltenders. Vegas was granted a 48-hour window prior to the draft to sign any pending free agent (RFA or UFA, one per team) that was left unprotected. If a team lost a player to Vegas during this signing window they did not have a player selected from their roster during this draft.
Teams were required to protect any contracted players with no move clauses (NMCs) with one of the team's slots for protected players, unless the contract expired on July 1, 2017, in which case the NMC was considered void for the draft. Players whose NMCs had limited no trade clauses had to still be protected, and any players with NMCs were able to waive the clause and become eligible for the expansion draft.
Any player picked in the expansion draft could not have their contract bought out until after the completion of the 2017–18 season. Vegas was guaranteed the same odds in the draft lottery as third lowest finishing team from the 2016–17 NHL season for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft; after their first season they were subject to same draft lottery rules as the other teams in the league. The NHL's deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said that teams that do not follow the expansion draft rules would face penalties, saying "It’s a loss of draft picks and/or players."
==Protected players==
The protected players' list was published on June 18, 2017.
===Eastern Conference===
Italics: Players protected for contractual reasons.
Atlantic Division
Position 	Boston 	Buffalo 	Detroit 	Florida 	Montreal 	Ottawa 	Tampa Bay 	Toronto
Forwards 	David Backes 	Tyler Ennis 	Justin Abdelkader 	Aleksander Barkov 	Paul Byron 	Derick Brassard 	Ryan Callahan 	Tyler Bozak
Forwards 	Patrice Bergeron	Marcus Foligno 	Andreas Athanasiou	Nick Bjugstad 	Phillip Danault 	Ryan Dzingel 	Tyler Johnson 	Connor Brown
Forwards 	David Krejčí 	Zemgus Girgensons 	Anthony Mantha 	Jonathan Huberdeau	Jonathan Drouin 	Mike Hoffman 	Alex Killorn 	Nazem Kadri
Forwards 	Brad Marchand 	Evander Kane 	Frans Nielsen 	Vincent Trocheck 	Alex Galchenyuk 	Jean-Gabriel Pageau	Nikita Kucherov 	Leo Komarov
Forwards 	Riley Nash 	Johan Larsson 	Gustav Nyquist 	 	Brendan Gallagher	Zack Smith 	Vladislav Namestnikov	Josh Leivo
Forwards 	David Pastrňák 	Kyle Okposo 	Tomáš Tatar 	 	Max Pacioretty 	Mark Stone 	Ondřej Palát 	Matt Martin
Forwards 	Ryan Spooner 	Ryan O'Reilly 	Henrik Zetterberg 	 	Andrew Shaw 	Kyle Turris 	Steven Stamkos 	James van Riemsdyk
Defencemen	Zdeno Chára 	Nathan Beaulieu 	Danny DeKeyser 	Aaron Ekblad 	Jordie Benn 	Cody Ceci 	Braydon Coburn 	Connor Carrick
Defencemen	Torey Krug 	Jake McCabe 	Mike Green 	Alex Petrovic 	Jeff Petry 	Erik Karlsson 	Victor Hedman 	Jake Gardiner
Defencemen	Kevan Miller 	Rasmus Ristolainen	Nick Jensen 	Mark Pysyk 	Shea Weber 	Dion Phaneuf 	Anton Strålman 	Morgan Rielly
Defencemen	 	 	 	Keith Yandle 	 	 	 	
Goaltender	Tuukka Rask 	Robin Lehner 	Jimmy Howard 	James Reimer 	Carey Price 	Craig Anderson 	Andrei Vasilevskiy 	Frederik Andersen
Metropolitan Division
Position 	Carolina 	Columbus 	New Jersey 	New York Islanders	New York Rangers	Philadelphia 	Pittsburgh 	Washington
Forwards 	Phillip Di Giuseppe	Cam Atkinson 	Taylor Hall 	Andrew Ladd 	Kevin Hayes 	Sean Couturier 	Sidney Crosby 	Nicklas Bäckström
Forwards 	Elias Lindholm 	Brandon Dubinsky 	Adam Henrique 	Anders Lee 	Chris Kreider 	Valtteri Filppula 	Patric Hörnqvist	André Burakovsky
Forwards 	Brock McGinn 	Nick Foligno 	Kyle Palmieri 	John Tavares 	J. T. Miller 	Claude Giroux 	Phil Kessel 	Lars Eller
Forwards 	Victor Rask 	Scott Hartnell 	Travis Zajac 	 	Rick Nash 	Scott Laughton 	Evgeni Malkin 	Marcus Johansson
Forwards 	Jeff Skinner 	Boone Jenner 	 	 	Derek Stepan 	Brayden Schenn 	 	Evgeny Kuznetsov
Forwards 	Jordan Staal 	Brandon Saad 	 	 	Mika Zibanejad 	Wayne Simmonds 	 	Alexander Ovechkin
Forwards 	Teuvo Teräväinen 	Alexander Wennberg	 	 	Mats Zuccarello 	Jakub Voráček 	 	Tom Wilson
Defencemen	Trevor Carrick 	Seth Jones 	Andy Greene 	Johnny Boychuk 	Nick Holden 	Shayne Gostisbehere	Brian Dumoulin 	John Carlson
Defencemen	Justin Faulk 	Ryan Murray 	John Moore 	Travis Hamonic 	Ryan McDonagh 	Radko Gudas 	Kris Letang 	Matt Niskanen
Defencemen	Ryan Murphy 	David Savard 	Mirco Müller 	Nick Leddy 	Marc Staal 	Brandon Manning 	Olli Määttä 	Dmitry Orlov
Defencemen	 	 	Damon Severson	Adam Pelech 	 	 	Justin Schultz 	
Defencemen	 	 	 	Ryan Pulock 	 	 	 	
Goaltender	Scott Darling 	Sergei Bobrovsky 	Cory Schneider	Thomas Greiss 	Henrik Lundqvist	Anthony Stolarz 	Matt Murray 	Braden Holtby
===Western Conference===
Central Division
Position 	Chicago 	Colorado 	Dallas 	Minnesota 	Nashville 	St. Louis 	Winnipeg
Forwards 	Artem Anisimov 	Sven Andrighetto 	Jamie Benn 	Charlie Coyle 	Viktor Arvidsson	Patrik Berglund 	Joel Armia
Forwards 	Ryan Hartman 	Blake Comeau 	Radek Faksa 	Mikael Granlund 	Filip Forsberg 	Ryan Reaves 	Andrew Copp
Forwards 	Marián Hossa 	Matt Duchene 	Valeri Nichushkin	Mikko Koivu 	Calle Järnkrok 	Jaden Schwartz 	Bryan Little
Forwards 	Tomáš Jurčo 	Rocco Grimaldi 	Brett Ritchie 	Nino Niederreiter	Ryan Johansen 	Vladimír Sobotka 	Adam Lowry
Forwards 	Patrick Kane 	Gabriel Landeskog	Antoine Roussel 	Zach Parise 	 	Paul Stastny 	Mathieu Perreault
Forwards 	Richard Pánik 	Nathan MacKinnon 	Tyler Seguin 	Jason Pominville 	 	Alexander Steen 	Mark Scheifele
Forwards 	Jonathan Toews 	Matt Nieto 	Jason Spezza 	Jason Zucker 	 	Vladimir Tarasenko	Blake Wheeler
Defencemen	Niklas Hjalmarsson	Tyson Barrie 	Stephen Johns 	Jonas Brodin 	Mattias Ekholm 	Jay Bouwmeester 	Dustin Byfuglien
Defencemen	Duncan Keith 	Erik Johnson 	John Klingberg 	Jared Spurgeon 	Ryan Ellis 	Joel Edmundson 	Tyler Myers
Defencemen	Brent Seabrook 	Nikita Zadorov 	Esa Lindell 	Ryan Suter 	Roman Josi 	Alex Pietrangelo 	Jacob Trouba
Defencemen	 	 	 	 	P. K. Subban 	 	
Goaltender	Corey Crawford 	Semyon Varlamov 	Ben Bishop 	Devan Dubnyk 	Pekka Rinne 	Jake Allen 	Connor Hellebuyck
Pacific Division
Position 	Anaheim 	Arizona 	Calgary 	Edmonton 	Los Angeles 	San Jose 	Vancouver
Forwards 	Andrew Cogliano 	Nick Cousins 	Mikael Backlund	Leon Draisaitl 	Jeff Carter 	Ryan Carpenter 	Sven Bärtschi
Forwards 	Ryan Getzlaf 	Anthony Duclair 	Sam Bennett 	Jordan Eberle 	Anže Kopitar 	Logan Couture 	Loui Eriksson
Forwards 	Ryan Kesler 	Jordan Martinook 	Micheal Ferland	Zack Kassian 	Tanner Pearson	Jannik Hansen 	Markus Granlund
Forwards 	Corey Perry 	Tobias Rieder 	Michael Frolík 	Mark Letestu 	Tyler Toffoli 	Tomáš Hertl 	Bo Horvat
Forwards 	Rickard Rakell 	 	Johnny Gaudreau	Milan Lucic 	 	Melker Karlsson 	Daniel Sedin
Forwards 	Jakob Silfverberg	 	Curtis Lazar 	Patrick Maroon 	 	Joe Pavelski 	Henrik Sedin
Forwards 	Antoine Vermette 	 	Sean Monahan 	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	 	Chris Tierney 	Brandon Sutter
Defencemen	Kevin Bieksa 	Oliver Ekman-Larsson	T. J. Brodie 	Oscar Klefbom 	Drew Doughty 	Justin Braun 	Alexander Edler
Defencemen	Cam Fowler 	Alex Goligoski 	Mark Giordano 	Adam Larsson 	Derek Forbort 	Brent Burns 	Erik Gudbranson
Defencemen	Hampus Lindholm 	Connor Murphy 	Dougie Hamilton	Andrej Sekera 	Alec Martinez 	Marc-Édouard Vlasic	Christopher Tanev
Defencemen	 	Luke Schenn 	 	 	Jake Muzzin 	 	
Goaltender	John Gibson 	Chad Johnson 	Mike Smith 	Cam Talbot 	Jonathan Quick	Martin Jones 	Jacob Markström
==Draft results==
# 	Player 	Pos.	Drafted from
1. 	Calvin Pickard 	G 	Colorado Avalanche
2. 	Luca Sbisa 	D 	Vancouver Canucks
3. 	Teemu Pulkkinen 	LW 	Arizona Coyotes
4. 	Jon Merrill 	D 	New Jersey Devils
5. 	William Carrier 	LW 	Buffalo Sabres
6. 	Cody Eakin 	C 	Dallas Stars
7. 	Tomas Nosek 	LW 	Detroit Red Wings
8. 	Jonathan Marchessault 	C 	Florida Panthers
9. 	Brayden McNabb 	D 	Los Angeles Kings
10.	Connor Brickley 	C 	Carolina Hurricanes
11.	Chris Thorburn 	RW 	Winnipeg Jets
12.	Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	RW 	Philadelphia Flyers
13.	Jason Garrison 	D 	Tampa Bay Lightning
14.	Jean-Francois Berube 	G 	New York Islanders
15.	James Neal 	LW 	Nashville Predators
16.	Deryk Engelland 	D 	Calgary Flames
17.	Brendan Leipsic 	LW 	Toronto Maple Leafs
18.	Colin Miller 	D 	Boston Bruins
19.	Marc Methot 	D 	Ottawa Senators
20.	David Schlemko 	D 	San Jose Sharks
21.	David Perron 	LW 	St. Louis Blues
22.	Oscar Lindberg 	C 	New York Rangers
23.	Griffin Reinhart 	D 	Edmonton Oilers
24.	Alexei Emelin 	D 	Montreal Canadiens
25.	Clayton Stoner 	D 	Anaheim Ducks
26.	Erik Haula 	C 	Minnesota Wild
27.	William Karlsson 	C 	Columbus Blue Jackets
28.	Trevor van Riemsdyk 	D 	Chicago Blackhawks
29.	Marc-Andre Fleury 	G 	Pittsburgh Penguins
30.	Nate Schmidt 	D 	Washington Capitals
==Trades==
In return for agreeing to select certain unprotected players, the Golden Knights were granted concessions by other franchises.
*The Buffalo Sabres traded their 2017 NHL Entry Draft sixth-round pick in exchange for Vegas selecting William Carrier.
*The Florida Panthers traded Reilly Smith in exchange for Vegas selecting Jonathan Marchessault and a 2018 Entry Draft fourth-round pick .
*The Carolina Hurricanes traded Boston's 2017 Entry Draft fifth-round pick (previously acquired) in exchange for Vegas selecting Connor Brickley.
*The Winnipeg Jets traded their 2017 Entry Draft first-round pick (13th overall) and a 2019 Entry Draft third-round pick in exchange for Vegas selecting Chris Thorburn and Columbus' 2017 Entry Draft first-round pick (24th overall; previously acquired by Vegas).
*The Tampa Bay Lightning traded their 2017 Entry Draft second-round pick, Pittsburgh's 2018 Entry Draft fourth-round pick (previously acquired) and Nikita Gusev in exchange for Vegas selecting Jason Garrison.
*The New York Islanders traded their 2017 Entry Draft first-round pick, a 2019 Entry Draft second-round pick, Mikhail Grabovski and Jake Bischoff in exchange for Vegas selecting Jean-Francois Berube.
*The Anaheim Ducks traded Shea Theodore in exchange for Vegas selecting Clayton Stoner.
*The Minnesota Wild traded Alex Tuch in exchange for Vegas selecting Erik Haula and a conditional 2017 or 2018 Entry Draft third-round pick .
*The Columbus Blue Jackets traded their 2017 Entry Draft first-round pick, a 2019 Entry Draft second-round pick and David Clarkson in exchange for Vegas selecting William Karlsson.
*The Pittsburgh Penguins traded their 2020 Entry Draft second-round pick in exchange for Vegas selecting Marc-Andre Fleury.
==Post-draft==
Not all players selected by the Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft would remain with the team. Some players were traded in the following days, some the day after:
* Trevor van Riemsdyk and a 2018 seventh-round pick were traded to Carolina for Pittsburgh's 2017 second-round pick.
* David Schlemko was traded to Montreal for a 2019 fifth-round pick.
* Marc Methot was traded to Dallas for Dylan Ferguson and a 2020 second-round pick.
* Alexei Emelin was traded to Nashville for a 2018 third-round pick.http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/golden-knights-trade-alexei-emelin-predators/
* Calvin Pickard was traded to Toronto for a 2018 sixth-round pick and Tobias Lindberg.
Other players who were no longer on the Golden Knights' roster at the start of the 2017–18 NHL season include the following:
*Connor Brickley signed as an unrestricted free agent with Florida on July 1, 2017.
*Chris Thorburn signed as an unrestricted free agent with St. Louis on July 1, 2017.
*Jean-François Bérubé signed as an unrestricted free agent with Chicago on July 1, 2017.
==See also==
*2016–17 NHL transactions
*2017 NHL Entry Draft	
*2017–18 NHL season
==References==
Category:National Hockey League expansion drafts
NHL Expansion Draft
Category:Vegas Golden Knights
Expansion Draft