1998 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1998–99 season, the Nashville Predators. The draft took place on June 26, 1998, in Buffalo, New York, U.S. Rules. The Predators were to select 26 players, one from each of the 26 existing franchises at the time of the draft. First- and second-year pros were exempt from being selected in the draft. Each of the 26 franchises in the league were allowed to protect either one goaltender , five defensemen and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen and seven forwards. Of the unprotected players, each franchise had to include at least one forward and one defenseman who appeared in 40 games in the 1997–98 season. Each franchise also had to include at least one goaltender who appeared in 10 games in the 1997–98 season, and a minimum of 25 games since the 1995–96 season. These minimums for goaltenders were put into place in order to avoid manipulation of rosters, such as what occurred before the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, which weakened the talent pool available in the  draft. This draft was interesting in that some of the players the Predators chose (e.g. Mike Richter and Uwe Krupp) were set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, just days after the draft. The Predators knew they would have little chance to sign these players; however, they received a compensatory pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for each player they "lost". Draft results. "These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Predators were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential." Deals . In return for agreeing not to select certain unprotected players, the Predators were granted concessions by other franchises. The trades not involving Nashville draft picks all officially were booked as being for "future considerations": Post-draft. Several of the players selected by the Predators in the Expansion Draft did not stay with the team long after the draft. Among those moved before the start of the 1998–99 season were the following: