NHL Expansion Draft 2017 / Protected Players

This article lists all players who were protected by their teams for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and therefore could not be selected by the Vegas Golden Knights . The official lists were published on June 18, 2017.

In consultation with the NHLPA , the NHL also announced a list of players who were under contract to a franchise at the time of the draft, but who are excluded from the expansion draft procedure. This applies without exception to players who have been injured over the long term ( injured reserve list ) and who are very likely to never play professional ice hockey again. That list includes Dave Bolland , Craig Cunningham , Chris Pronger , Cody McCormick , David Clarkson , Johan Franzén , Joe Vitale , Ryane Clowe , Michail Hrabouski, Pascal Dupuis , Nathan Horton and Stéphane Robidas .

Legend

Nat. = Nationality; Pos. = Position with G = goalkeeper, D = defender, C = center, LW = left winger, RW = right winger The player is protected due to a no-movement clause (NMC)


Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Tuukka Rask G 10 Mar 1987 2007 Zdeno Chára D. 18 Mar 1977 2006 Torey pitcher D. Apr 12, 1991 2012 Kevan Miller D. Nov 15, 1987 2011 David Backes C. 0May 1, 1984 2016 Patrice Bergeron C. July 24, 1985 2003 David Krejčí C. Apr 28, 1986 2006 Brad Marchand LW May 11, 1988 2008 Riley Nash C. 0May 9, 1989 2016 David Pastrňák RW May 25, 1996 2014 Ryan Spooner C. Jan. 30, 1992 2011

Buffalo Sabers Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Robin Lehner G July 24, 1991 2015 Nathan Beaulieu D. 0Dec 5, 1992 2017 Jake McCabe D. Oct 12, 1993 2014 Rasmus Ristolainen D. Oct 27, 1994 2013 Tyler Ennis LW 0Oct 6, 1989 2009   Marcus Foligno LW Aug 10, 1991 2011 Zemgus Girgensons C. 0Jan 5, 1994 2012 Evander Kane LW 0Aug 2, 1991 2015 Johan Larsson LW July 25, 1992 2013 Ryan O'Reilly C. 0Feb 7, 1991 2015 Kyle Okposo RW Apr 16, 1988 2016

Carolina Hurricanes Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Scott Darling G Dec 22, 1988 2017 Trevor Carrick D. 04th July 1994 2013 Justin Faulk D. 20 Mar 1992 2011 Ryan Murphy D. 31 Mar 1993 2011 Phillip Di Giuseppe LW 0Oct 9, 1993 2014 Elias Lindholm C. 0Dec 2, 1994 2013 Brock McGinn LW 0Feb. 2, 1994 2013 Victor Rask C. 01st Mar 1993 2011 Jeff Skinner LW May 16, 1992 2010 Jordan Staal C. Sep 10 1988 2012 Teuvo Teräväinen C. Sep 11 1994 2016

Columbus Blue Jackets Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Sergei Bobrovsky G Sep 20 1988 2012 Seth Jones D. 0Oct 3, 1994 2016 Ryan Murray D. 27 Sep 1993 2013 David Savard D. Oct 22, 1990 2010 Cam Atkinson RW 0June 5th 1989 2011 Brandon Dubinsky C. Apr. 29, 1986 2012   Nick Foligno LW Oct. 31, 1987 2012 Scott Hartnell LW Apr 18, 1982 2014 Boone Jenner C. June 15, 1993 2012 Brandon Saad LW Oct 27, 1992 2015 Alexander Wennberg C. 22 Sep 1994 2014

Detroit Red Wings Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Jimmy Howard G 26th Mar 1984 2005 Danny DeKeyser D. 07th Mar 1990 2013 Mike Green D. Oct 12, 1985 2015 Nick Jensen D. 21 Sep 1990 2013 Justin Abdelkader LW Feb 25, 1987 2008 Andreas Athanasiou C. 0Aug 6, 1994 2013 Anthony Mantha RW 16 Sep 1994 2013 Frans Nielsen C. Apr 24, 1984 2016 Gustav Nyquist RW 0Sep 1 1989 2011 Tomáš tartare LW 0Dec. 1, 1990 2009 Henrik Zetterberg C. 0Oct 9, 1980 2002

Florida panthers Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since James Reimer G 15th Mar 1988 2016 Aaron Ekblad D. 0Feb. 7, 1996 2014 Alex Petrovic D. 03rd Mar 1992 2011 Mark Pysyk D. Jan. 11, 1992 2016 Keith Yandle D. 0Sep 9 1986 2016   Aleksander Barkov C. 0Sep 2 1995 2013 Nick Bjugstad C. 17th July 1992 2013 Jonathan Huberdeau LW 04th June 1993 2013 Vincent Trocheck C. July 11, 1993 2012

Canadiens de Montréal Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Carey Price G Aug 16, 1987 2007 Jordie Benn D. July 26, 1987 2017 Jeff Petry D. 0Dec 9, 1987 2015 Shea Weber D. Aug 14, 1985 2016 Paul Byron LW Apr. 27, 1989 2015 Phillip Danault LW Feb. 24, 1993 2016 Jonathan Drouin LW 27 Mar 1995 2017 Alex Galchenyuk C. Feb 12, 1994 2013 Brendan Gallagher RW 0May 6, 1992 2011 Max Pacioretty LW Nov 20, 1988 2008 Andrew Shaw C. July 20, 1991 2016

New Jersey Devils Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Cory Schneider G 18 Mar 1986 2013 Andy Greene D. Oct. 30, 1982 2006 John Moore D. Nov 19, 1990 2015 Mirco Müller D. 21 Mar 1995 2017 Damon Severson D. 0Aug 7, 1994 2012 Taylor Hall LW Nov 14, 1991 2016 Adam Henrique C. 0Feb 6, 1990 2011 Kyle Palmieri RW 0Feb 1, 1991 2015 Travis Zajac C. May 13, 1985 2006

New York Islanders Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Thomas Greiss G Jan. 29, 1986 2015 Johnny Boychuk D. Jan. 19, 1984 2014 Travis Hamonic D. Aug 16, 1990 2010 Nick Leddy D. 20 Mar 1991 2014 Adam Pelech D. Aug 16, 1994 2014 Ryan Pulock D. 0Oct 6, 1994 2013 Andrew Ladd LW Dec 12, 1985 2016 Not so Lee C. 03rd July 1990 2013 John Tavares C. Sep 20 1990 2009

New York Rangers Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Henrik Lundqvist G 02nd Mar 1982 2005 Nick Holden D. May 15, 1987 2016 Ryan McDonagh D. June 13, 1989 2010 Marc Staal D. Jan. 13, 1987 2007 Kevin Hayes RW 0May 8, 1992 2014 Chris Kreider LW Apr 30, 1991 2012 JT Miller C. 14 Mar 1993 2011 Rick Nash LW June 16, 1984 2012 Derek Stepan C. June 18, 1990 2010 Mika Zibanejad C. Apr 18, 1993 2016 Mats Zuccarello RW 0Sep 1 1987 2013

Ottawa Senators Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Craig Anderson G May 21, 1981 2011 Cody Ceci D. Dec 21, 1993 2012 Erik Karlsson D. May 31, 1990 2009 Dion Phaneuf D. Apr 10, 1985 2016 Derick Brassard C. 22 Sep 1987 2016 Ryan Dzingel LW 09 Mar 1992 2014 Mike Hoffman LW Nov. 24, 1989 2010 Jean-Gabriel Pageau C. Nov 11, 1992 2012 Zack Smith C. 0Apr 5, 1988 2008 Mark Stone RW May 13, 1992 2011 Kyle Turris C. Aug 14, 1989 2011

Philadelphia Flyers Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Anthony Stolarz G Jan. 20, 1994 2013   Shayne Gostisbehere D. Apr 20, 1993 2014 Radko Gudas D. 0June 5th 1990 2015 Brandon Manning D. 04th June 1990 2010   Sean Couturier C. 0Dec 7, 1992 2011 Valtteri Filppula C. 20 Mar 1984 2017 Claude Giroux C. Jan. 12, 1988 2009 Scott Laughton C. May 30, 1994 2012 Brayden Schenn C. 22 Aug 1991 2011 Wayne Simmonds RW Aug 26, 1988 2011 Jakub Voráček RW Aug 15, 1989 2011

Pittsburgh Penguins Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Matt Murray G May 25, 1994 2013 Brian Dumoulin D. 06 Sep 1991 2012 Kris Letang D. Apr. 24, 1987 2007 Olli Määttä D. 22 Aug 1994 2013 Justin Schultz D. 0July 6, 1990 2016 Sidney Crosby C. 0Aug 7, 1987 2005 Patric Hörnqvist RW 0Jan. 1, 1987 2014 Phil Kessel RW 0Oct 2, 1987 2015 Yevgeny Malkin C. July 31, 1986 2006 Annotation: Marc-André Fleury waived the enforcement of his NMC so that he is available in the Expansion Draft and the Penguins could instead protect Matt Murray.

Tampa Bay Lightning Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Andrei Wassilewski G July 25, 1994 2014 Braydon Coburn D. Feb. 27, 1985 2015 Victor Hedman D. Dec 18, 1990 2009 Anton Strålman D. 0Aug 1, 1986 2014 Ryan Callahan RW 21 Mar 1985 2014 Tyler Johnson C. July 29, 1990 2011 Alexander Killorn C. Sep 14 1989 2012 Nikita Kucherov RW 17th June 1993 2013 Vladislav Namestnikov C. Nov 22, 1992 2012 Ondřej Palace LW 28 Mar 1991 2011 Steven Stamkos C. 0Feb 7, 1990 2008

Toronto Maple Leafs Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Frederik Andersen G 0Oct 2, 1989 2016 Connor Carrick D. Apr 13, 1994 2016 Jake Gardiner D. 04th July 1990 2011 Morgan Rielly D. 09 Mar 1994 2013 Tyler Bozak C. 19 Mar 1986 2009 Connor Brown RW Jan. 14, 1994 2013 Nazem Kadri C. 0Oct 6, 1990 2009   Leo Komarov C. Jan. 23, 1987 2014 Josh Leivo LW May 26, 1993 2013 Matt Martin LW 0May 8, 1989 2016 James van Riemsdyk LW 0May 4th 1989 2012

Washington Capitals Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Braden Holtby G 16 Sep 1989 2009 John Carlson D. Jan. 10, 1990 2009 Matt Niskanen D. 0Dec 6, 1986 2014 Dmitri Orlov D. July 23, 1991 2011 Nicklas Bäckström C. Nov 23, 1987 2007   André Burakovsky LW 0Feb 9, 1995 2013 Lars Eller C. 0May 8, 1989 2016 Marcus Johansson C. 0Oct 6, 1990 2010 Yevgeny Kuznetsov C. May 19, 1992 2014 Alexander Ovechkin LW 17 Sep 1985 2005 Tom Wilson RW 29 Mar 1994 2012

Western Conference

Anaheim Ducks Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since John Gibson G July 14, 1993 2012 Kevin Bieksa D. June 16, 1981 2015   Cam Fowler D. 0Dec 5, 1991 2010 Hampus Lindholm D. Jan. 20, 1994 2012 Andrew Cogliano LW June 14, 1987 2011 Ryan Getzlaf C. May 10, 1985 2005 Ryan Kesler C. Aug 31, 1984 2014 Corey Perry RW May 16, 1985 2005 Rickard Rakell C. 0May 5, 1993 2012 Jakob Silfverberg RW Oct 13, 1990 2013 Antoine Vermette C. July 20, 1982 2016

Arizona Coyotes Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Chad Johnson G June 10, 1986 2017 Oliver Ekman Larsson D. 17th July 1991 2010 Alex Goligoski D. July 30, 1985 2016 Connor Murphy D. 26th Mar 1993 2011 Luke Schenn D. 0Nov 2, 1989 2016 Nick cousins C. July 20, 1993 2017 Anthony Duclair LW Aug 26, 1995 2015 Jordan Martinook LW July 25, 1992 2012 Tobias Rieder RW Jan. 10, 1993 2013

Calgary Flames Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Mike Smith G 22 Mar 1982 2017 TJ Brodie D. 0June 7, 1990 2009 Mark Giordano D. 0Oct 3, 1983 2008 Dougie Hamilton D. 17th June 1993 2015 Mikael Backlund C. 17th Mar 1989 2008 Sam Bennett C. June 20, 1996 2014 Michael Ferland LW Apr 20, 1992 2011 Michael Frolík RW Feb. 17, 1988 2015 Johnny Gaudreau LW Aug 13, 1993 2014 Curtis Lazar C. 0Feb. 2, 1995 2017 Sean Monahan C. Oct 12, 1994 2013

Chicago Blackhawks Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Corey Crawford G Dec. 31, 1984 2005 Niklas Hjalmarsson D. 0June 6, 1987 2007 Duncan Keith D. July 16, 1983 2005 Brent Seabrook D. Apr 20, 1985 2005 Artyom Anissimov C. May 24, 1988 2015 Ryan Hartman RW Sep 20 1994 2013 Marián Hossa RW Jan. 12, 1979 2009 Tomáš Jurčo RW Dec 28, 1992 2017 Patrick Kane RW Nov 19, 1988 2007 Richard Pánik RW 0Feb 7, 1991 2016 Jonathan Toews C. Apr 29, 1988 2007

Colorado Avalanche Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Semyon Varlamov G Apr. 27, 1988 2011 Tyson Barrie D. July 26, 1991 2011 Erik Johnson D. 21 Mar 1988 2011 Nikita Sadorov D. Apr 16, 1995 2015 Sven Andrighetto RW 21 Mar 1993 2017 Blake Comeau LW Feb. 18, 1986 2015 Matt Duchene C. Jan. 16, 1991 2009 Rocco Grimaldi C. 0Feb 8, 1993 2016 Gabriel Landeskog C. Nov 23, 1992 2011 Nathan MacKinnon C. 0Sep 1 1995 2013 Matt Nieto LW 0Nov 5, 1992 2017

Dallas Stars Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Ben Bishop G Nov 21, 1986 2017 Stephen Johns D. Apr 18, 1992 2015 John Klingberg D. Aug 14, 1992 2011 Esa Lindell D. May 23, 1994 2014 Jamie Benn LW July 18, 1989 2009 Radek Faksa C. 0Jan. 9, 1994 2012 Valery Nichushkin RW 04th Mar 1995 - Brett Ritchie RW 0July 1, 1993 2012 Antoine Roussel LW Nov 21, 1989 2012 Tyler Seguin C. Jan. 31, 1992 2013 Jason Spezza C. June 13, 1983 2014 Annotation: Valery Nitschuschkin was under contract with HK CSKA Moscow at the time of the expansion draft , but the Dallas Stars still protected him in order not to lose his player rights in the event of a potential return to the NHL as part of the draft to the Golden Knights.

Edmonton Oilers Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Cam Talbot G 05th July 1987 2015 Oscar Klefbom D. July 20, 1993 2012 Adam Larsson D. Nov 12, 1992 2016 Andrej Sekera D. 0June 8, 1986 2015 Leon Draisaitl C. Oct. 27, 1995 2014 Jordan Eberle RW May 15, 1990 2010 Zack Kassian RW Jan. 24, 1991 2015 Mark Letestu C. 0Feb. 4, 1985 2015 Milan Lucic LW 0June 7, 1988 2016 Patrick Maroon LW Apr 23, 1988 2016 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins C. Apr 12, 1993 2011

Los Angeles Kings Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Jonathan Quick G Jan. 21, 1986 2007 Drew Doughty D. 0Dec 8, 1989 2008 Derek Forbort D. 04th Mar 1992 2013 Alec Martinez D. July 26, 1987 2008 Jake Muzzin D. Feb 21, 1989 2010 Jeff Carter C. 0Jan. 1, 1985 2012 Anže Kopitar C. Aug 24, 1987 2006 Tanner Pearson LW Aug 10, 1992 2012 Tyler Toffoli C. Apr 24, 1992 2011

Minnesota Wild Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Devan Dubnyk G 0May 4th 1986 2015 Jonas Brodin D. July 12, 1993 2011 Jared Spurgeon D. Nov 29, 1989 2010 Ryan Suter D. Jan. 21, 1985 2012 Charlie Coyle C. 02nd Mar 1992 2012 Mikael Granlund C. Feb 26, 1992 2012 Mikko Koivu C. March 12 1983 2005 Nino Niederreiter RW 08 Sep 1992 2013 Zach Parise LW July 28, 1984 2012   Jason Pominville RW Nov. 30, 1982 2013 Jason Sugar LW Jan. 16, 1992 2012

Nashville Predators Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Pekka gutter G 0Nov 3, 1982 2005 Mattias Ekholm D. May 24, 1990 2011 Ryan Ellis D. 0Jan. 3, 1991 2010 Roman Josi D. 0June 1, 1990 2010 PK Subban D. May 13, 1989 2016 Viktor Arvidsson RW 0Apr 8, 1993 2014 Filip Forsberg RW Aug 13, 1994 2013 Calle Järnkrok C. 25 Sep 1991 2014 Ryan Johansen C. July 31, 1992 2016

San Jose Sharks Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Martin Jones G Jan. 10, 1990 2015 Justin Brown D. Feb 10, 1987 2010 Brent Burns D. 09 Mar 1985 2011 Marc-Édouard Vlasic D. 30th Mar 1987 2006 Ryan Carpenter C. Jan. 18, 1991 2014 Logan Couture C. 28 Mar 1989 2010 Jannik Hansen RW 15th Mar 1986 2017 Tomáš Hertl C. Nov 12, 1993 2013 Melker Karlsson C. July 18, 1990 2014 Joe Pavelski C. July 11, 1984 2006 Chris Tierney C. 0July 1, 1994 2013

St. Louis Blues Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Jake Allen G 0Aug 7, 1990 2008 Jay Bouwmeester D. 27 Sep 1983 2013 Joel Edmundson D. June 28, 1993 2013 Alex Pietrangelo D. Jan. 18, 1990 2008 Patrik Berglund C. 0June 2nd, 1988 2008 Ryan Reaves RW Jan. 20, 1987 2007 Jaden Schwartz LW June 25, 1992 2012 Vladimír Sobotka C. 02nd July 1987 2017 Paul Stastny C. Dec. 27, 1985 2014   Alexander Steen LW 01st Mar 1984 2008 Vladimir Tarassenko RW Dec 13, 1991 2012

Vancouver Canucks Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Jacob Markström G Jan. 31, 1990 2014 Alexander Edler D. Apr 21, 1986 2006 Erik Gudbranson D. 0Jan. 7, 1992 2016 Christopher Tanev D. Dec 20, 1989 2010 Sven Bärtschi LW 0Oct 5, 1992 2015 Loui Eriksson RW 17th July 1985 2016 Markus Granlund C. Apr 16, 1993 2016 Bo Horvat C. 0Apr 5, 1995 2013 Daniel Sedin LW 26 Sep 1980 2000 Henrik Sedin C. 26 Sep 1980 2000   Brandon Sutter C. Feb. 14, 1989 2015

Winnipeg Jets Nat. player Item Date of birth in org. since Connor Hellebuyck G May 19, 1993 2014 Dustin Byfuglien D. 27 Mar 1985 2011   Tyler Myers D. 0Feb. 1, 1990 2015 Jacob Trouba D. Feb 26, 1994 2013 Joel Armia RW May 31, 1993 2015 Andrew Copp C. 0July 8, 1994 2015 Bryan Little C. Nov 12, 1987 2011   Adam Lowry LW 29 Mar 1993 2013 Mathieu Perreault C. 0Jan. 5, 1988 2014 Mark Scheifele C. 15th Mar 1993 2011 Blake Wheeler RW Aug 31, 1986 2011 Annotation: Tobias Enström did not enforce his NMC, so that he is available in the Expansion Draft.

Web links

• List of all protected and available players (English, nhl.com, June 18, 2017)