Dallas Stars: Thoughts On The Upcoming Expansion Draft

When June 21st, 2017 rolls around, the Dallas Stars could potentially lose a crop of talent the organization developed themselves: most notably, Cody Eakin or Antoine Roussel, or Valeri Nichushkin.

In October of 2017, the National Hockey League will welcome in its 31st franchise: the Vegas Golden Knights. Per NHL standards, in mid-June the brand new team will have a chance to pick up players from preexisting teams to construct a heavy force for its inaugural season.

Now, what would this mean for the Dallas Stars?

Well, each of the 30 current NHL teams are permitted to protect a cast of either seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, or one goaltender and eight skaters regardless of position (for teams looking to lay hold on an additional forward or several extra blueliners).

This opens up a chance for Las Vegas to obtain much more than the two teams of the last expansion in 2000 did, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild each promptly placed last in their respective divisions in season one of their NHL existence.

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17 years ago, the NHL allowed 26 of its 28 teams to protect one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goaltenders, three defenseman, and five forwards (the NHL stated that its two newest franchises, the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers, had their entire rosters protected due to having been in the League fewer than two seasons). With fewer quality players to go around, Columbus and Minnesota both failed to reach even 30 wins.

Unlike the Jackets and Wild, the Golden Knights can plausibly contend right out of the gate on account of different expansion rules, because the NHL and its executives wish for the Sin City’s first pro sports franchise to instantaneously succeed. Oh, right, back to the Dallas Stars.

Under the rules of the 2017 expansion draft, players under no-movement clauses in their contracts cannot go unprotected; this means Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn – both recently signing extensions with the Stars – are required to be held onto by Dallas (which is not a problem at all).

Also, players that are still on their NHL-standard three-year entry level contract (ELC), or those who have been drafted by the Stars but have yet to sign their initial ELC, can go unprotected without Vegas having a chance to claim them; such as Devin Shore and Julius Honka.

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that players with expiring contracts don’t necessarily need to be protected by the Stars, like Patrick Eaves, Patrick Sharp, or Ales Hemsky.

So, in addition to Spezza and Benn who are mandatory to protect, the Stars will obviously use another forward spot to stake Tyler Seguin down. The other four are very iffy, but with their play this season and their NHL potential, one can imagine Brett Ritchie and Radek Faksa will remain as Dallas Stars as well.

The defensive unit of Dallas will consist of John Klingberg, a no-brainer protection, and most likely Esa Lindell, who is undoubtedly part of the Stars’ future and is establishing himself as a formidable top-pairing defender.

After those two, for the final spot you could choose Stephen Johns, Patrik Nemeth, or Jamie Oleksiak, all three of whom have often times been a healthy scratch for the Stars, or Dan Hamhuis and Jordie Benn, two veteran defensemen who have quietly impressed this season. Remember, Honka does not require protection, and Johnny Oduya’s looming free agency makes the Swede irrelevant.

To recap, five forwards (Spezza, Jamie Benn, Seguin, Faksa, Ritchie) and two defensemen (Klingberg, Lindell) are the odds on favorites to solidify spots with Dallas in the expansion draft. But who else, you might ask?

To me, it boils down to three forwards. There’s Antoine Roussel, a French winger who has been a very effective forechecker and depth scorer when he stays out of the penalty box; Cody Eakin, who received a four year, $3.6 million AAV contract in August of 2015, which indicated a long-term commitment from the Dallas Stars to the two-way center; or Valeri Nichushkin, a dynamic former first-round pick who drifted off to the Kontinental Hockey League last offseason but whose rights are still owned by the Stars.