Dallas Stars: NHL Releases Protected Lists For Expansion Draft
By Josh Clark
One of the most exciting days of the NHL offseason is finally here: the revealing of the protected lists for each NHL team in regards to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Here is who the Dallas Stars decided to lock up.
Sunday mornings have largely been known for being one of the more relaxing days of the week. It’s a time to kick back, relax, read the paper, watch a movie, and get ready for the work week ahead.
But that doesn’t apply to this particular Sunday, especially if you are a fan of the NHL. That’s because after over a year of debate and speculation, every team’s protected lists from NHL expansion have been released to the public.
For the Dallas Stars, there has been plenty of thoughts thunk and debates had on how their list would pan out. With a fair number of players “on the bubble” both on offense and defense fighting for a select number of spots on the protected list, it was anyone’s guess as to how it would pan out.
That is until now. At 9 a.m. this morning, the NHL officially released the protected lists for each of the 30 teams. The lists tell which nine or 12 players (depending on which layout the team decided to use) each team decided to protect from the expansion draft that Vegas will use to stock their roster for next season.
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The Vegas Golden Knights will take one exposed player from every NHL team in order to build their roster. Luckily for the Stars, they have 12 of their most talented players locked up away from the clutches of Las Vegas.
So, without further ado, here is the Dallas Stars’ list of protected players from the 2017 NHL expansion draft. In addition, I have also included the players that will be exposed in all three positions that Vegas will have the opportunity to select for their inaugural roster.
Forwards
Protected: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, Tyler Seguin, Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Valeri Nichushkin
Exposed: Cody Eakin, Curtis McKenzie, Adam Cracknell, Justin Dowling, Gemel Smith, Ales Hemsky, Matej Stransky, Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Mark McNeill
Defensemen
Protected: John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Stephen Johns
Exposed: Dan Hamhuis, Greg Pateryn, Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Ludwig Bystrom, Justin Hache, Mattias Backman, Dustin Stevenson, Nick Ebert
Goaltender
Protected: Ben Bishop
Exposed: Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi
So there you have it, folks. This is how the Dallas Stars see their future. Later on, we will have an in-depth breakdown of the list and will address any surprises that the list may contain as well as how this list will affect the Stars over the next few days as the official announcement draws closer.
Next: Will Vegas Take A Forward, Defender, Or Goalie?
Stay tuned to Blackout Dallas for the rest of the day and throughout the rest of the week. We will continually bring new coverage to the table about expansion, the entry draft, trades, the schedule release, and much, much more.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.