Dallas Stars’ Possible Mistakes In Expansion Draft Protection List
Sunday morning, the Dallas Stars released their list of protected players. While they included the mainstays on the team in Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg, they might have made a few mistakes regarding both who they protected and who they left exposed.
The league has been buzzing about the expansion draft since the Stanley Cup was won by the Penguins earlier this month. The Dallas Stars and company released their list of protected players, leaving the majority of the rest of their line-up susceptible to become a member of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Mark Stepneski of NHL.com tweeted a full list of the players that are eligible to be chosen by Las Vegas:
Here are the Dallas players left exposed in the expansion draft pic.twitter.com/LCoQucmEsO
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) June 18, 2017
Here are the biggest mistakes made in the Stars’ list, both in who they included and who they left off.
Protected: Valeri Nichushkin
This choice is one of the more questioned decisions Nill made in determining the list. While Valeri Nichushkin was a high draft pick by the Stars, he opted to leave the NHL in favor of signing in the KHL. His contract still has one more year on it, leaving many people confused about Dallas protecting him.
Honestly, the confused are right. It makes very little sense to protect a player like Nichushkin when he can’t even play for the team next season. Dallas used one of their forward spots to shield the rights to former No. 43, not the player himself.
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While Nichushkin has been highly revered for his abilities, he has yet to show any real promise in the NHL. He’s demanded more money than his play has ever prompted and when he didn’t get his way, he abandoned the Stars altogether.
Why Nill opted to keep his rights around seems like a waste of space, especially with quality players who have been successful in the NHL left vulnerable.
Exposed: Cody Eakin
Of the list of players the Golden Knights can choose, Cody Eakin is one of the standouts. He’s a young center with the ability to play on nearly any line. He’s capable of producing offensively. He’s adaptable to nearly any situation, offensively and defensively.
He’s a total package depth player for the Stars and losing him would be a greater issue than most might think.
Yes, he’s coming back from a knee injury that sidelined him to start the 2016-17 season, but that shouldn’t disregard what he brings to the table. Eakin’s absence was during a pivotal part of last season and it’s coincidentally when the Stars fell out of the playoff race they were never able to get back into.
That obviously isn’t entirely based on Eakin’s absence, but his presence on the Stars should be more highly regarded than it is. If the Golden Knights select him, Dallas will be losing one of their best young assets.
Exposed: Curtis McKenzie
Another depth player the Stars could lose to the Golden Knights is Curtis McKenzie. He’s a skilled young player with a physical edge to his game that can be a game changer. His dedication to the sport and willingness to play in any scenario is impressive and his overall style of play really fits well with Ken Hitchcock’s previous coaching and playing style.
While he wouldn’t be a first choice to protect, given how strong forwards are on the Stars, his being left off the list could backfire. If Las Vegas is looking for a gritty, skilled forward with good skating abilities, they could decide to select McKenzie.
Considering the relative lack of physicality on Dallas’ line-up and the style of play that Hitchcock teams normally put on the ice, it makes you wonder how much Dallas considered protecting No. 11.
Exposed: Jamie Oleksiak
When three is the magic number of protected players on the blue line, it probably made selecting the choices exceptionally difficult. Dallas was never going to leave John Klingberg unprotected and with the chemistry and youth of Esa Lindell, it left them with one vacant spot.
Essentially, Dallas was choosing between Jamie Oleksiak and Stephen Johns. Patrik Nemeth sat out most of last season as a healthy scratch and Dan Hamhuis is an aging defender with only a few years left in the league.
Both Oleksiak and Johns are physical defenders, but it’s surprising that Nill went with Johns over No. 5. While Johns has been the higher regarded player in his tenure with the team, Oleksiak was showing drastic improvements over the last season even as the Stars were struggling.
His 6’7 frame gives him an obvious advantage in some aspects of the game and he was really coming into his own over the last few months. Johns is by no means a bad choice, but it’s unfortunate that Dallas was left with one spot remaining with two solid choices.
Oleksiak is also a restricted free agent this offseason and would need a new contract regardless of where he ends up landing.
If the Golden Knights are aiming to select a defender from Dallas, don’t be surprised if it’s Oleksiak.
Wrap Up
Ultimately, the Stars had tough decisions to make and which exposed player is chosen will depend entirely on the needs of the Golden Knights. If they’re looking to be a physically strong, Los Angeles Kings-style hockey club they might opt for a physical player like McKenzie or a big defenseman like Oleksiak. If they’re aiming to be a skilled, offensively sturdy team, they could choose Eakin or Gemel Smith.
Next: Dallas Stars' Expansion Draft List Broken Down
Or if they need to use up some cap space, they might even select Kari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi. It really all depends on what they’re looking for and if the Stars have a player exposed who could fill that need.
As far as if the Stars made the right choices, only time will tell.