Pittsburgh Penguins: Expansion Draft Lists and Rules

On Sunday, the NHL released each team’s lists of protected players for the expansion draft, including the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The NHL’s newest franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, will be choosing one player from each NHL team on Wednesday, June 21st. The Pittsburgh Penguins, like every other NHL team, had to submit a list of players they wished to protect from being chosen by Vegas. Although the Penguins will be losing one player, there are rules and guidelines which will dictate how the draft plays out.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Expansion Draft Rules

There were two formats a team could follow when it came to protecting players. They could choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, or eight skaters of either position and a goalie.

If a player has a No Movement Clause (NMC) in their contract, that player automatically counts towards a team’s protected list.

There are also rules in place that forbid Vegas from selecting certain players:

All players who have played two seasons or less in a professional league are exempt
Unsigned draft choices are exempt

With those regulations in mind, the Pittsburgh Penguins lists are as follows (Per NHL.com):

Pittsburgh Penguins Protected Players

Sidney Crosby (F)
Patric Hornqvist (F)
Phil Kessel (F)
Evgeni Malkin (F)
Brian Dumoulin (D)
Kris Letang (D)
Olli Maatta (D)
Justin Schultz (D)
Matt Murray (G)

Given that it is heavily implied that Marc-Andre Fleury is headed to Vegas, the protected lists shouldn’t matter all that much. Interestingly though, the Penguins decided to protect Olli Maatta, who became a whipping boy for Penguin fans this past season. Although this list isn’t what we expected, it really showcases what the Penguins consider to be their core.

By protecting four defenseman, the team could only protect four forwards as well (following the eight total skater setup). This means guys like Bryan Rust and Carl Hagelin were left exposed. But more on them below.

Pittsburgh Penguins Available Players

Josh Archibald (F)
Nick Bonino (F)
Matt Cullen (F)
Jean-Sebastien Dea (F)
Carl Hagelin (F)
Tom Kuhnhackl (F)
Chris Kunitz (F)
Kevin Porter (F)
Bryan Rust (F)
Tom Sestito (F)
Oskar Sundqvist (F)
Dominik Uher (F)
Garrett Wilson (F)
Scott Wilson (F)
Ian Cole (D)
Frank Corrado (D)
Trevor Daley (D)
Tim Erixon (D)
Cameron Gaunce (D)
Ron Hainsey (D)
Stuart Percy (D)
Derrick Pouliot (D)
Chad Ruhwedel (D)
Mark Streit (D)
David Warsofsky (D)
Marc-Andre Fleury (G)

Listed above are all the players that the Vegas Golden Knights would be able to select at the 2017 Expansion Draft. As we said before, Fleury publicly waived his no movement clause for Vegas only, so it seems like he will be their man. Fleury is the most accomplished goaltender available for the expansion draft, so it makes sense that Vegas would be interested in taking him.

Pittsburgh proved that they still have faith in Olli Maatta by protecting him, but this meant a few players like Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin, and Ian Cole were left unprotected. This shouldn’t be viewed as a knock towards those players, but rather a testament to how highly Pittsburgh Penguins’ management thinks of Maatta. He is still young, and by protecting him they believe he has room to grow and improve his game.

Pittsburgh Penguins Notable Exempt Players

Jake Guentzel (F)
Carter Rowney (F)
Conor Sheary (F)
Tristan Jarry (G)

Among some other minor leaguers, these four are the most notable players that were “no-no’s” for Vegas to take.

These players haven’t played at least two seasons in the league, therefore, they are exempt.

Although it’s a rare occurrence, the rules for the expansion draft were organized exceptionally well. It forced teams to make quality players available, but still protects certain assets. It would have caused a real issue if Pittsburgh would have had to protect a guy like Guentzel, but luckily he’s a bit too green to be exposed.

Vegas Will Select

More from Penguins News

Marc-Andre Fleury. It’s seems as good a fit as any, an established name with three Stanley Cup rings in his back pocket. Not bad for your franchise’s first starting goaltender. And even though he may be a Golden Knight by Wednesday, he will be remembered as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins forever.