NHL teams, including the newly minted Vegas Golden Knights, have reportedly received the list of 66 players exempt from the expansion draft to be conducted in late June.
Four of them - the Flames, Sharks, Blues, and Capitals - aren't constricted in any fashion, as they're without a single full no-movement pact on their payroll. While others, namely the Blackhawks, essentially have their protected lists established by these conditions.
But it's not the number of exempt players set to punish teams at the draft. It's misses with these no-moves, and over-saturation of talent at certain positions on depth charts.
Here are four teams facing the toughest decisions - or who must pull the trigger on a trade sooner than later - based on the exemption list:
Anaheim Ducks
Kevin Bieksa's no-movement agreement will almost certainly see Vegas bag a valuable asset from Anaheim.
To protect the maximum 10 skaters, the Ducks must expose either Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, or Cam Fowler as a result of Bieksa's insurance policy. But if they choose to keep four defenders, they would in turn be limited to four protected forwards, meaning they would likely have to expose Jakob Silfverberg.
Solution: Move Fowler.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets aren't being forced to protect a rapidly diminishing asset like Anaheim, but are in a similar position. With Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom safe, the Jets cannot max out their protected roster without leaving either Tyler Myers or Jacob Trouba vulnerable.
In this event, the Jets will keep Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and presumably Bryan Little, meaning they can only protect one player from a group that includes Mathieu Perreault, Adam Lowry, Marko Dano, Joel Armia.
Solution: Stomach the loss - because they can't cough up a defender. There are talented forwards on the way.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The only real blemish on Steve Yzerman's record - locking up Ryan Callahan long term - could see the Lightning lose a very talented player.
With Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, and Callahan secure, the Lightning will have to expose two players from a list that includes Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Tampa Bay could retain each forward in the event they hold on to Ben Bishop, and successfully use him as bait at the expansion draft. That, however, could backfire, as Vegas could overlook Bishop, pluck a top-six forward, then attempt to sign the Vezina-caliber netminder in unrestricted free agency.
Solution: Hold firm. Sure, explore those options to move Callahan or Filppula - perhaps in a package with Bishop. But winning a championship should be the Lightning's top priority.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Put simply, if the Penguins can't convince Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate a trade at some point this season, Matt Murray will be wearing steel grey with his gold next season.
Solution: Convince him.
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