Toronto Maple Leafs: Who They Should Protect and Expose in the Expansion Draft

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the better-placed teams for the upcoming Expansion Draft, but there are still decisions that need to be made.

The NHL is set to welcome the Vegas Golden Knights as the league’s 31st team, with an expansion draft occurring prior to the regular entry draft.

The expansion draft will mean that teams across the league must expose players to the new team, but will also be given the opportunity to protect those they deem indispensable.

So, ahead of this historic event, we take a look at the players the Toronto Maple Leafs could protect and expose:

RULES

In the expansion draft, teams will have some flexibility with how they select players to protect.

Teams can choose between two options, 7/3/1 or 8/1:

• 7/3/1: This means teams can protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender
• 8/1: This option allows teams to select up to eight skaters and one goaltender to protect

If a team wishes to protect more than three defencemen, they will be limited to protecting just eight total skaters.

If teams feel they have more offensive talent they wish to protect, they can have eight total skaters, regardless of position, protected.

Players that have Non-Movement Clauses MUST be protected in the expansion draft, which can greatly affect teams such as the Chicago Blackhawks, who have seven players currently with NMCs.

Teams are also required to expose a minimum number of players that meets what is called the 40/70 rule.

This rule means some players that have played either 40 games this season, or 70 over the past two seasons, must be exposed.

Two forwards, one defenceman and one goalie are needed to be exposed by teams if they fall under the 40/70 rule.

A full breakdown of the Expansion Draft rules, along with a useful tool you can use to experiment with drafting and/or exposing and protecting players can be found at CapFriendly.