Written by Tal Pinchevsky at ESPN.com
With the NHL coming to Las Vegas, some general managers put their chips on the table and took calculated risks Sunday. The Ottawa Senators did just that when they made forward Bobby Ryan available for the expansion draft Wednesday, likely figuring his $7.25 million cap hit would make him a prohibitive pick for Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee.
But other moves on certain teams’ unprotected lists proved particularly perplexing. Here are the ones that stuck out.
Islanders’ forward moves: The only team to protect five defensemen from the Golden Knights’ clutches, the New York Islanders left a bevy of potent forwards available, including Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey. Considering the makeup of their protected list, you’ve got to think that general manager Garth Snow has some sort of prearranged deal in place with McPhee to not pick one of those talented forwards.
Flames hold on to Ferland:Micheal Ferland’s breakout 15-goal season must have really impressed executives with the Calgary Flames, who decided to protect the forward over more established players Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson and Matt Stajan. Calgary made a statement with their expansion list, indicating that they plan on keeping around the 6-foot-2 restricted free agent who enjoyed chemistry with stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.
Blues keep Reaves: The St. Louis Blues’ ability to draft and develop players, particularly forwards, made them especially vulnerable in an expansion season. They were likely going to lose a talented player for nothing no matter what, but the decision to keep the physical Ryan Reaves and his 17 career goals over more skilled players David Perron, Jori Lehtera and Dmitrij Jaskin was a surprise. Reaves won’t be leaned on for offense, but the Blues clearly value his 224-pound frame.
Panthers’ curious D: Florida has been as unpredictable as any team in the league over the last 12 months, but who expected they’d protect four defensemen from the expansion draft? Even more unexpected was their decision to keep defensemen Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk over veteran Jason Demers, who signed a five-year contract less than a year ago and whose nine goals last season were more than Petrovic and Pysyk combined. The move also made available a number of intriguing forwards, including Reilly Smith, Derek MacKenzie and Jonathan Marchessault, who is coming off his first 30-goal season.
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