The Las Vegas Golden Knights are on their way to becoming a fully developed team, with Wednesday’s expansion draft giving them the opportunity to secure a complete roster.
Teams are allowed to protect 10 skaters and a goalie from this draft. Here is the Carolina Hurricanes list of protected players:
Forwards- Phillip Di Giuseppe, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen.
Defensemen- Trevor Carrick, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy.
Goaltenders- Scott Darling.
The names on this list were not very surprising, as the Hurricanes have been building their team over the last few years and saw it all come together this last season. Head coach Bill Peters is likely trying to make few changes to the roster and this list is a good first step.
In addition to the protected list, first and second-year players are exempt from the expansion draft, meaning Sebastian Aho, Noah Hanifin, and Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce are staying put.
On the opposite hand, each team is required to expose a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman who is under contract for the 2017-18 season. Each player must have played a minimum of 40 games last season or 70 games in the past two seasons.
Here is a list of the most relevant players the Hurricanes left available:
Forwards- Jay McClement, Bryan Bickell, Andrej Nestrasil, Joakim Nordstrom, Lee Stempniak.
Goaltenders- Cam Ward, Eddie Lack.
Cam Ward is undoubtedly the biggest name on this list, as he has been the center of all Hurricanes news for the duration of the summer. Carolina traded for goalie Scott Darling in May, signifying the end of Cam Ward’s starting days in Raleigh.
Marc-Andre Fleury is the best goalie available to Golden Knights and there is no question that he will be selected from Pittsburgh. However, adding Cam Ward to that rotation would give the Golden Knights two Stanley Cup Winners and arguably the best goaltending duo in the league.
It is unclear if Ward would be willing to take a backup job but this is the best situation Carolina could hope for. The organization does not have to cut or trade Ward and he would get another shot at the Stanley Cup. It is hard to picture him suiting up for another team but he is too talented to sit on Carolina’s bench all season.
Fellow goalie Eddie Lack is another big prospect for Las Vegas, as he is one of the higher caliber backup goalies available. Lack proved himself last season and is a perfect candidate for the backup job. If Lack were to be taken, Ward would have to either accept a backup role at Carolina or the Hurricanes would need to focus on a getting new goalie in the upcoming NHL draft.
If the Golden Knights elect to get a goalie elsewhere, Lee Stempniak and Andrej Nestrasil would be the best options they have at forward.
A savvy veteran, Stempniak has played for 11 seasons for 10 different teams in his career. He has always proved to be useful and he helped Carolina tremendously in the first half of last season. Even after he cooled down from his hot start, his leadership and consistency quietly helped the team push for the playoffs.
Even at 34, Stempniak would be a great addition to help establish such a young team. He scored 16 goals and recorded 24 assists in 2016-2017. The NHL journeyman played all 82 games for Carolina last season and his veteran presence would be a major loss for a Hurricanes club comprised of mostly youngsters.
Andrej Nestrasil holds a bit more uncertainty, as he has yet to play a full season in the NHL while recording mediocre numbers in his first three seasons. At 26 years-old he could be a franchise player for Las Vegas, with good coaching and enough playing time. There have been rumors of his desire to leave the club, so his possible departure may be beneficial anyways.
With an array of talented goalies that are available to Las Vegas, who knows if either of Carolina’s netminders will be taken. Due to Carolina’s overwhelmingly high number of draft picks this year (10), this expansion draft should not impact the team negatively and will even free up some cap space. If Cam Ward is selected, he can head to Las Vegas knowing his name will be in the archives of Carolina hockey history.