Wild card debate
TSN: Under the old playoff format there were four wild card teams, two per conference, but there is talk that things could change according to Darren Dreger.
“There’s been lots of discussions on whether or not the schedule should change, what the playoff format should look like among NHL general managers and the NHL head office. But the wild card system is a debatable issue. There are teams that think that four wild card spots making the Stanley Cup playoffs is too many. There’s some that believe that there should be more than two wild card spots in each conference. What about the divisional finish, should there be more emphasis on where teams finish at the end of the regular season inside their division? Should there be a league-wide wild card system?”
Expansion decisions for 10 teams
Rory Boylen of Sportsnet: A look at 10 teams who could lose a good player in the expansion draft or at least will have to make a tough decision on who they’ll keep.
Colorado Avalanche – Can they get Erik Johnson to waive his no-movement clause? Could lose one of Andre Burakovsky, Joonas Donskoi, Tyson Jost, Valeri Nichushkin, or Ryan Graves.
Edmonton Oilers – Could they leave Oscar Klefbom exposed? Do they re-sign UFAs like Adam Larsson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Tyson Barrie before the expansion draft? Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Ethan Bear or Caleb Jones could end up being exposed.
Minnesota Wild – Would Zach Parise waive his no-movement clause? Will Matt Dumba be left unprotected? They may need to make a side deal with the Seattle Kraken.
Carolina Hurricanes – Re-signing Dougie Hamilton before the expansion draft will play a big role on who they could lose. Warren Foegele, Jesper Fast, or defenceman Brady Skjei could be made available.
St. Louis Blues – Defenseman Vince Dunn could be exposed.
Nashville Predators – Likely the eight skater route. Could leave Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen unprotected and would they add a sweetener to get the Kraken to take one?
Toronto Maple Leafs – Re-signing pending UFA Zach Hyman before the draft would mean they would need to protect him. Do the Leafs risk it?
Calgary Flames – Will Milan Lucic waive his no-movement and will 37-year old Mark Giordano be left unprotected? Roster changes are likely coming this offseason for the Flames and could happen before the expansion draft.
Dallas Stars – Re-signing Jamie Oleksiak before the expansion draft would mean they’d go the eight-skater route and would expose all but one of Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa and Denis Gurianov, and Joe Pavelski.