have given up on the 25-year-old netminder, it makes a lot more sense to hang onto him and attempt to work out some kind of trade. The team’s decision to protect Howard over Mrazek is baffling, to say the least. Red Wings fans figured Holland might throw a curveball their way with his protection list for the Vegas expansion draft, but he still managed to shock most of the fan base. He’s also great trade bait with a favorable cap hit Vegas could opt to use him to get some draft picks or prospects. The 26-year-old center scored 30 goals and added 21 assists for the Panthers last season, and with a cap hit of just $750,000 he won’t break the bank. His contract isn’t ideal for Vegas ($7.25 million until 2022-23), but he’s a skilled winger, and there won’t be many of those for the Golden Knights to choose from.įlorida’s Jonathan Marchessault is also available for Vegas. ( Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)īobby Ryan was a notable name left off Ottawa’s protected list. They could opt to take Ouellet instead, but if I’m George McPhee, I’m stocking up on goalies to trade to teams who may have lost a goalie in the expansion draft. Of course, there is no guarantee the Golden Knights take Mrazek. Holland again shows terrible asset management, and it could cost the Red Wings their goalie of the future. ![]() If the Red Wings’ front office really doesn’t approve of Mrazek’s attitude, then protect him and look for an opportunity to trade him during the season or at the draft. We all know about the character issues Mrazek has, but that is no reason to leave a talented goalie exposed in an expansion draft. Holland opted to protect 33-year-old Jimmy Howard over 25-year-old Petr Mrazek. There’s no guarantee Vegas would have taken either one, but why make it easy and give the Golden Knights an opportunity to select Sheahan or Ouellet, who is a restricted free agent?īut that wasn’t even the worst part of the protected list. Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdeklader (Bridget Samuels)Ībdelkader ($4.25 million until 2023-24) and DeKeyser ($5 million until 2022-23) are two contracts they need to start shedding. Sure, Sheahan had a season to forget, scoring just 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 80 games, but he’s cheap ($2.075 million cap hit), and the expansion draft was a good opportunity for the Red Wings to rid themselves of hard-to-trade contracts. Selecting Justin Abdelkader and Danny DeKeyser over Riley Sheahan and Xavier Ouellet was expected, but it still doesn’t make it any less egregious. General Manager Ken Holland has a history of being too loyal, and he continues to show that in his protected list. In regards to the Red Wings’ protected list, I hoped for the best but feared the worst. Even more, teams could have inside intelligence on other selections that would influence who they protect. There could be a multitude of already negotiated side deals ensuring Vegas does not select certain players that would make these seemingly horrible decisions palatable. Then again, these lists could be meaningless. Louis protecting Ryan Reaves was a head-scratcher as well. Anaheim is stacked on defense, but how could those players be exposed when Kevin Bieksa is protected? Why wouldn’t the Ducks ask Bieksa to waive his no-movement clause? If they have a deal in place to keep both Manson and Vatanen, it’ll surely cost them a lot. The most baffling scenario is in Anaheim, where both Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen were exposed. ( Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)Īs for the rest of the league, there are quite a few quality players available to Vegas. ![]() As we know, a $4 million backup is expensive. Therefore, there’s less risk in exposing him with Vegas likely to take Marc-Andre Fleury as their starter. Ken Holland has been “kicking tires” with regard to moving a goalie, so it’s possible that no team expressed interest in Mrazek. It was a bit of a shock to see Jimmy Howard protected over Petr Mrazek in net, but perhaps the Red Wings view him differently now. In this week’s edition of The Grind Line, the Red Wings’ coverage team for The Hockey Writers weighed in on Detroit’s protected list, surprises from other lists around the League, and which unprotected Red Wings player would likely be sporting a Golden Knights uniform in the fall. Which specific players would be protected remained a mystery to those outside the organization until yesterday, when Detroit unveiled their list: Red Wings GM Ken Holland previously stated that he was going to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie. These lists were made available to the public yesterday. On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings submitted their protected list for the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft along with the other 29 NHL teams.
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