Must select one player from every team, must select at least 17 forwards, must reach at least 60% of the salary cap, must select at least 20 players under contract, cannot buy players out until the end of 2017-18 season, and no trade backs until January 1st, 2018.
Those were just a few of the regulations the Golden Knights had to follow during the Expansion Draft. They were widely reported by hockey media before the draft (here and here are two of the best sources) and then the NHL put out a rules list the day Vegas was awarded a team. Reported by many was the rule prohibiting the Golden Knights from trading a player back to their original team. However, when the NHL released their rules, it was nowhere to be found.
Now, it appears that rule was on the books, but it had an important caveat.
Have confirmed this with Bill Daly just now: There is no blanket rule prohibiting a team from re-acquiring player lost in exp draft already
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2017
The league just has to be satisfied it wasn't pre-cooked or part of a broader transaction that is attempting to circumvent exp draft rules
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2017
The Jan. 1 rule is for players traded to other teams before the expansion draft; they can't be re-acquired prior to Jan. 1
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2017
LeBrun tweeted this prior to the Marc Methot trade, and then later confirmed McPhee did indeed have discussions with the Senators on trading the blueliner back to Ottawa. Of course, it did not happen.
Now, Alexei Emelin‘s name has come to the forefront when it comes to tradebacks. Per the rules, the Golden Knights and Canadiens could come to an agreement to send Emelin back to Montreal. This is excellent news for Vegas as it opens up another possible destination for not only Emelin, but also Colin Miller, Jon Merrill, and Luca Sbisa.
Even with the Methot deal, the Golden Knights still have 11 defensemen with NHL contracts. A few more need to be moved, it’s nice to see an added trade partner possibility on each of them.
The confusion on that rule does bring up another one that was mentioned in an article prior to the release of the official rules.
There will be a guaranteed spot in the draft lottery for four years. -Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet
Is this accurate or is this “no tradebacks” part two? We’re working to find out, stay tuned.
James
@Ken Boehlke
‘There will be a guaranteed spot in the draft lottery for four years. -Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet
Is this accurate or is this “no tradebacks” part two? We’re working to find out, stay tuned.’
It would be nice to be able to put this to bed – I’m sure it was discussed, but it was never approved. Next time you see him, could you please ask George McPhee?
Ken Boehlke
Definitely going to ask the next time I get a chance.
RJ
I’ve seen reporting that Emelin was headed to waivers and a buyout if we had
not taken him. I’m mentally preparing myself for GM having to do this for a few of our… less well regarded blue liners. Between Emelin, Sbisa, Garrison, and Stoner we might be able to literally give 1-2 of them away, but I don’t have any expectation of any value at all in return. At most perhaps a minor league prospect that has been given up on.
I don’t understand why we drafted so many 6th and 7th Dmen, but I’ll assume that McPhee had a good plan that went awry. I’m just looking forward to getting these names off our roster so I can stop thinking about them.
James
@RJ
McPhee can be excused for selecting Garrison, and Stoner. He was forced to take them in a salary dump after making side deals.
Emelin is a head-scratcher – I think we did Montreal a big favour.
To be fair, I don’t think Vancouver had a great deal to choose from. Who knows, there might be better players than Brendan Gaunce available on waivers throughout the season … Brendan Leipsic appeard destined for the waiver wire.
I don’t think it was a bad strategy – we got something back for Trevor van Riemsdyk, David Schlemko and Marc Methot. If we were so inclined, I’m sure we could trade Colin Miller. NHL teams need defensemen.
I think there is a market for goalies too. I would have loved to have got goalies Antti Raanta and Philipp Grubauer as trade assets… but I understand the logic. Nate Schmidt is definitely a keeper!
RJ
Yeah Schmidt, Reinhart, and Theodore should be on our blue lines next year. I get that Garrison and Stoner we kind of took as part of a bigger deal, but we still need to find a spot for them, either on our roster or not.
James
@RJ
Garrison is overpaid, but I expect him to be a Golden Knight.
Steve Carp fittingly compared Reinhart to NBA draft bust Anthony Bennett. May be worth a flier, but I have low expectations. From what I gather, Reinhart is a poor skater. I like Colin Miller more than him.