It has been reported by TSN’s Gary Lawless that some of the parameters around the expansion draft have started to come to fruition. This kind of talk means that expansion now is more of a formality then anything else. While Quebec City remains in the dark, it looks like Las Vegas will be getting a team sooner rather then later.
NHL, NHLPA have agreed to expansion draft rules, concpet. Doesn't mean expansion happens but major hurdle cleared, including no move clause
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 29, 2016
NHL executive committee still has to make decision on expansion, but the couldn't recommend without NHLPA agreeing to expansion draft rules
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 29, 2016
These kind of meetings don’t happen unless something is imminent or up for a vote. So the decision is big for the league who has been very aggressive in its attempts to expand the number of teams the past couple of years.
NHL has 100s of things to resolve before executive committee could recommend expansion. NHLPA agreement on expansion draft was a major piece
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 29, 2016
More #nhl expansion draft info. sources indicate no-moves must be protected by teams. no-trade clauses not exempt and can be left exposed.
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 29, 2016
A fair amount of teams were hoping that they were going to be able to leave some players exposed. Players like David Clarkson will need to be protected by this rule. That is absolutely brutal for a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets. It remains to be seen if they can ask these players if they mind their inclusion on the list. This could be seen as a bit of a compromise as some teams were pushing hard for all players to have eligibility in the expansion draft.
Once expansion happens and at this point it is merely a forgone conclusion, everything will start moving quickly. A lot of salary will be shed as well a lot of useless players. The way they want it to work though will make the expansion team competitive from the start. A good sign for prospective Las Vegas fans.