Joined: Oct. 2020
Posts: 6
Likes: 3
A question came up recently concerning the number of players a team can protect in the upcoming Kraken expansion draft. Is it possible to protect less than the maximum number? I know this is probably a rhetorical question, and probably not very likely to happen
For instance, suppose a team is still in the tear-down and rebuild stage. They have plenty of exempt prospects/less than two year pros on the roster, so there is no need to protect them. Plus, they have plenty of older players with bad contracts that they'd like to get rid of. Can the GM protect just five players and leave the rest exposed? (I'm not sure I'd do this as a GM - admit that my team has only 5 players that I'd like to keep, and the rest of the roster is trash - but maybe I was just hired as the new GM and I'm cleaning house).
Now, let's assume that I can protect less than the maximum number, so I have spots available? Can I use that as trade value? Say I make a trade with another team for one of their players that they don't have room to protect but don't want to expose, for say, a 5th round draft choice. I then place that player on my protected list. Once the expansion draft is over, I then trade the acquired player back to his original team, and in return I get my original 5th round pick back, and also their 2nd round draft pick. So, in effect, I am protecting their player for their 2nd round draft pick. Is this possible???
I know this is all highly unlikely, but still, is it possible, within the NHL rules????