Almost every habs team I see posted has one of these things:

1.) Plekanec being drafted by Vegas and pretty much guaranteed there is a poster who says something like "There is absolutely no way Vegas takes plekanec unless Montreal gives them something else."

2.) Someone actually listens to these posters for some reason and gives up ridiculous things such as multiple draft pick and/or prospects!

Rather than comment on every thread I decided to make this one for anyone who cares enough to read or discuss it.

A couple things to consider...

- The link below is a Vegas mock draft that has plekanec chosen in 3/4 drafts.
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/19015985/nhl-vegas-golden-knights-mock-draft-based-players-left-unprotected-their-teams

- Plekanecs contract is not nearly as bad as it is made out to be. He only has 1 year left which makes him a more attractive option than every overpaid player available that is on multi year deals.

- The other players available to Vegas are:
Emelin @ 4.1 mil for 1 year
Benn @ 1.1 mil for 2 years
Davidson @ 1.45 mil for 1 year
Mitchell @ 1.2 mil for 1 year
Montoya @ 1 mil for 2 years

Monteal has lots of defenseman available, but it seems like there are more options at that position seeing as most teams only get to protect 3. I think it is unlikely Vegas opts to take Emelin, Benn, or Davidson when players like Brodin, Demers, Gorges, Sbisa, Dillon, Cole, Schenn, Burtuzzo, etc. are the best option on there teams. Thats 9 D man who are either better (or equal but more likely to be chosen due to them being the BPA on their team) or cost less than what montreal has to offer.

Its quite the opposite when you look at the list of centers Vegas could select ... (Plekanec, Smith, Eller, Kruger, Raffl, Shaehan, Lowry, Nolan, etc.) and 5 of those players can also play wing. Plekanec is arguably the top Center of the above mentioned players.

- If Vegas does not take Plekanec due to cap reason it is likely because they've taken a bad contract from another team because they were offered picks/prospects etc. If that is the case Montreal has absolutely no reason to get involved in that considering Plekanec was their best centerman in playoffs and just had an off year. (The 2 years before he matched Duchene's production and Duchene is apparently worth more than Galchenyuk, Beaulieu, a 1st Round pick and hudon, cuz NO SERGACHEV NO DEAL.)

- Montreal, who already has a big weakness at Center, should absolutley not be trading picks and prospects just to ensure Vegas takes him in the draft. If they take him good, if they don't that's ok.

I would protect Davidson.

If you were habs? or Draft Davidson if you were Vegas? Davidson is far down on my protected list, after Beaulieu and Benn

Captain, who would you protect, if Radulov hasn´t resigned untill the Expansion Draft Deadline?

Forwards 7: Pacioretty, Danault, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Shaw, Byron, and Radulov (I would try to resign him ASAP before he even gets to free agency in case he is made an offer he cannot refuse. The only other forwards that are eligible are Plekanec and Mitchell and both are replaceable, losing Plekanec would open up some options salary wise, however like I said if he isn't drafted he is still a good center between Byron/Lehkonen and Gallagher)
Defense 3: Petry (NMC), Weber, Beaulieu (He holds more trade value and has more potential than Benn, Davidson, or Emelin.)
Goalies 1: Price (NMC)

Yes i would protect him as Montreal.

Montreal is sitting on 3 2nd round picks, giving one up to assure VGK takes Plekanec in the draft won't hurt the team.

Don't discount the fact that Gallant is the coach in VGK. He might have an affection for Plekanec, making the addition of a draft pick unnecessary... but he also coached Montoya for a year. If he liked what he did as a backup, team players, etc... he might be feeding McPhee that kind of inside stuff.

I would invest that 2nd rounder to make sure VGK takes Plekanec in the draft, and guarantee us the 6M$ in cap space in order to play in UFA or RFA markets.

And leave Benn and Beaulieu both exposed?

No, i would go 4-4-1 and protect Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Danault, Gallagher - Weber, Petry, Davidson, Beaulieu - Price. And i thought people were really mad at how Beaulieu played this playoff anyway.

no 7-3-1 Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Danault, Gallagher Byron Hudon and shaw Weber, Petry,Benn

Yeah, i might want to protect Byron, but if i go 7-3-1 i would protect Beaulieu over Benn. Not trying to be mean but i don't see why Jordie Benn is on here, that's just me though. I also think Vegas would rather go for an experienced 3rd liner in Plekanec over Byron. I think Byron is just a really good fit with the Canadiens, so i don't think they protect him, as i don't think they'd take him ...

The only reason I want to see Plekanec taken in the expansion draft is to free up the cap space to do something else. If MB really is trying to do something big this summer (Tavares, Duchene, Thornton, or whoever else), he'll need the cap space.

Bad contracts kill teams. Pleks and Emelin are bad contracts when you consider what they gave us last season.

Don't you think Vegas will think young and take De La Rose.

I heard Pierre McGuire talk about how he think JDLR would be his pick if he were VGK. Either he sees something we don't, or he has a real man-crush on JDLR.

If Charles Hudon isn't the pick, Vegas has made a mistake.