The Chicago Blackhawks have released their list of protected players for the Vegas Golden Knight's Expansion Draft on Wednesday. They went the 7-3-1 route for forwards, defensemen and goalies respectively.
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman, Richard Panik, Tomas Jurco, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Corey Crawford have all been protected. No surprises here except maybe Jurco, but he was protected instead of Marcus Kruger so the Blackhawks can shed Kruger's contract.
If you're concerned that you don't see guys like Artemi Panarin and Nick Schmaltz on the protected list, don't worry. First and second year North American professional players are exempt from protection. They are automatically protected.
From the rest of the players who were left unprotected, the Golden Knights must select one player. They are required to take one player from each team and only one.
The Golden Knights can acquire more players, protected or exposed, via trade. If a team does not want to lose an unprotected player, they can strike up a trade to send a draft pick or prospect to Las Vegas in exchange for not taking that unprotected player.
This is going to be a busy week for the Blackhawks and the NHL. It will be interesting to see what the Hawks do with rumors already swirling with Las Vegas.
Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.
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