DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Avalanche have announced who is protected before Wednesday’s expansion draft as the Seattle Kraken join the NHL:
- Andre Burakovsky (F)
- Tyson Jost (F)
- Nazem Kadri (F)
- Nathan MacKinnon (F)
- Valeri Nichushkin (F)
- Logan O’Connor (F)
- Mikko Rantanen (F)
- Samuel Girard (D)
- Cale Makar (D)
- Devon Toews (D)
- Philipp Grubauer (G)
Notable players the Avalanche left unprotected include Gabriel Landeksog, Brandon Saad, Joonas Donskoi, J.T. Compher and Erik Johnson.
Each NHL team had the option of protecting either seven forwards, three defenseman and one goaltender (11 total) or eight skaters and one goaltender (nine total). The deadline to submit a protected list was 5 p.m. on Saturday, beginning a roster freeze until the draft on Wednesday night.
First and second-year players, long-term injured players and unsigned draft picks are exempt from the expansion draft. For the Avs, this includes goaltender Pavel Francouz, Shane Bowers, Bowen Byram, Alex Newhook, Conor Timmins and others.
The Kraken will select 30 players, one from each team in the league — except for the Vegas Golden Knights — on July 21 at 6 p.m. Seattle must take 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies, and 20 of those players must be under contract for the 2021-22 season.