Rangers lose Libor Hajek in way too early mock expansion draft 1.0
By Ed Stein
Draft rules
1 – Each team can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie; or eight skaters, and one goalie. They must include any player with a no-movement contract clause on the protected list unless the player gives permission to their club to waive the clause (very unlikely).
2 – Any player with two years or less of pro experience (including unsigned draft picks) by the end of the 2020-21 season is exempt.
3 – Every team must expose two forwards and one defenseman who have played more than 40 games in 2020-21 or 70 combined games in 2019-20 and 2020-21 AND are under contract through 2021-22. For goalies, the exposure requirement is either under contract for 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent entering that season. Players with career-ending injuries or were on the injured list for more than 60 games in 2020-21 may be exempt (or what I like to call the Marc Savard clause).
4 – Seattle must draft one player from the 30 other teams (Vegas is exempt). They must select a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies. A minimum of 20 players must be under contract for the 2021-22 season. The value of player contracts selected must be between 60-100 percent of the prior season’s cap ceiling. In 2019-20 it’s $81.5M, it’s unlikely that figure will go up due to the coronavirus stoppage, so the current range of $48.9-$81.5M holds.