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Who will the Flyers protect in the 2021 Expansion Draft?

By Drew Wheeler

July 28, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; Jakub Voracek #93 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates a goal by teammate Sean Couturier #14 during the first period of the exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on July 28, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. Mandatory Credit: Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via USA TODAY Sports
July 28, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; Jakub Voracek #93 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates a goal by teammate Sean Couturier #14 during the first period of the exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on July 28, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. Mandatory Credit: Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via USA TODAY Sports /
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With the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft moving in fast, Chuck Fletcher and Alain Vigneault have a lot to think about before June 21st. Back closer to the beginning of the season, I released an idea of who the Flyers will protect in the 2021 expansion draft.

As all Flyers fans know, this season has not been ideal  as we have seen many players regress. However, some have improved, leading to tough decisions for Fletcher and Vigneault this off-season.

Before we get into who the Flyers will protect though, a quick reminder of the 2021 Expansion Draft rules:

  • Seattle must take a player from each NHL franchise
  • No team will have more than one player chosen
  • Seattle must take at least 14 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goalies
  • Las Vegas is exempt from the expansion draft
  • Teams may only protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 1 goalie OR 8 skaters and 1 goalie
  • Players on the first or second years of their rookie contract are safe
  • Unsigned draft picks are safe
  • If a player has a No Movement Clause (NMC) the team must protect them unless they waive the NMC
  • The team must expose 2 forwards under contract in 2021-2022 who have played either in 40 games this season or 70 in the last two
  • The team must expose 1 defenseman under contract in 2021-2022 who has played either in 40 games this season or 70 in the last two
  • The team must expose 1 goalie under contract in 2021-2022 or a 2021 restricted free agent that has already received a qualifying offer

Easy to understand right?

Before we get into the protected players some quick notes.

Firstly there are a handful of players that are automatically safe from taking a one-way trip to Seattle due to still being on their entry-level contracts. Some of the notables are Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Wade Allison, Cam York, Bobby Brink, Zayde Wisdom, and Tyson Forester. They are all automatically protected without the use of a protection spot.

Secondly, both Kevin Hayes and Claude Giroux will be safe because they have no-movement clauses in their contracts. Unfortunately, they do take up 2 of the 7 forward spots, which leaves the question: Who else will the Flyers protect?

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