The NHL hasn’t seen an expansion draft in four years, and with no plans in the immediate future, it appears as though we won’t be getting another NHL franchise for a while. Recent reports suggest the next expansion team may not be coming until 2028 at the earliest. With the current era of Calgary Flames hockey likely missing out on the fun of an expansion draft, why not pretend there’s one ourselves?

With the Flames in the middle of a retool, who would the organization keep around if an expansion draft were held this very summer? Let’s take a look.

Expansion draft rules

Let’s assume the NHL keeps the expansion rules the same as previous iterations in 2017 and 2021. Here’s a high-level refresher on how it works.

Roster protection list

Each team has the option to protect two different combinations of players. Below are the two options:

Seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender

Eight skaters—forwards or defencemen—and one goaltender.

For obvious reasons, the seven forward and three defenceman combination has been the dominant selection, with the eight skaters’ options being incredibly rare.

Expansion draft eligibility

Not every player in an organization is eligible to be selected, and therefore also doesn’t need to be protected. Below are the guidelines on expansion draft eligibility from PuckPedia:

If a player has three or more years of professional experience as of the end of the 2024–25 season, they are expansion eligible. Professional experience is defined in accordance with Waivers (CBA Section 13.4) as:

If player was 20 or older as of Dec 31 of a season, any season with 1+ NHL, AHL, or ECHL GP counts as a year of professional experience.

If player was less than 20 as of Dec 31 of a season, any season with 11+ NHL GP counts as a year of professional experience.

Exposed players

Based on the above guidelines, here are the most noteworthy players who would be eligible to be selected on the Flames roster if there were an expansion draft this summer:

ForwardDefenceGoaltenderMatt CoronatoMacKenzie WeegarDustin WolfConnor ZaryRasmus AnderssonDustin CooleyYegor SharangovichKevin BahlBlake ColemanJoel HanleyMorgan FrostDaniil MiromanovMartin PospisilBrayden PachalJoel FarabeeJake BeanAdam KlapkaIlya SolovyovRory KerinsJeremie PoirierYan Kuznetsov

Unless the Flames asked them to waive their no movement clauses like they did with Milan Lucic for the 2021 expansion draft, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and Mikael Backlund would all be protected by default due to their contracts. Given the status of all three players, it’s hard to imagine any scenario where they would be asked to waive their NMC this summer. All three are viewed as core veteran pieces to the roster, and I doubt the team would want to lose them for nothing.

Quite frankly, the Flames don’t have a whole lot of value up for grabs in this pretend expansion draft. Given the current state of the roster, there are only a few players on the above list that would really hurt to lose. It could’ve been an even weaker list too, as Matt Coronato’s single game in the NHL in 2022–23 made him eligible to be selected by the narrowest of margins.

Exempt players

Thankfully the Flames do have a handful of exciting young players who as of right now would not be eligible for selection. Below are the most noteworthy names who have played pro hockey but would be protected due to a lack of experience.

ForwardDefenceGoaltenderSam HonzekZayne ParekhOwen SayAydar SunievHunter BrzustewiczWilliam StromgrenSam Morton

If one or multiple of the above players needed to be protected, it could’ve created some tough calls. For now, we won’t need to worry.

The protected list

With the above requirements in place and the list of players needing protection, here’s who I would protect if an expansion draft were to be held this summer.

ForwardDefenceGoaltenderNazem Kadri (NMC)MacKenzie WeegarDustin WolfJohnathan Huberdeau (NMC)Rasmus AnderssonMikael Backlund (NMC)Kevin BahlMatt CoronatoConnor ZaryMorgan FrostYegor Sharangovich

To be honest, this wasn’t exactly a difficult list to put together. As mentioned above, the Flames don’t really have a ton of high-end talent in the NHL right now apart from a couple names, so there weren’t really any tough calls or key players left exposed. Normally, a trio of veteran players with no-movement clauses would cause some major issues in an expansion draft, but the Flames can comfortably accommodate all three without much stress on who loses a spot.

Let’s get the obvious picks out of the way. Dustin Wolf is one of the most valuable young goaltenders in the NHL and the backbone of the Flames’ future. It was either him or Devin Cooley up for the spot. Moving along.

On defence, the picks are similarly very easy. With young studs like Brzustewicz and Parekh not yet eligible for selection, the Flames really only have three current defencemen worth protecting. MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Bahl, and Rasmus Andersson are the only top-four defencemen on the roster and the easy picks for the defence group. None of Hanley, Pachal, Bean, or Miromanov are worth protecting.

If Andersson were to be traded, the next man up to protect would likely be a young player like Ilya Solovyov or Yan Kuznetsov if the Flames see a future for either in the NHL.

At forward, the picks were mostly easy to make as well. After the three veterans, Coronato and Connor Zary are head and shoulders above anyone else. Both are mid-20s first-round picks with legitimate top-six upside. In Coronato’s case, he’s already one of the team’s best forwards.

The last two spots at forward got a little more dicey, with a handful of names worthy of the spots. In the end, I went with Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich. Frost has the highest upside value of the remaining group after Coronato and Zary, and plays a key position as a centre. I don’t see the Flames wanting to lose him for nothing.

In Sharangovich, the Flames have a late-20s forward on a rough contract, but with a history of 30-goal production. No one else in the remaining group has that upside, which made him the pick over players like Martin Pospisil and Joel Farabee, while his age gives him an edge over Blake Coleman.

Who is left exposed?

With the above 11 players protected, here are the most noteworthy players who would be unprotected and up for grabs.

ForwardDefenceGoaltenderMartin PospisilJoel HanleyJoel FarabeeBrayden PachalBlake ColemanIlya SolovyovAdam KlapkaRory Kerins

If I’m the made-up expansion team, I’m not exactly enamored with my options when it comes time to pick a Flame. There is not a lot to like here, and not a lot of upside to choose from. On defence, I don’t see any real options for selection. All three names are bottom-pairing players at best and not worth it.

At forward, there are a couple names that could be intriguing. If I had to guess, I think Pospisil would be the most likely name selected from this group. The 25-year-old has gained a solid reputation around the league as a pest and has been a solid complementary bottom-six winger in the NHL.

Maybe an expansion team likes Farabee’s upside and thinks he could thrive in a new environment, but that contract would likely scare off most teams. If the expansion roster was looking to win right away, Coleman could be a sneaky pick, but considering he’s soon to be 34, I doubt it’d happen. In Adam Klapka and Rory Kerins, the Flames could risk losing a younger asset, but realistically, both guys likely top out as fourth liners in the NHL and aren’t major pickups for an expansion team.

Nothing to lose, for now

All said, it’s rather unfortunate NHL expansion isn’t happening this summer. With the Flames current state and their roster in flux as they incorporate prospects, there isn’t a whole lot to worry about when it comes to who they might lose.

The Flames would be quite comfortable with any expansion draft right now, given the lack of high-end talent they have in the pro ranks. With that said, if NHL expansion does go ahead in 2028, it could be a different story with a plethora of young names no longer exempt.

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