Tampa Bay Lightning expansion draft protection list: Who should be shielded?

With the NHL Expansion Draft coming within the next week, Tampa Bay Lightning fans are wondering who the Bolts will protect from the Las Vegas Golden Knights and who will be left exposed.

Like every other team in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to decide who they want to protect in June 21’s NHL Expansion Draft, when the incoming Las Vegas Golden Knights will raid the cupboards of the league’s current 30 franchises. Each of those teams have to choose whom among their rosters to protect and who to risk losing.

The basics of the expansion draft are as such: each team can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or eight skaters, regardless of position, and a goaltender. But there’s a catch.

All players who have currently effective and continuing “No Movement” clauses at the time of the Expansion Draft (and who to decline to waive such clauses) must be protected (and will be counted toward their club’s applicable protection limits).

On the assumption that Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman will be utilizing the 7-3-1 format, here’s our take on who the Bolts should protect, in order of “Well, of COURSE!” factor.

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Steven Stamkos – the Captain; Stamkos is a lock for the Bolts’ protection list, his No Movement Clause guarantees it; that, and the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise would probably like to avoid a riot.

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Ryan Callahan – Alternate Captain; while some fans complain about his contract, Cally impacts every single game he plays in, whether factoring into the box score or not; he leaves his heart on the ice every shift he skates; given that the Tampa Bay Times reported he’s not been asked to waive his NMC, it’s clear he’ll be on the list.

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Nikita Kucherov – the Russian Sniper; the third in a series of obvious picks; “Klutcherov,” as he known to Tampa Bay Lightning fans, is guaranteed to be on the protection list following a breakout 40-goal, 85-point season;  file this one under “DUH!”

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Tyler Johnson – Johnny B. Good; look, you can’t just protect two of the Triplets, then they’d be the Twins and let’s face it, Kuch and Pally are no Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito; TyJo is a fan favorite and solid face off-winning center with established chemistry with his teammates and a tendency to get streaky, which fans wish would happen more often.

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Vladislav Namestnikov – Who’s your Vladdy?; Namestnikov is a well-rounded player, who can pass and shoot with precision and plays a good two-way game; possesses breakaway speed and will even throw down and fight with an evenly-matched opponent, just ask Robby Fabbri.

Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards:

• Alex Killorn – Killer; honestly, Killorn made the list by virtue of who’s not on it, that being Jonathan Drouin; with Yzerman trading Drouin to Montreal, it opened up another spot, and Killorn would have been next in line; Killer’s play in the 2016-17 season did not match the sweet and overly generous contract he received; despite being a force in the playoffs, he needs to produce more in the regular season, so as to help the team actually make the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen

• Victor Hedman – Swedefense #1; another obvious no-brainer; Hedman’s 56 assists were good enough for fourth in the league last season and his 72 points were a career high; looking past his offensive output, he’s among the league’s Top 3 blue liners (fight me!) based on defensive prowess alone; look for him to get a permanent A in the near future.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen

• Anton Stralman – Swedefense #2; while not as high-profile as his countryman, Hedman, Anton Stralman is an elite defenseman and a lock for the second spot on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s protection list, if you wanted to rank order it; perhaps a bit unassuming, Strallsy can pass, shoot and defend and has even been known to put his man down at the opposing team’s blue line.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen

• Jake Dotchin – the new kid; Dotchin made the list in favor of Slater Koekkoek, but it was a really close call; the fiery young defenseman made the most of his late-season call-up; sure, pairing with Victor Hedman is going to make anyone look better, but the skills and toughness Dotchin brought to the lineup came at the right time; if the kid can learn a little discipline, he should progress even further and could be a star for Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goaltender

• Andrei Vasilevskiy – Vasy; the obvious pick, for several obvious reasons; Andrei has been groomed to be the Lightning’s No. 1 for years; he’s by and large the best netminder they have; he’s the only NHL-ready goaltender they have under contract, since Peter Budaj is an unrestricted free agent.

Who didn’t make the list and why

• JT Brown – Brownov, honorary Russian; affectionately called Rock Hands; despite being endeared to fans, it’s no secret Brown is a career fourth-liner; he’s great, and scrappy, but doesn’t have great hands and is more useful as a grinder than a well-rounded skill player.
• Cedric Paquette – Hot Pocket; take everything we just said about Brown and make it a little less expensive and a little more French-Canadian and you have fiery fellow fourth-liner Ceddy; it’s not to say he’s not great, but he’s not on the level of the seven forwards who made the list.
• Braydon Coburn – aging, costly blue-liner prone to defensive regression and is a possession liability.
• Jason Garrison – read: Braydon Coburn.
• Andrej Sustr – the Giraffe; despite tightening up his game in the Lightning’s 2016-17 season, Sustr just isn’t on the same level as the three protected D-men; he has a team-friendly contract that Las Vegas might find attractive.
• Luke Witkowski, Yanni Gourde, Joel Vermin, Gabriel Dumont, Peter Budaj – all UFAs that are free to either explore free agency or make a deal to stay with Tampa Bay after this whole expansion draft mess is over. Hopefully all five are interested in sticking around!

Next: Why trading Jonathan Drouin isn't the end of the world

We’ll find out this week who the Tampa Bay Lightning will protect and who the Golden Knights will snatch. Don’t forget the 2017-18 regular season will be announced the next day, June 22, followed by the NHL Entry Draft on Friday, June 23.