The deadline to protect players from being available for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft was yesterday, and it shouldn’t have shocked anyone to see who the Blackhawks’ front office decided to shield from being swooped up by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Draft will occur between June 18-20, and the Golden Knights’ selections will be revealed during the NHL Awards ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 21.
Read more about how the expansion draft will affect Chicago and the rest of the teams in the NHL below:
BLACKHAWKS
**Here is who the Blackhawks decided to place on their protection list (SCH)
**Marcus Kruger and Trevor van Riemsdyk were left unprotected (Chicago Tribune)
**Here is a comprehensive list of every available player for Las Vegas (Sun-Times)
**A closer look at who the Blackhawks might stand to lose in the Draft (CSN Chicago)
**Patrick Sharp has ‘zero chance’ of returning to the Blackhawks, per a report (SCH)
**The Hawks reportedly offered Dennis Rasmussen a contract, got turned down (Chief)
**Ex-Blackhawks assistant Mike Kitchen turned down a coaching job with Wild (SCH)
**The Blackhawks need to follow Pittsburgh’s retooling footsteps (Blackhawk Up)
**Every Blackhawks 2017 offseason rumor in one place (SCH)
CENTRAL DIVISION
**Here is what the Blues’ protection list looks like (St. Louis Game Time)
**The Avalanche released their Expansion Draft protected list (Mile High Hockey)
**Who did the Wild decide to protect? (Hockey Wilderness)
**Who did the Stars elect to protect from the Expansion Draft? (Defending Big D)
**The Nashville Predators’ Expansion protection list (On the Forecheck)
**The Winnipeg Jets protection list was released to the masses (Arctic Ice Hockey)
**James Neal, Petr Mrazek were surprising players made available by the Stars (DBD)
**An update on the Wild’s search for a new assistant coach (Star Tribune)
NHL
**NHL Expansion Draft 2017: Protection lists for all 30 teams (SB Nation)
**2017 NHL expansion mock draft: Who should the Golden Knights pick? (SB Nation)
**Grading all 30 expansion draft protection lists (SB Nation)
**Calgary Flames acquire goaltender Mike Smith from Coyotes via trade (NHL.com)
**Mike Smith is a good fit in Calgary (Match Sticks & Gasoline)
**Goodbye, Mike Smith. Analysing the trade to Calgary (Five for Howling)
**Great coaching helped the Pittsburgh Penguins survive attrition (Daily Herald)
**NHL salary cap increases to $75 million for 2017-18 season (SB Nation)
HOCKEY WORLD
**CWHL players talk expansion, player compensation (The Ice Garden)
**Suzuki brothers hope to become a famous London hockey family (London Free Press)