Report: Isles make tough Expansion Draft decisions

The NHL’s self-imposed deadline for teams to have their protection lists in order for this month’s upcoming NHL Expansion Draft is this Saturday. But, last night however was an important deadline in the lead up to the draft, as it was the final day for teams to request that players waive their no-trade or no-movement clause for inclusion in the draft. The New York Islanders, facing the potential of losing a good player for nothing, elected to do just that… nothing.

By protecting both Ladd and Boychuk, the Isles leave themselves exposed and will have a good player available to the Vegas Golden Knights unless general manager Garth Snow can move assets around in the next week. 

The move means that one or more of Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, Casey Cizikas or Ryan Strome will likely be left unprotected from the team’s forward group and that Calvin de Haan, Thomas Hickey and Ryan Pulock will be left unprotected on the team’s back end. 

While it’s comforting to know that Vegas can only select one player from the crop above, the Islanders still stand to lose a good player with considerable upside if things unfold in their current situation. Never count out Garth Snow though. The veteran GM always seems to have a trick up his sleeve and can pull off stunning trades when you least expect it.