The big topic of the day is NHL expansion and the expansion draft.

As much as Edmonton could use a team in the NHL that would almost certainly be worse than them, the idea of NHL expansion has always churned my stomach. The idea of diluting the water by another 25ish players per team is very off-putting. I’ve felt for a long time that there isn’t enough top 6/top 4 talent to go around 30 teams, never mind more.

At any rate, it’s not my call. If the NHL wants to add Vegas that’s their call and when they do the league will have to go through an expansion draft. As of this morning word came out that the NHL has talked a little about what the expansion draft would look like.

Without a doubt the rules would be more clearly defined than what we have here, but it sounds like teams could protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, 1 goaltender, and players with less than 3 professional seasons would be exempt from the Draft. Also, players with NMCs would be exempt. Additionally, in a one team expansion the most players any team could lose would be one. So Team X wouldn’t get picked over outside of their protected list.

Expansion wouldn’t likely be for the 2016-2017 season, but for the next year.

So what would that look like if the Oilers? Here are the 7F 3D and G that I think the team would protect today. How this list morphs over time is anybody’s guess.

FORWARDS

McDavid
Draisaitl
Hall
RNH
Eberle
Pouliot
Maroon

In 2017-2018 McDavid will be entering his 3rd season which means he must be protected. Draisaitl is going to be in his 4th pro season. These two are the top young players on the club and no-brainers for protection.

Hall is one of the best wingers in the NHL and a consistently effective possession player as well. RNH is a minute munching C that the team could not afford to lose for free. Eberle, assuming he’s still here, is capable of scoring 30 goals and he also cant be lost for nothing in return.

Rounding out the list are complementary players like Pouliot and Maroon. I have Pouliot because he scores 5v5 like a 1st liner, he’s a great possession player, and he fits well with McDavid. As for Maroon, that’s based on the fact that he’s a monster of a man with soft hands. Maroon is the kind of player Chiarelli promised to bring in. He’s also the first one to come off the list for me depending on what’s going on closer to the time an expansion draft would happen.

DEFENSE

Klefbom
Nurse
Davidson

It’s the entire starting left side. Klefbom is their best defenseman. Nurse is the kid they think is the future. Sekera is the steady pro holding down the fort right now, but as I've been reminded he has a NMC. As such, Sekera does not need to be protected. Davidson would be the next name on the list at this time. This is going to be a fluid list though because it’s Edmonton’s defense that needs the most work. If the Oilers get Hamonic he bumps Davidson. In another year the future of Darnell Nurse might not seem as bright as we once thought it to be. Maybe Davidson leapfrogs him permanently.

GOALTENDER

Brossoit

Talbot's the guy, but he also has a NMC. When you find a netminder you keep him. It’s unlikely an expanding team goes after Brossoit anyway, but unless Laurikainen takes a massive leap forward it would be sensible to protect LB.

LINEUP

Nurse returns from suspension. Huzzah! Pardy has a broken finger, everyone else is dead and/or dying. Heard a rumour Gazdic could play because…tank?

Hall Draisaitl Pakarinen
Maroon McDavid Eberle
Korpikoski RNH Yakupov
Gazdic Letestu Kassian

Sekera Fayne
Nurse Clendening
Reinhart Oesterle

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) The Nurse Can See You Now. Edmonton really needs to have Darnell Nurse back and playing the way he can. He is blessed with physical gifts that a lot of really smart defensemen wish they had. The next step he needs to take is slowing everything down. Not necessarily the pace at which he plays, but the game needs to slow down for him somehow. All of the Oiler defensemen look like they’ve been working at taking the extra second to make the right choices. Nurse needs to be no different. He can skate like the wind but with his skills he doesn’t have to all the time. When he gets that modulation into his game he is going to be a beast. While we’re talking about him, which Blues player wants to be the first to test how far Nurse will go to stand up for a teammate?

2) Testing Grit. The St Louis Blues have a pretty long history of pushing the Oilers around. Maybe that’s why Gazdic could be playing tonight. The Oilers are trying to flip the script and play a new brand of hockey. They added players like Kassian and Maroon. Now it’s about the attitude and the willingness to get dirty. When the game was over against Nashville the Oilers didn’t like the way the Preds were playing and a huge scrum broke out after the final buzzer. The Blues are a bigger test for the Oil because players like Backes have been taking Edmonton’s lunch money for years. Who steps up tonight?

3) Everybody Gets A Medal. Todd McLellan said that he was looking for 10 good efforts from his group to close out the year. It very much sounds like something you say to a kid who doesn’t want to eat his vegetables. Ok, kid. Just give 3 big bites and you can watch more Netflix. It is sad that the Oilers are back in a position of just asking for good efforts, but here we are. This team is in very real danger of finishing 30th again. Yeah, injuries have been horrible, but this last stretch of home games has been horrawful. If McLellan thinks participation ribbons will get these lumps moving in the right direction then fine. Go team.

Puck drops tonight at 7:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet Oilers. Game on!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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