We don’t know when, we don’t know where, but it feels nearly certain the NHL will expand by a team or two in coming years.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the league in 2000-01 and the NHL — which had grown from 21 teams at the start of the 1990s to 30 by the end of it — remained a 30-squad circuit for more than 15 years until the Vegas Golden Knights hit the ground running in 2017-18 and the Seattle Kraken came on board less than five years later to give us our 32nd team.
It’s easy to wonder if we’ll be up to 34 early in the 2030s, with places like Atlanta, Arizona and Houston all circled as possible landing spots (again, in the case of the former two locations) for NHL squads.
Why? Well, there’s certainly more high-level skill in the global talent pool, making it possible to support growth for the world’s best league. And, more to the profitable point, Seattle paid $650 million to join the league at the start of this decade and you can bet the next cheque or two the other owners divvy up between themselves will be pushing closer and closer to a billion dollars.
While any potential expansion is still years away, we thought it would be fun to put teams on the spot and see who they might make available if there was an expansion draft at the end of this coming season, four years after Seattle put its initial squad together after the 2020-21 campaign.
Speaking of the Kraken, we’ll make the NHL’s youngest club exempt from our expansion draft, just as Vegas was when Seattle GM Ron Francis and his staff made their picks four years after the Knights entered the league.
We’ll use the same parameters for our mock draft that Seattle and the existing clubs operated under in 2021. If you want the blow-by-blow, you can read it here. As for a TLDR version, just recall both Seattle and Vegas came into the NHL under much more favourable circumstances than their expansion predecessors in terms of the players available to select. Players with full no-move clauses must be included on protected lists unless they agree to waive that protection. Clubs are also obliged to make at least one goalie available. A squad can leave a pending-UFA unprotected, but the expansion team gets an exclusive window to negotiate with that player ahead of the draft. First- and second-year professionals — as well as all unsigned draft picks — are exempt from the expansion draft and don’t require protection.
With that in mind — and understanding we need more than a little creative license here given the projection involved — let’s identify an intriguing candidate from each club (minus Seattle) who might tempt an expansion team drafting next spring to play in the 2025-26 season.
Anaheim Ducks: Alex Killorn, F
The two-time Cup champion with Tampa Bay has a no-trade, but not no-movement protection. With so many young players coming through the pipe, Anaheim could be prepared to let Killorn go with two years remaining on his contract.
Boston Bruins: Mason Lohrei, D
Technically, this coming season will be Lohrei’s third pro campaign — even though he’ll be a sophomore NHLer — because he left college to play in the AHL as a 21-year-old late in 2022-23. Boston is somewhat hamstrung by having three defencemen — Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov — who enjoy no-move coverage.
Buffalo Sabres: Devon Levi, G
Like Lohrei, Levi will be considered a third-year pro in 2024-25. Assuming the Sabres protect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Levi would be available.
Calgary Flames: Andrei Kuzmenko, F
Kuzmenko will be a 29-year-old pending-UFA at the end of next season. If he doesn’t score this coming year, maybe the Flames are content to move on and an expansion team comes along offering a prime role.
Carolina Hurricanes: Shayne Gostisbehere, D
Jaccob Slavin is getting protected and fellow blue-liner Jalen Chatfield has a no-move clause. Do the math and you’re quickly down to choosing between two defenceman who just signed with Carolina: Gostisbehere or Sean Walker.
Chicago Blackhawks: Joey Anderson, F
With Connor Bedard and Kevin Korchinski still exempt, Chicago has the flexibility to keep most of its key guys.
Colorado Avalanche: Jonathan Drouin, F
Drouin and the Avs made it work again on a one-year deal this summer, meaning he’s a pending-UFA in 2025. Perhaps his long-term deal comes from a new squad looking for offensive talent.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Patrik Laine, F
Selecting Laine would be just a one-year commitment for an expansion squad, as his contract carrying a cap it of $8.7 million is up after 2025-26. If it works in a new locale, you’ve found yourself a six-foot-five sniper.
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Dallas Stars: Mason Marchment, F
Marchment’s second year in Dallas was better than his first, but with a pipeline that keeps churning out great players, the Stars might make him available and hope to clear a little cap room.
Detroit Red Wings: Jonatan Berggren, F
If it doesn’t happen for Berggren in Detroit this season, he’s a prime fresh-start candidate and an expansion club might still bet on his upside.
Edmonton Oilers: Philip Broberg, D
It’s been a long road for Broberg, who wound up seeing valuable ice for the Oilers during their run to the final. With Darnell Nurse (no-move clause), Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm in the mix, though, he could be the odd D-man out.
Florida Panthers: Spencer Knight, G
Either Knight or Sergei Bobrovsky would be available. You can say it makes more sense to leave the expensive veteran unprotected, but what if ‘Bob’ is coming off another deep post-season run for a team that’s clearly in win-now mode?
Los Angeles Kings: Alex Turcotte, F
The fifth-overall pick from 2019 hasn’t found a home yet with the Kings. A new club might be just what the doctor ordered.
Minnesota Wild: Frederick Gaudreau, F
The Wild are hampered by having a handful of no-movement clauses attached to contracts, so Gaudreau may be left out in the cold.
Montreal Canadiens: Jordan Harris, D
The Habs have a glut of young defencemen and would surely be one lighter after an expansion draft.
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Nashville Predators: Mike McCarron, F
No harm in adding a six-foot-six guy for the fourth line.
New Jersey Devils: Brenden Dillon, D
If Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec required protection, the Devils would be in a world of trouble on the back end. As it stands, they could make Dillon available and be in decent shape.
New York Islanders: Semyon Varlamov, G
Ilya Sorokin is getting protected, leaving the veteran Varlamov available to help stabilize an expansion team’s crease.
New York Rangers: Kaapo Kakko, F
The second-overall pick in 2019 finally gets to turn the page.
Ottawa Senators: Michael Amadio, F
Amadio had a nice playoff showing with the Cup-winning Golden Knights in 2023. And, these days, expansion teams hope to make the post-season quickly, so why not add a guy with big-game experience?
Philadelphia Flyers: Rasmus Ristolainen, D
A big defenceman who can eat minutes on the right side of a top-four pair for the first couple years of an expansion team’s existence.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Kevin Hayes, F
Hayes would be just a one-year commitment, with a contract that runs out at the end of 2025-26. He’s still a big body who might be able to get you some goals.
San Jose Sharks: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D
You’d basically be bringing him into your organization for the one year left on his contract to import all the knowledge he’s accrued from nearly 20 years in the league.
St. Louis Blues: Jordan Binnington, G
If Joel Hofer goes out and has a great year, St. Louis would be in the excruciating position of picking between a young goalie who could be your guy for a decade or the established vet, in Binnington, who won a Cup for you five years ago. If Binnington was anything other than stellar in the season leading up to an expansion draft, you could make the case St. Louis sticks with Hofer.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Nick Paul, F
It probably comes down to a forward of Paul’s quality or losing somebody like Ryan McDonagh on the back end.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson, F
Here’s his chance with a new NHL address.
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Utah Hockey Club: Juuso Valimaki, D
A first-rounder in 2017, Valimaki has shown enough offence at the highest level to make him worthy of selection.
Vancouver Canucks: Conor Garland, F
The Canucks get a little more breathing room under the cap and a new squad gets a guy capable of potting 20 to 25 goals.
Vegas Golden Knights: William Karlsson, F
The steal of the 2017 expansion draft has a full-circle moment. Karlsson turns 32 in January and with Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl down the middle in Vegas, the Knights — always in need of cap space — might be tempted to offer up a player who counts for a $5.9 million AAV and has basically been a 20-goal guy for numerous seasons between scoring 43 in Year 1 with Vegas and 30 in a bounce-back last season.
Washington Capitals: Trevor van Riemsdyk, D
Big guys who patrol the right side always get a look and the Caps would prioritize protecting John Carlson, Matt Roy and Rasmus Sandin on the blue.
Winnipeg Jets: Nikolaj Ehlers, F
If Ehlers stays with the Jets through this season, maybe his exit plan as a 2025 UFA is a big payday with a team where he gets all the minutes and opportunity he can hope for.
