“I think the CH is in a very good position for the expansion draft.”

Michaël Petit
“I think the CH is in a very good position for the expansion draft.”
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

With a potential expansion team set to join the league in the next few years or so, NHL teams need to prepare accordingly, as they could lose a key player.

Teams like the Montreal Canadiens, who already have a strong core of young players and several prospects who could be eligible at that time, might seem to be in trouble at first glance.

Players like Kaiden Guhle, Jacob Fowler, David Reinbacher, and Oliver Kapanen could very well be available. Michael Hage as well, if he plays this season, though it's likely he'll be protected.

Instead of Guhle, it could be Mike Matheson, though he'd have to waive his no-trade clause to make himself available—which would be more advantageous for the Habs.

However, according to Pierre McGuire during his recent appearance on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, the Habs seem to be in a pretty good position.

It makes sense to believe that the Habs will opt to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, given that there are several attractive players available. The other option is to protect eight skaters and one goaltender.

In any case, Montreal will have to protect either Jakub Dobes or Jacob Fowler, and both young goalies would be very attractive to a new team.

However, as McGuire points out, the Habs have several prospects in goal who don't get much attention but shouldn't be overlooked.

While they may not have as much potential as Fowler or Dobes, there are always other options should one of the two young goalies be selected.

Another point McGuire raised is that the Canadiens would lose only a player who isn't part of the core roster, so it's not that dramatic.

However, it's worth noting that McGuire believes there's a possibility of a double expansion. In that case, two players would leave the organization.

There's another reason why McGuire believes the Habs are in a good position. We mustn't forget that it has happened before that a new team agreed to some form of trade compensation if it didn't select a specific player.

Kent Hughes could offer something to that new team to prevent a player like Fowler from leaving. If two new teams were to be added at once, there would therefore be two compensation packages to offer to ensure that neither of the new clubs selects a specific player.

In short, the coming seasons will be crucial for Dobes and Fowler, who will want to prove that they deserve to be protected.


Quick Notes

– Interesting.

– Worth reading.

– The Falcons rewarded the Quebec native with a nice contract.

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