from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Forwards

Protected: Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Jakub Vrana.

Notable available players: Mathias Brome, Frans Nielsen, Vladislav Namestnikov, Richard Panik, Evgeny Svechnikov.

Notable exemptions: Joe Veleno, Filip Zadina, everyone drafted in 2018 or later.

Analysis: Six protection slots were obvious, and really, even the seventh spot, Smith, was a no-brainer. Smith is young (23) and under club control for several more years. He is big (6-2, 210), physical, forechecks hard, goes to the net and fights, providing a different dimension.

Defensemen

Protected: Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom.

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