from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

Now, we have a clearer picture on expansion rules, and even a timeline.

I flew back to Toronto Wednesday morning, but, as the GM meetings closed, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said a decision on zero, one or two clubs will come before this year’s draft. That’s June 24-25 in Buffalo.

As some managers predicted, they will be able to protect fewer players from potential expansion clubs than the last time. That was 2000, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild entered. The biggest change is there was an option to hold onto two goalies, although it meant protecting fewer skaters. That’s out. You can only hold on to one.

The choice is three defencemen and seven forwards OR eight skaters of any makeup. One expansion team means you can only lose one player. Two means two players. Anyone with fewer than three years of professional experience is exempt. You don’t have to worry about losing them.

We’re still waiting for clarity on no-move clauses. The official message was: we haven’t decided yet. But the managers think they know what’s coming.

continued plus 30 Thoughts....