When Is The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft?

The NHL is expanding to Seattle for the 2021-22 season. When is the expansion draft? What does this mean for the NHL? Find out here.

NHL Expansion Draft Basics

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft will be the first expansion draft in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL). It will be held on July 21, 2021, with the Seattle Kraken selecting one player from each of the existing 31 NHL teams. The Kraken will select a total of 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders.

What is the NHL expansion draft?

An NHL expansion draft is a draft that is used to stock the rosters of newly created NHL teams. The most recent expansion draft was used to fill the rosters of the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken, who will begin play in the 2021-22 season. In an expansion draft, each existing NHL team is allowed to protect a certain number of players from being selected by the new team. The rest of the players on each team’s roster are eligible to be drafted by the new team.

What is the 2021 NHL expansion draft date?

The date for the 2021 NHL expansion draft has not been announced yet, but it is expected to be held in June or July 2021. This will be the first expansion draft since 2000, when the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers joined the league.

Here’s how it works: each of the existing 30 NHL teams will submit a list of 11 protected players – seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender – from which the draft’s new team, Seattle, can select one player.

The pool of unprotected players will be made up of unrestricted free agents (UFA) and restricted free agents (RFA) who do not meet the qualifications for protection, as well asunsigned draft picks.

NHL teams will also have the option to protect seven forwards, three defencemen and a goaltender OR eight skaters (forwards/defencemen) and one goaltender.

Players with no-movement clauses in their contract (NMC) must be protected unless they waive their clause.

Take a look at our expansion draft primer for more information on how it all works.

What is the 2021 NHL expansion draft format?

In late 2021, the NHL will add a 32nd team to the league, based in Seattle. In order to stock this new team with players, an expansion draft will be held. Each of the other 31 teams in the NHL will protect a certain number of players from being drafted by Seattle, and the expansion team will then choose a player from each team to fill out its roster.

The 2021 NHL expansion draft format has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be similar to the format used in 2017, when the Vegas Golden Knights joined the league. Under that format, each team was allowed to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, or eight skaters (forwards or defensemen) and one goaltender. Players who were signed to professional tryout contracts (PTOs) or two-way contracts were also eligible to be drafted.

It is not yet known how many players Seattle will be able to choose in the expansion draft, or what restrictions will be placed on which players they can select. However, it is likely that each team will lose at least one player in the draft.

What is the 2021 NHL expansion draft order?

In the 2021 NHL expansion draft, the Seattle Kraken will select one player from each of the existing NHL teams. The order of selection will be determined by a reverse-standings format, meaning the team with the fewest points in the 2020-21 regular season will select first overall and so on.

NHL Expansion Draft Rules

In order for the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken, to have a fair chance at building a competitive roster, the league will hold an expansion draft. In this draft, the Kraken will be allowed to select one player from each of the other 31 NHL teams. There are a few rules that the Kraken must follow, however. Let’s go over them.

Who is eligible for the NHL expansion draft?

Any player who is under contract for the 2021-22 season and has been with their current team for at least two seasons is eligible to be drafted by the Seattle Kraken.

Players who are set to become restricted or unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2020-21 season are also eligible to be selected in the expansion draft. However, teams will have the option to protect these players by extending a qualifying offer prior to the draft.

Players who have been designated as rookie or sophomore status by the NHL are exempt from the expansion draft.

What players are exempt from the NHL expansion draft?

NHL teams will have the option to protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and one goaltender or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender. If a team elects to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, they must expose two forwards and one defenseman.

How many players can be protected in the NHL expansion draft?

Teams are allowed to protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and one goaltender OR eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender.

How many players must be exposed in the NHL expansion draft?

In order for a team to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, or eight skaters and one goaltender, it must expose two forwards and one defenseman who are under contract for the 2021–22 season and have played 40 NHL games the previous season OR 70 NHL games cumulatively over the previous two seasons.

NHL Expansion Draft Process

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft will be the eighth expansion draft in league history and will be held on July 21, 2021. The draft will be conducted following the completion of the 2020–21 NHL season and prior to the start of the 2021–22 season. It will be held to fill the rosters of the Seattle Kraken, who will begin play in the 2021–22 season as the NHL’s 32nd team, and the seventh in the United States.

What is the NHL expansion draft protection list?

Before the expansion draft, each NHL team must submit a list of players that it protected from the draft. The list consists of two types of players:

1) Unrestricted free agents who have signed a contract with the team for the 2021-22 season and
2) Players with no-movement clauses in their contracts.

Teams must protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender. All first- and second-year professionals, as well as unsigned draft picks, are automatically exempt from the expansion draft and do not need to be protected by their respective teams.

What is the NHL expansion draft expansion list?

The NHL expansion draft is a process that allows new NHL teams to choose players from existing teams in order to build their rosters. In 2021, the Seattle Kraken will join the league as the 32nd team, and they will participate in an expansion draft in order to build their team.

Each team in the NHL is allowed to protect a certain number of players from being drafted by the Kraken. The exact number depends on the number of players each team has on its roster, as well as the number of veteran players each team has. Teams must also expose a certain number of players who are available to be drafted.

The expansion draft will take place over two days, with the first round of selections being made on June 21st and the second round on June 22nd. The Kraken will have 30 picks in total, one from each team except for Vegas, who joined the league in 2017 and are thus exempt from this expansion draft.

What is the NHL expansion draft trade window?

The NHL expansion draft is a process that allows the newest team in the league, the Seattle Kraken, to select players from existing teams in order to build their roster. In order to do this, each existing team must submit a list of protected players that they do not want the Kraken to select. From there, the Kraken will choose one player from each team’s unprotected list.

In order for a trade to be made during the expansion draft trade window, both the Kraken and the team they are looking to make a trade with must agree on the terms of the deal. Once a deal is agreed upon, it must then be submitted to and approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors.

The expansion draft trade window will open on June 18th and close on June 22nd at 10am ET.

NHL Expansion Draft Results

The 2021 NHL expansion draft is an event that will take place on July 21, 2021. It will be the first expansion draft in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL). The expansion draft will be used to fill the rosters of the Seattle Kraken and the TBD 32nd NHL team.

What was the result of the 2017 NHL expansion draft?

In the 2017 NHL expansion draft, the Vegas Golden Knights selected one player from each of the 30 NHL teams. They also selected 14 additional players in the expansion draft to reach the minimum requirement of 21 total players.

What was the result of the 2020 NHL expansion draft?

The result of the 2020 NHL expansion draft was that the Seattle Kraken selected 30 players from across the league, one from each team.