Forward Lee Stempniak is the player the Hurricanes are most likely to lose in the upcoming expansion draft." />
Courtesy of Carolina Hurricanes
Forward Lee Stempniak is the player the Hurricanes are most likely to lose in the upcoming expansion draft.
With the NHL expansion draft less than two weeks away, the day is fast approaching when each of the league’s existing 30 franchises will have to wave goodbye as one of its members heads off to the 31st and newest team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Carolina Hurricanes are no different, and one way or another will see a player who wore the sightless eye last season pack his bags and head to Sin City. It should be noted that Golden Knights general manager George McPhee will have a window before the draft to negotiate with pending unrestricted free agents from the other 30 teams, and, if he signs one, that counts as his selection from that team. However, the Hurricanes’ only UFA of note is forward Jay McClement, and it would be extremely unlikely Vegas would sign him as its selection from Carolina.
Last week, we took a look at the rules for the expansion draft and what they mean for the Canes. This week, we’ll take a look at the players, ranked from least likely to most likely, who could hear their name called by the Golden Knights June 21.
Klas Dahlbeck, defenseman- While Dahlbeck will be exposed by Carolina to satisfy the league’s requirement of leaving unprotected one defenseman who played either 40 games in 2016-17 or 70 games combined the last two seasons, it would be a surprise, to say the least, if he’s the one headed west.
Dahlbeck’s numbers with the Hurricanes last season, two goals, six points and a minus 12 rating in 43 games, are nothing to write home about. The Swede, prone to turnovers and defensive lapses that lead to goals against, is a third-pairing defenseman at best, and more suited to a depth role on a strong team. Vegas is required to take nine defensemen in the expansion draft, and will almost certainly have nine better options for filling out its blueline.
Ryan Murphy, defenseman- Murphy ranks ahead of Dahlbeck only because of his pedigree as a first-round pick, 12th overall in 2011. He has never come close to living up to that potential, however, and is rapidly earning the dreaded “bust” label if he hasn’t already.
The Ontario-born blueliner posted a mere two points with a minus 11 in 27 games for the Hurricanes last season. Murphy has been a nightmare defensively in his NHL career, and while he has posted good numbers in the minors, the offensive ability that convinced Carolina to pick him in the first round has never materialized at the big-league level. Vegas likely passes here as well.
Eddie Lack, goaltender- Lack is probably the player Carolina would most like to see Vegas take, but is also unlikely to be selected. With the team’s recent acquisition of Scott Darling, it has three goalies under contract for next season, Lack, Darling and Cam Ward. The expansion draft would seem to be a perfect avenue for trimming that number down to two.
Vegas, however, will, simply put, have better options in net. Lack has been dreadful in his two seasons as a Hurricane, posting a .902 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average in 2016-17, with worse numbers the year before. The Golden Knights could bank on him returning to the form he displayed earlier in his career with the Vancouver Canucks, but again, will have better, more reliable options. Philipp Grubauer of the Washington Capitals, Calvin Pickard of the Colorado Avalanche, James Reimer of the Florida Panthers and Antti Raanta of the New York Rangers are all more attractive choices than Lack. Francis could give Vegas a draft pick to entice the team to take the underperforming Swede; that’s almost certainly what it would take.
Cam Ward, goaltender- Ward’s numbers have also been poor the past two seasons, and he also ranks behind Vegas’ aforementioned options in net. He does, however, rank ahead of Lack, due to his better numbers the past two seasons, Stanley-Cup winning experience in 2006 and ability to provide a veteran presence in what is likely to be a young locker room. Like with Lack, however, if Ward is the player Francis wants Vegas to take, he will have to offer an incentive for the Golden Knights to do so.
Joakim Nordstrom- Vegas is, in all likelihood, going to take a forward from the Hurricanes. Nordstrom is the first of the exposed forwards, but also the least likely to be taken. He is a useful depth scorer and penalty killer, posting 12 points last season and logging regular minutes on the Canes’ sixth-ranked penalty kill unit.
Nordstrom’s ceiling, however, is that of a fourth-line forward. No disrespect to the former Stanley Cup Champion, but players of his skillset are a dime a dozen in today’s NHL. Vegas is likely to have better options to fill its forward ranks from the Hurricanes’ roster alone.
Brock McGinn/Phil Di Giuseppe, forwards- One of two similar young forwards that provide a touch of depth scoring and physicality to a bottom-six forward group could be an enticing option. If Vegas wants to go young up front, either would be a good choice. If Carolina elects to leave one of these two exposed in favor of protecting veteran Lee Stempniak, the one left unprotected would almost certainly be Vegas’ selection from the Hurricanes.
Lee Stempniak, forward- For a host of reasons, Stempniak is by far the most likely player on Carolina’s roster to be taken if he is exposed. The same qualities that would make him attractive to Vegas may lead the Canes to protect him, unless the team decides it wants to keep both its young forwards with potential, or bring in an upgrade at forward prior to submitting its protected list.
One of seven Hurricanes players to post at least 40 points last season, Stempniak provides useful secondary scoring in a second or third-line role. He is also a veteran of 17 NHL seasons, and could bring some leadership to a young Vegas room. He could even be a candidate for an alternate captain role in the Golden Knights’ inaugural season. Stempniak is also well-traveled. Vegas would be his 11th team, so there would be little doubt about him fitting into a new locker room again. On top of all that, Stempniak’s contract is up after next season, and he could net the Golden Knights an asset at the 2018 trade deadline in the likely event that they are out of playoff contention in their first season in the league.
Should the Hurricanes opt to leave Stempniak unprotected, he would seem to be the best option for the Golden Knights to poach from Carolina.
Next week, we’ll wrap up our pre-expansion draft coverage by looking at potential trade targets from teams that are in a bind as the main event approaches.