New York Islanders Top 3 Expansion Draft Targets

The NHL Expansion Draft is just around the corner and the New York Islanders need to get ready to lose a player for nothing to Vegas. So who are the three likely Isles players to head to the desert?

The NHL Expansion draft will take place on June 21st. Where the new Vegas Golden Knights, led by former New York Islanders executive and Washington Capitals GM George McPhee, will take a single player from every team for free.

It’s the price to pay to get another team in the league along with their $500 million franchise fee and a portion of whatever other revenues they hopefully generate.

When it comes to the New York Islanders, like most teams a quality NHL’er is going to be up for grabs for the Golden Knights.

Expansion draft rules stipulate that the Islanders must protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender. Or any eight skaters and a single goaltender.

Teams also have to auto protect any player with a no-move clause. For the New York Islanders, that means John Tavares, Andrew Ladd and Johnny Boychuk are auto locks for protection.

That leaves either five forwards and two defensemen, or five other skaters. That leaves a slew of NHL ready players for the Golden Knights to take.

By my estimation the Isles will protect the following:

Forward                                          Defence                 Goaltender

John Tavares (No-movement clause)       Johnny Boychuk            Thomas Greiss
Andrew Ladd (No-movement clause)      Nick Leddy
Anders Lee                                                      Travis Hamonic
Josh Bailey                                                       Ryan Pulock

With that in mind here are the three best options for Vegas.