HabsWorld.net --
The NHL announced the protection lists for all 30 teams in advance of Wednesday’s Vegas Expansion Draft. Here is what Montreal’s list looks like.
Protected
Goalie (1)
Carey Price (NMC)
Defence (3)
Jordie Benn, Jeff Petry (NMC), Shea Weber
Forwards (7)
Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw
Unprotected
Goalie (1)
Al Montoya
Defence (7)
Brandon Davidson, Alexei Emelin, Keegan Lowe, Andrei Markov (UFA), Nikita Nesterov, Zach Redmond, Dalton Thrower
Forwards (15)
Daniel Carr, Connor Crisp, Jacob de la Rose, Bobby Farnham (UFA), Max Friberg, Brian Flynn (UFA), Charles Hudon, Dwight King (UFA), Stefan Matteau, Torrey Mitchell, Joonas Nattinen, Steve Ott, Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Radulov (UFA), Chris Terry
Notable Exemptions
Goalies
Zach Fucale, Charlie Lindgren
Defence
Jakub Jerabek, Brett Lernout
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen, Michael McCarron, Nikita Scherbak
The Golden Knights now have exclusive negotiating rights to all free agent players through 10 AM EST on Wednesday when they must submit their picks to the league. The picks will be announced during the NHL Awards on Wednesday night. The trade/roster freeze is in effect until Thursday at 8 AM EST although teams can still make agreements with Vegas during that time.