The NHL hasn’t held an expansion draft in five years; however, it appears expansion to 33, then 34, teams may be coming soon. Recent reports suggest the next expansion team could enter the league as soon as 2029-30. While a hypothetical expansion draft likely won’t be happening for another couple years, why not have some fun and look at a potential protection list for the 2026-27 Calgary Flames?
With the Flames in the middle of a rebuild, who would the organization keep around if an expansion draft were held in the next calendar year? Let’s take a look.
Expansion draft rules
Let’s assume the NHL keeps the expansion rules the same as in 2017 and 2021. Here’s a high-level refresher on how it works.
Roster protection list
Each team has the option to protect two different combinations of players. Below are the two options:
- Seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender
- Eight skaters—forwards or defencemen—and one goaltender.
For obvious reasons, the seven forward and three defenceman combination has been the dominant selection, with the eight skaters’ options being incredibly rare.
Expansion draft eligibility
Not every player in an organization is eligible to be selected, and therefore also doesn’t need to be protected. Below are the guidelines on expansion draft eligibility from PuckPedia:
If a player has three or more years of professional experience as of the end of the 2025–26 season, they are expansion eligible. Professional experience is defined in accordance with Waivers (CBA Section 13.4) as:
- If player was 20 or older as of Dec 31 of a season, any season with 1+ NHL, AHL, or ECHL GP counts as a year of professional experience.
- If player was less than 20 as of Dec 31 of a season, any season with 11+ NHL GP counts as a year of professional experience.
Exposed players
Based on the above guidelines, here are the most noteworthy players who would be eligible to be selected on the Flames roster if there were an expansion draft this summer:
| Forward | Defence | Goaltender |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Coronato | Simon Nemec | Dustin Wolf |
| Connor Zary | Zach Whitecloud | Dustin Cooley |
| Yegor Sharangovich | Kevin Bahl | |
| Ryan Strome | Joel Hanley | |
| Morgan Frost | Brayden Pachal | |
| Martin Pospisil | Yan Kuznetsov | |
| Joel Farabee | Jacob Middleton | |
| Adam Klapka | ||
| Rory Kerins | ||
| Maxim Tsyplakov | ||
| Brennan Othmann |
Unless the Flames asked them to waive their no-movement clauses as they did with Milan Lucic for the 2021 expansion draft, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund would both be protected by default due to their contracts. I can’t see the Flames asking either player to waive their no-move clause. Given that the Flames just don’t have many valuable players right now, there’s no need to create an awkward situation by asking a vet to expose themselves to expansion.
Given the current state of the roster, there are only a few players on the above list that would really hurt to lose.
Exempt players
Thankfully, the Flames do have a handful of exciting young players who, as of right now, would not be eligible for selection. Below are the most noteworthy names who have played pro hockey but would be protected due to a lack of experience. If the expansion draft were held, let’s say, in 2028, things would get very interesting, as most of these players would no longer be exempt.
| Forward | Defence | Goaltender |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Honzek | Zayne Parekh | Arseni Sergeyev |
| Matvei Gridin | Hunter Brzustewicz | |
| Aydar Suniev | Abram Wiebe | |
| William Stromgren | Axel Hurtig | |
| Sam Morton | ||
| Tyson Gross | ||
| Jonathan Castagna | ||
| Andrew Basha |
If one or multiple of the above players needed to be protected, it could’ve created some tough calls. For now, we won’t need to worry.
The protected list
With the above requirements in place and the list of players needing protection, here’s who I would protect if an expansion draft were to be held right now.
| Forward | Defence | Goaltender |
|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Huberdeau (NMC) | Simon Nemec | Dustin Wolf |
| Mikael Backlund (NMC) | Kevin Bahl | |
| Matt Coronato | Zach Whitecloud | |
| Connor Zary | ||
| Morgan Frost | ||
| Yegor Sharangovich | ||
| Joel Farabee |
This wasn’t exactly a tough list to put together. As mentioned above, the Flames don’t really have a ton of high-end talent in the NHL. In fact, I’d argue they don’t have any. This list was only difficult to put together because there were so few options to pick from. By the end, I was just plugging in names because I had to. Protect Joel Farabee? Sure, I guess.
Let’s get the obvious picks out of the way. Dustin Wolf is one of the most valuable young goaltenders in the NHL and the backbone of the Flames’ future. It was either him or Devin Cooley up for the spot. Easy choice every day of the week.
Defence
On defence, the picks are similarly very easy. With young guys Brzustewicz and Parekh not yet eligible for selection, the Flames really only have three current defencemen worth protecting. Simon Nemec was the the most obvious pick. The Flames paid a fortune for him and he’s still incredibly young. He’s a lock. Kevin Bahl was also an incredibly easy selection given his age and role on the team.
The final choice was the toughest. In the end, I went with Zach Whitecloud over Yan Kuznetsov. While Whitecloud is older, he’s also a much, much better player. Kuznetsov’s underlying results last season were dreadful, and I don’t see him as more than a bottom-pairing defender at best. Whitecloud is still a very valuable player and trade chip.
Forwards
At forward, the picks were very easy to make as well. After the two veterans, Coronato and Zary are obvious picks. Both are mid-20s first-round picks. In Coronato’s case, he’s already one of the team’s best forwards. Even if Zary has struggled of late and may want out, losing him for nothing would make zero sense.
The last three spots at forward were also pretty straightforward. With no more young talent left to protect, I protected the next three youngest players and the strongest trade chips on the roster. Those players are Frost, Farabee and Sharangovich.
In Sharangovich, the Flames have a late-20s forward on a rough contract, but with a history of 30-goal production. No one else in the remaining group has that upside. Frost and Farabee are both solid middle-six forwards and still hold some value around the league.
Who is left exposed?
With the above 11 players protected, here are the most noteworthy players who would be unprotected and up for grabs.
| Forward | Defence | Goaltender |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Klapka | Yan Kuznetsov | Devin Cooley |
| Martin Pospisil | Joel Hanley | |
| Ryan Strome | Brayden Pachal | |
| Maxim Tsyplakov | Jacob Middleton | |
| Brennan Othmann | ||
| Rory Kerins |
If I’m the made-up expansion team, I’m not exactly excited with my options when it comes time to pick a Flame. There is not a lot of upside with these selections. You’ve got a group of fringe NHL players, aging veterans, and a backup goalie.
The only interesting names on this list if I’m an expansion team are Martin Pospisil, Yan Kuznetsov, and Devin Cooley. Even then, there isn’t a whole lot of talent there. Maybe Pospisil can find his health again and get back to being a solid bottom-six pest? Kuznetsov has very limited upside, although a mid-20’s NHL defender with size could be a draw for a new franchise.
In the end I think Cooley would be the pick. The 29 year old was exceptional last year, but will never earn a starting role over Wolf. He could be a perfect low cost starting goaltender for a new franchise, with the hopes he’s able to replicate his 2025-26 results in a larger role.
Nothing to lose, for now
All said, it’s pretty unfortunate that NHL expansion isn’t happening this summer or next summer. With the Flames’ current state, they have basically nothing of value to lose in an expansion draft right now. That will almost certainly not be the case in a couple of years, when they have a plethora of young talent that will need protection in an expansion draft.
