CBJ Expansion List Revealed

COLUMBUS, OH - The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced their expansion draft protection list, and while a majority of names are expected, the Jackets may surprise some teams with a few names being left exposed. First, a quick overview of the Columbus protection list:

PROTECTED FORWARDS: Patrick Kane, MIka Zibanejad, Max Pacioretty, Nazem Kadri, Andrei Svechnikov, Tage Thompson, and Nick Paul

PROTECTED DEFENSE: Alex Pietrangelo, Jonas Brodin, and Jake Bean

PROTECTED GOALTENDER: Craig Anderson

Notable names left exposed: Zach Hyman, Adam Lowry, Zach-Aston Reese, Alex Barre-Boulet Colin Miller

First off, it’s worth mentioning the Blue Jackets were lucky enough to have their young star defenseman Quinn Hughes be exempt from the expansion draft. That allowed them to protect one of Jonas Brodin or Jake Bean, who the team would have had a difficult decision on who to protect had they needed to spend a protection slot on Hughes. Elvis Merzlikins also fell into the category of exempt which allowed the Jackets to protect Craig Anderson, a free agent signing from last season that the team envisions as their backup netminder next season. Gabe Vilardi is the other player worth mentioning who was granted exemption status, perhaps the only situation where Vilardi’s back issues have come as a benefit to this point in his young career. 

Top six players like Kane, Zibanejad, Pacioretty, Svechnikov, Kadri are obvious locks to be protected in an expansion draft situation like this. Same can be said for top four defenders like Alex Pietrangelo and Jonas Brodin. Tage Thompson is someone likely pegged to have been exposed before the start of the season, but Thompson broke out once placed at his natural position of center with the Buffalo Sabres, and is certainly deserving of protection. Jake Bean is finally getting a shot at the NHL level and the Blue Jackets would like to see what his future holds in the organization. The one name that you might say sticks out is Nick Paul, a longtime bottom six fixture in Ottawa before being dealt at the deadline to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Paul has shown some offensive flashes at times, but most importantly has the luxury of RFA status. That team control is ultimately why the Jackets chose to protect him with their final forward slot over some of their other deserving players.  

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Jackets is the decision to leave Zach Hyman unprotected. Hyman is coming off a productive year in Edmonton which saw him post career highs in both goals and assists, putting up 27 each for another career high of 54 points. The Jackets would love to keep Hyman on their squad as he’s a offensively capable checking forward with decent passing and scoring stats who can play up and down their lineup on a very affordable $3.6m contract. However Hyman only has one year left on his deal before reaching unrestricted free agency and the Columbus team has many hard decisions coming up in next years contract discussions as several of the team’s star players will need new contracts as UFA players. 

Of course this list is announced well before the deadline of June 18th, and with trades reopening at midnight the Blue Jackets will look to explore some trade options that could possibly add or subtract from their current expansion list as currently constructed.