Calgary Flames: Updated Protected List for the Expansion Draft

With teams having to submit their protected list in about half an hour, we may have clear knowledge about the Calgary Flames official protected list.

The protected lists won’t be released until tomorrow, but don’t worry, we got you all covered here at Flame for Thought. Teams have until 5pm EST (so in like half an hour) to submit their protected list for the expansion draft. Then those lists will be revealed tomorrow morning. Many Calgary Flames fans already had a pretty good feeling of who would be on those lists. But so many things were happening today! We now have a clearer picture of who’s protected and who isn’t.

Each team gets to protect seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender. Or, they can go with 10 skaters and one goaltender. But many people already somewhat knew that the Flames would go with the 7,3, and 1 method. Then it was confirmed by GM Brad Treliving that that’s the route they were going with.

This is who many Flames fans and analysts assumed would be the protected list:

Forwards

• Johnny Gaudreau
• Sean Monahan
• Micheal Ferland
• Mikael Backlund
• Michael Frolik
• Sam Bennett
• Curtis Lazar

Defencemen

• Mark Giordano
• Dougie Hamilton
• T.J. Brodie

Goalie

• ?????

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Of course, both of the Calgary Flames goaltenders would be UFA’s this off-season and unless re-signed by Calgary, they wouldn’t get protected. So unless the Flames signed a goaltender, then there would be no protected goalie.

However earlier this afternoon, it was officially announced that the Flames have acquired G Mike Smith from the Arizona Coyotes in a trade. More details about that trade here. So now we know about a protected goalie.

But there was slightly another issue: earlier this week, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector released an article about the Flames Expansion Draft Preview. Something that many Flames fans didn’t agree with. And rightfully so. Instead of protecting Ferland, he said the Flames should protect Troy Brouwer, leave Ferland exposed, then Vegas would most likely take Ferland.

I mean, no offence, but in what world would the Flames leave Ferland exposed over Brouwer?

Via Sportsnet:

After that, the seventh protected Flames forward comes down to two big wingers: the veteran Brouwer and Micheal Ferland, who is less accomplished but also seven years younger.Treliving signed Brouwer to a four-year, $18 million deal with a no-trade component only last summer. Brouwer under-achieved in the first year of that deal, but leaving him exposed could cause a rift between player and team, if Vegas did not select Brouwer.

Basically what he’s saying, when it comes down to it, the Flames would protect Brouwer over Ferland to not hurt Brouwer’s feelings.

Yeah, no.

Brouwer is a big boy, he can handle his feelings getting hurt. Plus, it’s a business. He knows he’s on an expensive contract and knows that he completely under-performed this past season. Flames fans knew in no way Brouwer would be protected over Ferland. Well, always listen to your guts people, because we were right.

Sportsnet’s Eric Francis released this just minutes ago:

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So, unless Eric Francis is lying to us or is just plain wrong, we can all assume that Brouwer will not be protected. But I mean, we all sort of knew that anyways, right?