Today the list of players the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be exposing in the 2017 expansion draft was released. Before we get to them, let’s make sure we know which players were protected from the draft because they hadn’t played enough NHL seasons.
Players exempt from expansion draft
| PLAYER | AGE | POS | CAP HIT | EXPIRY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Horton | 32 | RW | $5,300,000 | UFA (2020) |
| Auston Matthews | 19 | C | $925,000 | RFA (2019) |
| Carl Grundstrom | 19 | LW | $925,000 | RFA (2020) |
| Trevor Moore | 22 | LW | $925,000 | RFA (2019) |
| Miro Aaltonen | 24 | C | $925,000 | RFA (2018) |
| Mitch Marner | 20 | C | $894,167 | RFA (2019) |
| William Nylander | 21 | C | $894,167 | RFA (2018) |
| Frederik Gauthier | 22 | C | $863,333 | RFA (2018) |
| Kasperi Kapanen | 20 | RW | $863,333 | RFA (2019) |
| Jeremy Bracco | 20 | RW | $842,500 | RFA (2020) |
| Andreas Johnson | 22 | LW | $750,833 | RFA (2018) |
| Nikita Soshnikov | 23 | RW | $736,667 | RFA (2018) |
| Tobias Lindstrom | 21 | LW | $693,333 | RFA (2018) |
| Dmytro Timashov | 20 | LW | $693,333 | RFA (2020) |
| Sergeri Kalinen | 26 | RW | $800,000 | RFA (2017) |
| Zach Hyman | 25 | C | $900,000 | RFA (2017) |
| Nikita Zaitsev | 25 | D | $4,500,000 | UFA (2024) |
| Calle Rosen | 23 | D | $925,000 | RFA (2019) |
| Andreas Borgman | 22 | D | $925,000 | RFA (2019) |
| Travis Dermott | 20 | D | $863,333 | RFA (2020) |
| Rinat Valiev | 22 | D | $778,333 | RFA (2018) |
| Andrew Nielsen | 20 | D | $697,500 | RFA (2020) |
| Justin Holl | 25 | D | $742,500 | RFA (2017) |
| Ksimir Kasiksuo | 23 | G | $925,000 | RFA (2018) |
So you can see it’s at least half the Leafs line up, which, go Maple Leafs.
Now, for the big reveal. Here are the players the Toronto Maple Leafs put on their protection list. Hands off Vegas!
Protected players
| Player | Age | Position | Cap Hit | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nazem Kadri | 26 | C | $4,500,000 | UFA (2022) |
| James Van Riemsdyk | 28 | LW | $4,250,000 | UFA (2018) |
| Tyler Bozak | 31 | C | $4,200,000 | UFA (2018) |
| Leo Komarov | 30 | C | $2,950,000 | UFA (2018) |
| Matt Martin | 28 | LW | $2,500,000 | UFA (2020) |
| Connor Brown | 23 | RW | $686,667 | RFA (2017) |
| Josh Leivo | 24 | LW | $612,500 | RFA (2018) |
| Morgan Rielly | 23 | D | $5,000,000 | UFA (2022) |
| Jake Gardiner | 26 | D | $4,050,000 | UFA (2019) |
| Connor Carrick | 23 | D | $750,000 | RFA (2018) |
| Frederik Andersen | 27 | G | $5,000,000 | UFA (2021) |
There you go Leafs fans. Which of these players would you have exposed?
Let us know, and you can check out the list of exposed players here.
Who on this list would you have exposed?
| Nazem Kadri | 54 |
| James van Riemsdyk | 32 |
| Tyler Bozak | 74 |
| Leo Komarov | 66 |
| Matt Martin | 1039 |
| Josh Leivo | 352 |
| Connor Brown | 22 |
| Connor Carrick | 168 |
| Morgan Rielly | 10 |
| Jake Gardiner | 59 |
| Frederik Andersen | 34 |