With the incoming Las Vegas Knights entering the league for the 2017-18 season, next Wednesday's expansion draft is a major date circled on the NHL calendar in which every NHL franchise will lose one unprotected player from their roster.
EXPANSION DRAFT OPTIONS
Flyers will use 7-3-1 protection format, per Hexy.
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) June 16, 2017
This will leave the Flyers with using the third and final defensive slot to protect either Brandon Manning or Andy MacDonald. Given that Manning enters 2017-18 with one year left on his deal at a cap hit under 1 million, logically the Flyers will let MacDonald be exposed to the Knights along with his contract of 3 more years at a cap hit of 5 million dollars.
NHL ENTRY DRAFT
Now with this divine selection the Flyers will have the pick of either of the consensus top two selections in Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick.
Disappointingly, the New Jersey Devils are directly in front of the Flyers selecting at one because of their own miraculous leap from the five to one. Whoever the Devils don't take, the Flyers will have zero problems in snatching up whoever is left on the board. Both Patrick and Hischier are both considered the only players in the draft with franchise potential, with both players being neck in neck in the prospect rankings for top prospect.
Craig Button on TSN 1040: "I think that there's very little difference between Cody Glass, Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick."#Canucks
— Canucks Mobile (@CanucksMobile) June 15, 2017
With the Flyers being on the upswing in terms of young talent finally knocking on the NHL roster's doorstep, this off-season gives fans a lot to look forward to. Finally, after years of having nothing to look forward to in the terms of young talent while always having to supplement the roster through trades, the Flyers should have a slew of rookies on their opening day roster to add to their dynamic young guns in Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, & Travis Konecny.