Wild to submit protection list ahead of Seattle expansion draft

The Wild cut two players from its roster earlier this week, and the team is soon going to lose another option.

Seattle will debut next season as the NHL's 32nd franchise, and the Kraken will select its team on Wednesday during a televised expansion draft.

Before then, the other teams around the league except Vegas will decide which players to protect from Seattle. Those lists are due Saturday, and they're expected to be made public on Sunday.

"There's a lot of planning involved and a lot of strategizing," Wild General Manager Bill Guerin said.

After the team revealed it was buying out the remaining contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter on Tuesday, the decision created two openings on the Wild's protection list.

Players with no-movement clauses in their contracts have to be protected unless they agreed to waive them, and Parise and Suter had those clauses in their deals. Their spots can now be devoted to the likes of Matt Dumba and Nico Sturm, two players who were probably on the outside looking in with Parise and Suter in the mix.

But the Wild could still be in danger of losing a defenseman, possibly Carson Soucy, or maybe goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.

Like in 2017 when the Golden Knights were introduced, teams have two possibilities for protecting players from the expansion draft.

They can shield seven forwards, three defenseman and a goalie or eight skaters and a goalie. First- and second-year pros along with unsigned draft picks are exempt from the process.

Teams must expose a goalie signed for next season (or one who's a restricted free agent) and at least one defenseman and two forwards under contract who played in at least 27 games last season or a minimum of 54 games the previous two seasons combined.

If the Kraken signs a team's free agent, that will count as that team's selection. Seattle will have an exclusive opportunity starting Sunday to negotiate with unprotected free agents.

The Kraken will draft 30 players, a group that must include at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies; a minimum of 20 players must be under contract for a combined value that equals at least 60 percent of last season's $81.5 million salary cap. Vegas, as part of its expansion agreement, won't participate in the Seattle draft.

Last time, the Wild went the 7-3-1 route with its protection list and that setup makes sense once again.

Captain Jared Spurgeon, defenseman Jonas Brodin and forward Mats Zuccarello have no-movement clauses, but the Wild has room to protect them and most of its other roster regulars.

With its seven forward spots, the Wild can put Zuccarello, Sturm, Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman on its protection list. Remember, a player coming off his first season like Kirill Kaprizov is exempt and doesn't need to be protected.

That would leave Nick Bjugstad, whom the Wild re-signed earlier this month, and Victor Rask vulnerable, and both meet the exposure requirements. Nick Bonino and Marcus Johansson are pending free agents.

On defense, the Wild can protect Spurgeon, Brodin and Dumba; Soucy fills the exposure condition. Ian Cole and Brad Hunt are soon-to-be free agents.

At goalie, Cam Talbot as the team's starter could get the security over Kahkonen even though Kahkonen's been progressing as a future No.1 candidate for the Wild.

Although the team cut a deal with the Golden Knights in 2017, sending them Alex Tuch so they would sign Erik Haula and avoid the players the Wild couldn't protect, the Wild probably doesn't need to do the same maneuvering this go-around.

Because of the flexibility it gained with the Parise and Suter buyouts, the team has space to protect a key player like Dumba – whom the Wild kept from Vegas with the Tuch trade.

Still, Seattle will subtract someone from the Wild's orbit.

And that loss could determine the Wild's next move this offseason.

"We're going to do what we have to do to protect everybody we want to and can and are able to," Guerin said.