Minnesota Wild Might be Forced to Expose Dubnyk in Expansion Draft

Due to the rules of the upcoming expansion draft the Wild could find themselves being forced to leave a huge piece of their roster unprotected. With lack of another viable option, the Wild may have no choice but to leave Devan Dubnyk exposed to being selected by the new Las Vegas franchise.

We’ve talked about it before, next offseason will have a large injection of craziness due to the expansion draft to fill the roster of the new NHL franchise in Las Vegas. The Minnesota Wild will have some tough choices for sure, and a second glance at the roster and the protection rules finds an issue that will need attention over the course of the season at some point. The issue is that right now as the roster stands, the Wild will not be able to protect goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

Per rules of the expansion draft the Wild and the other NHL franchises must expose one goaltender who is under contract in 2017-18 or will be a restricted free agent at the expiration of his current contract immediately prior to 2017-18. Due to Darcy Kuemper being a UFA next offseason, he will be ineligible to fill this exposed goaltender spot. That leaves Dubnyk as the lone NHL goaltender.

At first glance you might say well just promote one of the minor league goaltenders to the NHL roster and the Wild can protect Dubnyk and expose the promoted goaltender. Alex Stalock is in the same boat as Kuemper because he’s only signed to this season right now and will be a UFA in the offseason and therefore can’t be exposed.

Promoting one of the younger netmidners like Adam Vay or Steve Michalek to the NHL roster just to expose them that seems logical, but the expansion rules exempt all first- and second-year professionals, as well as all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection. That takes Vay and Michalek out of the mix.

Apr 16, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) faces the Dallas Stars attack in game two of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Wild 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

All the Wild have to expose is Dubnyk. So does the team do nothing and hope Las Vegas takes another player? That’s hard to say, but with the Wild having no other current option to expose a goaltender and it seems like a course of action they might not be able to afford to lose Dubnyk.

It is a real possibility that Las Vegas could see Dubnyk as someone they’d take. Most teams will be able to protect their starter and offer up their back-up as the exposed goaltender. So it’s conceivable that Dubnyk would be the most experienced and capable starting goaltender available to Las Vegas. Add to that Dubnyk’s cap hit of $4.33 million is manageable and he’ll have three more seasons left on his deal, he looks like a great piece for Las Vegas GM George McPhee stabilize his net for those crucial first couple of years.