Personally, I don’t think they should have simply because I don’t think there was any chance Las Vegas would have taken on his contract which is $7.5 million for another three years.
Maybe that contract makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but an expansion team? Not a chance. There was a zero percent chance that, if left exposed, Martin would have been selected.
Then why protect him? Simple. He’s a leader on this team and a big part of their group. To leave him exposed would be to embarrass him and that isn’t worth protecting a player you might not even use if you kept.