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NHL expansion draft: Revisiting the Hurricanes’ mock protection list post trade deadline

The NHL’s 2021 season has certainly been an unusual one. The schedule was shortened to 56 games, and each team is only playing games within the league’s restructured divisions, largely due to COVID travel restrictions in Canada.

It’s probably safe to expect the 2021-22 season to look a bit more normal, with one glaring exception: The league’s number of teams will once again grow, from 31 to 32, as the Seattle Kraken officially join the NHL’s ranks. That means that this offseason will include an expansion draft on July 21, in which former Hurricanes general manger Ron Francis will select one player from each existing NHL team (Vegas excepted) to fill out his roster.