NHL teams are on the clock to decide whom to protect, whom to expose.
The expansion draft is next week, so the deadline to submit protection lists is 5 p.m. Saturday. There’s a trade freeze that kicks in at 3 p.m. Saturday, and runs through 8 a.m. Thursday.
The deadline for Central Registry to approve and simultaneously distribute protections lists to NHL clubs is 10 a.m. Sunday. Vegas must submit expansion draft selections by 10 a.m. Wednesday, and the selections will be announced 8 p.m. that evening.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Wings general manager Ken Holland declined to name names, but did say the Wings will be using the 11-player formula, enabling then to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender (the other option is eight skaters and one goaltender).