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Oilers May Be Forced To Protect Ference In Expansion
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Matt Henderson
Jun 5, 2016, 11:18 EDTUpdated:
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Last night a report by Larry Brooks of the New York Post
surfaced with details about the Expansion Draft process. Over time we’ve heard
about many aspects of the draft before, but one new tidbit has raised alarms.
Edmonton might be about to take one in the teeth over Andrew Ference’s contract.
The former Captain of the Edmonton Oilers came to his
hometown in goodwill. He arrived ready to be a veteran presence on a team that
needed it. At the time of his arrival the management thought he could play on
the 2nd pairing and they gave him the security he was looking for on
what would likely be his final NHL contract.
Andrew Ference signed with the Oilers on a four year deal
with a No Movement Clause that would come to a close July 1st 2017.
That he would be named Captain upon his arrival is neither here nor there. That
he has now been ravaged by time and lost the step that still allowed him to be
an NHL player does matter.
The most important take-away from that is that if because
Ference needs surgery and may not be eligible to be bought out, then in June of
2017 he might still be an Oiler with a technically active NMC. You might see
where we’re going with this, because Larry Brooks appears to have come across some relevant information. This is directly from his article:
Second, Slap Shots has learned that rules for the 2017
expansion draft that will precede Las Vegas’ anticipated 2017-18 admission to
the league as its 31st franchise (“Done deal,” we’re told), will compel teams
to protect players with no-move clauses even if they or the contracts themselves
expire at the end of 2016-17.
This means if the expansion draft is held, say, on June 21,
2017, teams will be obligated to protect players who, a) would become
unrestricted free agents 10 days later; or, b) would be able to be waived or
traded 10 days later.
If the expansion process is not delayed past June of next
year, the Edmonton Oilers will be compelled to protect Andrew Ference should he
still be on the team.
As a reminder, Andrej Sekera is also sporting a NMC. This
means that if the team wanted to opt for the 7 Forward, 3 Defender, 1
Goaltender option then they will be forced to choose only one member of the
defense not named Sekera or Ference.
We would assume that name, today, would be Oscar Klefbom.
However, should the Oilers meaningfully address the defense, as they need to,
then that could mean the new player they spend important assets acquiring is
protected and it’s Klefbom who is exposed.
The Expansion Draft rules for eligibility, as I understand
them, are that anyone in their first or second year of NHL or AHL play are exempt. This would mean Nurse ought be exempt as a second year player at the
end of next season. If Expansion is delayed until 2018 then he will need to be
protected, but then at least Ference is off the books for sure. This still doesn’t help any player the Oilers add between now and then.
If Ference cannot be bought out this summer because of his
injury, then Edmonton might be relying on his voluntary retirement this year or
perhaps hopefully after next season but before the Draft occurs. If he does retire
officially before next season then he’s going to forego 3.25 million dollars in
salary. If the plan is he files official papers June 20th 2017
before a Draft June 21st 2017 then maybe this plan is too risky to rely on.
In any event, the NHL’s Expansion process appears to be preparing
to punish teams like Edmonton who were foolish enough to hand out NMCs to
players that weren’t part of their core. It’s not Andrew Ference’s fault he was
offered the contract he took, and I don’t blame him one iota for taking it. But
based on recent reports, the Oilers are going to be in a bad way if they can’t
get out from under it.
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