Agree re 7/3/1. But after Hayes, Ghost and Voracek are our next worst two contracts. I’d be happy as a clam if one of them got drafted, but seriously doubt that happens.

I bet we lose one of Aube-Kubel, Hagg, Patrick or Lindblom.

I’d also like to see Hagg stay, although under the 7/3 format, I’m not quite to the point where I would suggest protecting Hagg over Myers, but Myers has raised more questions than answers this year. But since he is a RH, I think he makes the list while Hagg does not.

I just don’t see how they can go the 8 skater route. I assume you advocate it so they can protect 4 defensemen (including Hagg but NOT Ghost). But that just leaves 4 forwards, two of whom have to be Giroux and Hayes, leaving just 2 others. One has to be Couturier, then after that I think my last protected forward would be Laughton and hope that Konecny at > $5 million gets passed up.

Nolan Patrick was brought up to the NHL a year too soon. He was a skinny kid who was coming off of an injury and he needed to get his game back by playing another year of junior hockey. He is almost invisible on the ice, most of the time. I don’t know if I would protect him in the Seattle expansion draft. I would actually rather protect Robert Hagg using the 8 skater format, rather than protect 7 forwards/3 defensemen. Gregg Lorenz, Bucks County Pa

He shows tremendous flashes of skill, speed and physicality, but they are only flashes. More often he seems slow, careless with the puck and disinterested.

The only way I can see protecting him is if they expose someone who would probably get drafted (Aube-Kubel), or to take a chance losing a higher dollar contract like Lindblom or even Konecny.