More than a few high-priced veterans have been asked by their clubs to waive their no-trade or no-movement clauses ahead of the NHL expansion draft. Most have acquiesced. One, however, has not.
NHL expansion draft rumors 2017: Dion Phaneuf reportedly refuses Senators request to waive NMC
Ottawa must now protect him and his massive cap hit.
Per reports by TSN insider Bob McKenzie, the Ottawa Senators asked defenseman Dion Phaneuf to waive his NMC this week. He, uh, well ...
The Senators will absolutely protect Erik Karlsson. Cody Ceci and Marc Methot are also likely candidates. If Phaneuf had agreed to expose himself in the draft, the decision would be a good fit for both Vegas and Ottawa’s salary cap crunch.
But now that he must be protected, Vegas can select either Chris Wideman or Mark Borowiecki. (Personally, Borowiecki doesn’t seem like a big loss. But the Senators love his leadership a whole lot even though he’s ... [whispers] not that good.)
Phaneuf, 32, is signed through 2020-21 at a $7 million cap hit. Karlsson, one of the best defensemen in the NHL, has a $6.5 million cap hit. That has no relevance to this story; everyone needs to be reminded of these things every once and awhile.
The truth is that Phaneuf isn’t a terrible defenseman. He still owns some offensive ability, is a “hard-to-play-against” guy teams drool over and is, by all accounts, a terrific leader on and off the ice. Vegas could use a guy like that as they begin.
But that cap hit, man ... no wonder Ottawa wanted to shed it. But now they can’t, and await the poaching at the expansion draft.
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