With the NHL’s first Expansion Draft in 17 years right around the corner, Fear the Fin is going to do things a little differently. Instead of solely relying upon our crack writing staff to mock the draft, we’re going to also rely upon you, dear reader, as we introduce Fear the Fin’s Expansion Draft Extravaganza!

How It Works

Fear the Fin’s writers and readers will individually create protection lists for 29 of the league’s 30 teams.

Instead of assigning the Sharks to a single writer, we will conduct two separate, community-wide polls. The first will determine how many players the Sharks protect in our mock draft, and the second will determine which players are protected.

We’re still finalizing what the actual mock draft will look like, and will announce that when all of the protection lists are finalized..

What We Need From You

Every team but San Jose,  Carolina,  Dallas, Montreal, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay is up for grabs. You, dear reader, will have until 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday, June 7 to claim a team in the comments below. It’s first come, first serve, and all unclaimed teams will be divided up among the writing staff.

Once you claim a team, you will be responsible for creating its protected list using Cap Friendly’s handy Expansion Draft tool, and determining which players are exposed in our mock draft. You will then have until 11:59 PM PST on Sunday, June 11 to e-mail your protected list to fearthefin [at] gmail [dot] com. You’re also encouraged to write a Fanpost explaining your rationale behind your protection list.

It goes without saying, of course, that these lists should be made in good faith, and from the perspective of what’s best for the respective team. We’re looking forward to see what you guys come up with!