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Chicago Blackhawks: Who was made available for Vegas Golden Knights in expansion draft?

By Josh Marshall

Feb 4, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger (16) in action against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeat the Stars 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger (16) in action against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeat the Stars 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NHL has announced a list of all players made available for the Vegas Golden Knights during the expansion draft. Which Chicago Blackhawks’ players are available to be drafted?

The Chicago Blackhawks will be losing a player within the next couple days as the Vegas Golden Knights have until Wednesday morning to make their picks for the expansion draft. Sunday morning the NHL made public all the players saved by teams along with players who are available for the draft.

The Blackhawks list of available players are:

A couple shockers from this list are, Marcus Kruger and Ville Pokka. Rumors for the past few months have stated the Hawks would most likely decide to save Pokka however that turned out to be false.

Pokka is an exceptional talent that the Hawks would hate to lose. Kruger is also a talent the Hawks would prefer to keep. However, his contract is probably the main reason he has been made available and it may help the Blackhawks out if Vegas takes him.

With that said, the Blackhawks have saved the following players:

  1. Artem Anisimov
  2. Ryan Hartman
  3. Marian Hossa
  4. Patrick Kane
  5. Tomas Jurco
  6. Richard Panik
  7. Jonathan Toews
  8. Niklas Hjalmarsson
  9. Duncan Keith
  10. Brent Seabrook
  11. Corey Crawford

Most players have been saved under their no movement clause.

It will be interesting to see who the Knights will choose from the Blackhawks. If I were a betting man, I would say either Kruger or Pokka but you never know what will happen. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk could be a sleeper selection for the Knights from the Chicago Blackhawks’ pool of players.

There is a really deep talent of players that are available from each team and there are some star-level players that teams made available. Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stands out as the likely face of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise, as he was left unprotected by the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.

Next: Blackhawks: Stan Bowman promises change

The list of players drafted by Vegas will be made public on Wednesday night during the NHL awards and can be watched live on NBCSN at 8 pm ET.

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