1998 NHL Expansion Draft

The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was held in on June 26, 1998. The draft took place to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1998–99 season, the Nashville Predators.

1998 NHL Expansion Draft
General information
Date(s)June 26, 1998
LocationBuffalo, New York
Overview
26 total selections
LeagueNational Hockey League
Expansion teamNashville Predators

Rules

The Predators were to select 26 players, one from each of the 26 existing franchises at the time of the draft.

First- and second-year pros were exempt from being selected in the draft. Each of the 26 franchises in the league were allowed to protect either one goaltender, five defensemen and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen and seven forwards.

Of the unprotected players, each franchise had to include at least one forward and one defenseman who appeared in 40 games in the 1997–98 season. Each franchise also had to include at least one goaltender who appeared in 10 games in the 1997–98 season, and a minimum of 25 games since the 1995–96 season. These minimums for goaltenders were put into place in order to avoid manipulation of rosters, such as what occurred before the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, which weakened the talent pool available in the draft.

This draft was interesting in that some of the players the Predators chose (e.g. Mike Richter and Uwe Krupp) were set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, just days after the draft. The Predators knew they would have little chance to sign these players; however, they received a compensatory pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for each player they "lost".

Draft results

These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Predators were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential.

# Player Drafted from
1.Frederic Chabot (G)Los Angeles Kings
2.Mike Dunham (G)New Jersey Devils
3.Mike Richter (G)New York Rangers
4.Mikhail Shtalenkov (G)Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
5.Tomas Vokoun (G)Montreal Canadiens
6.Joel Bouchard (D)Calgary Flames
7.Bob Boughner (D)Buffalo Sabres
8.J. J. Daigneault (D)New York Islanders
9.Al Iafrate (D)San Jose Sharks
10.Uwe Krupp (D)Colorado Avalanche
11.John Slaney (D)Phoenix Coyotes
12.Rob Zettler (D)Toronto Maple Leafs
13.Chris Armstrong (D)Florida Panthers
14.Blair Atcheynum (RW)St. Louis Blues
15.Paul Brousseau (F)Tampa Bay Lightning
16.Doug Brown (RW)Detroit Red Wings
17.Andrew Brunette (LW)Washington Capitals
18.Patrick Cote (LW)Dallas Stars
19.Jeff Daniels (LW)Carolina Hurricanes
20.Craig Darby (C)Philadelphia Flyers
21.Doug Friedman (LW)Edmonton Oilers
22.Tony Hrkac (C)Pittsburgh Penguins
23.Greg Johnson (C)Chicago Blackhawks
24.Denny Lambert (LW)Ottawa Senators
25.Mike Sullivan (C)Boston Bruins
26.Scott Walker (RW)Vancouver Canucks

Deals

In return for agreeing not to select certain unprotected players, the Predators were granted concessions by other franchises. The trades not involving Nashville draft picks all officially were booked as being for "future considerations":

Post-draft

Several of the players selected by the Predators in the Expansion Draft did not stay with the team long after the draft. Among those moved before the start of the 1998–99 season were the following:

  • Mike Sullivan (traded to Phoenix for a pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft on June 30, 1998)
  • Uwe Krupp (signed by Detroit on July 7, 1998)
  • Tony Hrkac (traded to Dallas for future considerations on July 9, 1998)
  • Doug Brown (traded to Detroit for Petr Sykora, a pick in the 1999 draft, and future considerations on July 14, 1998)
  • Mike Richter (signed by the New York Rangers on July 15, 1998)
  • Frederic Chabot (claimed off waivers by Montreal on July 20, 1998)
  • Mikhail Shtalenkov (traded along with Jim Dowd to Edmonton for Eric Fichaud, Drake Berehowsky and Greg de Vries on October 1, 1998)
  • Al Iafrate (retired before the season began)
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See also

References
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