With the start of July 2021 comes the end of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals and the start of plenty of offseason excitement. The Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, the Entry Draft and, of course, the start of free agency are all events to look forward to. Let’s take a look at what the month of July holds for hockey fans.
Stanley Cup Finals
The beginning of July brings the culmination of the playoffs in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning are this year’s finalists. The series is currently 2-0 in favor of the Lightning. Game three will take place on July 2, game four on July 5 and game five on July 7. If necessary, game six will be played on July 9 and game seven on July 11. No matter which team wins, hockey fans can look forward to entertaining celebration content. End-of-season press conferences, behind-the-scenes footage from the series and social media content will likely be available.
The Expansion Draft and the Entry Draft
The Seattle Kraken will become the NHL’s 32nd franchise starting in the 2021-2022 season. As the Vegas Golden Knights did at the start of their franchise, the Kraken will conduct an expansion draft to form their team. The 2021 Expansion Draft is scheduled for July 21 at 8:00 pm EST.
This year’s expansion draft rules are the same as the 2017 expansion draft rules. Teams may protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or a total of eight skaters and one goalie. The Kraken may pick one unprotected player from every team, except the Golden Knights. They must select 14 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders. A full explanation of the rules can be found here.
The first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is set for July 23 at 8:00 pm EST. The second through seventh rounds of the draft will take place on the 24th at 11:00 am. This year’s draft is different from most years in its primarily virtual setting. While the location is different, the speculation and excitement around the draft picks remain the same. If you are interested in draft projections or prospects, a guide to the draft is available here.
Aside from marking the start of a new franchise and new player careers, the two drafts also begin the NHL’s broadcast agreement with ESPN. The Expansion Draft will air on ESPN2 in the US and Sportsnet and SN NOW in Canada. The first round of the Entry Draft will air on the same channels. The second through seventh rounds will be available on NHL Network, Sportsnet and SN NOW. Here are more details about the NHL’s agreement with ESPN and the ESPN broadcast team can be found here.
Trades and Free Agents
There are some big hockey names floating around the trade speculation stations this offseason. Players like Jack Eichel, Evgeny Kuznetzov and Vladimir Tarasenko are all rumored to be on the table for trades. However, the asking price for these players is not cheap. The Buffalo Sabres, for example, are rumored to be asking a top-six under 25-year-old center, a top-four under 25-year-old defenseman, a first-round pick and various prospects, for Jack Eichel.
With the high trade demands for certain players, some teams could see a drastic reorganization. Especially with the Expansion Draft already taking a player from each team, fans of trade-interested teams should prepare to see players leave. If you are interested, here is a website that tracks trades and trade rumors throughout the NHL.
The free-agent market is also booming this offseason. The start of free agency this year is July 28th at 10:00 am MT. Star players like Alexander Ovechkin, Taylor Hall and Dougie Hamilton will all become unrestricted free agents if they do not re-sign with their teams. The restricted free agent pool is also strong, with players like Andrei Svechnikov, Elias Pettersson and Cale Makar all needing new contracts. A full list of restricted and unrestricted free agents can be found here. Combined with the rumored trades and the expansion draft, free agents will add another level of excitement (or stress) for hockey fans this July.