Expansion draft protection lists are due Saturday, July 17 and the Ducks are at risk of losing another quality player. Just like they lost Clayton Stoner back in 2017. Haven't heard of him? That's okay. The Ducks traded Shea Theodore, in exchange for Vegas selecting Stoner. This was done to ensure that exposed players Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen, core pieces to the Ducks' future, were not selected by Vegas. Theodore was splitting time between the NHL and AHL for the two seasons prior, and it looked like the offensive defenceman couldn't translate his game to the big league. Stoner was a depth piece that had been regressing for the last few seasons. Seemingly not big losses.

However, things took a dark turn when Vatanen was traded a few months later and Theodore was in the process of putting up career numbers on a surprisingly successful Vegas team. Anaheim messed up big time. But at least Josh Manson is still a big part of the team (and also likely protected this go-round).

The Ducks won't make the same mistakes this time. They will protect their best players and pray that Seattle takes mercy on the league's 2nd worst team this past season. There also are not projected to be any side deals. Thankfully, the Ducks are a young team and have a good amount of key pieces that are exempt from the wrath of the Kraken.

Below is The Quack Report's projected expansion list. For an in-depth discussion on this, check out Episode 54 of The Quack Report on your favourite podcast platform!

Forwards:
Adam Henrique
Jakob Silfverberg
Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen
Troy Terry
Isac Lundeström
Max Jones

Defencemen:
Cam Fowler
Hampus Lindholm
Josh Manson

Goaltender:
John Gibson

​Be sure to follow @QuackReportPod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Presented by DraftKings.com - Use Promo Code THPN at signup for exclusive offers!

While the NHL's best teams are battling it out for the Stanley Cup, somewhere in the league's basement, two GMs are trying to work out a deal to give a franchise player a new home. Jack Eichel is on the move and Anaheim is one of the frontrunners to acquire him. 

Obviously the deal isn't done yet, but it sounds like the LA Kings are officially out of the Jack Eichel sweepstakes. All that remains are Anaheim and Columbus. However, Buffalo would prefer to get Eichel as far away from Buffalo as possible (and I'm sure Jack feels the same way), so Anaheim seems like the likely landing spot. That is, for the right price...

Buffalo wants another high first round pick, which means a deal doesn't happen unless it includes the words "3rd overall pick". But to me, that's worth it for an elite scoring talent! That's something the Ducks have been missing for the last couple seaspns. However, we won't get off that easily. Buffalo will probably want a couple of other players/assets to add to their Swiss cheese roster. But what does that mean? Do the Ducks sell high after Max Comtois' career year? Do we still need Trevor Zegras if we're getting Eichel? Is Jamie Drysdale a surplus piece that we could afford to get rid of?

​Jack Eichel would be nice, but I don't think I'll like what it costs.

Check out the latest episode of The Quack Report wherever you get your podcasts for answers to all this and more! And be sure to follow @QuackReportPod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Presented by DraftKings.com - Use Promo Code THPN at signup for exclusive offers!