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Wild could lose Dumba, Staal or Scandella in Vegas expansion draft

Winnipeg Jets v Minnesota Wild

ST PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 15: Mark Scheifele #55 of the Winnipeg Jets shoots the puck adjacent Eric Staal #12, Devan Dubnyk #40 and Matt Dumba #24 of the Minnesota Wild during the third period of the game on October 15, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. Scheifele scored on the play. The Wild defeated the Jets 4-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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Look, every glance at a team’s available players for the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft comes with the caveat that there might be a “side deal” involved. Maybe tantalizing Player X won’t be on the table thanks to ... well, the expansion draft equivalent to bribery.

Even with that in mind, it’s difficult to imagine the Minnesota Wild getting through this process without losing a key asset.

GM Chuck Fletcher rightly said that, ultimately, the team will only lose one player. That’s about as positive a spin as one could provide, as the exposed list includes revitalized forward Eric Staal along with promising defensemen Mathew Dumba and Marco Scandella.

Fletcher opted to protect the likes of Jason Zucker (a Vegas native) and Jonas Brodin. Here’s the full list:

MINNESOTA WILD

Available
Brady Brassart (F)
Patrick Cannone (F)
Ryan Carter (F)
Kurtis Gabriel (F)
Martin Hanzal (F)
Erik Haula (F)
Zack Mitchell (F)
Jordan Schroeder (F)
Eric Staal (F)
Chris Stewart (F)
Ryan White (F)
Victor Bartley (D)
Matt Dumba (D)
Christian Folin (D)
Guillaume Gelinas (D)
Alexander Gudbranson (D)
Gustav Olofsson (D)
Nate Prosser (D)
Marco Scandella (D)
Mike Weber (D)
Johan Gustafsson (G)
Darcy Kuemper (G)
Alex Stalock (G)

Protected
Charlie Coyle (F)
Mikael Granlund (F)
Mikko Koivu (F)
Nino Niederreiter (F)
Zach Parise (F)
Jason Pominville (F)
Jason Zucker (F)
Jonas Brodin (D)
Jared Spurgeon (D)
Ryan Suter (D)
Devan Dubnyk (G)

As you can see, Fletcher wasn’t able to work anything out with the likes of Jason Pominville, one of several skaters carrying a no-movement clause. Erik Haula and Darcy Kuemper are also under-the-radar options for the Golden Knights.

For what it’s worth, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo reports that the Wild haven’t arranged a deal with the Golden Knights. Fletcher still has until Wednesday to whisper the right things in Vegas GM George McPhee’s ear, but at the moment, it sounds like the Wild will lose a substantial piece.

If it ends up being Dumba or Scandella, it will be fascinating to compare their value over the years compared to Jonas Brodin, a player they essentially chose to protect instead.