The Columbus Blue Jackets officially have one less player to protect. In what all were predicting would happen, David Clarkson has been officially exempt from the NHL Expansion Draft.
In a tweet from ESPN’s Craig Custance, Clarkson was one of many players with long term injuries and NMC listed as exempt. All others were in similar situations as Clarkson.
The NHL sent a memo to teams today declaring a list of players exempt from the expansion draft as agreed upon w/NHLPA. Full list: pic.twitter.com/xanQ1PS0QX
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) May 2, 2017
Clarkson has been suffering from a chronic back injury that has effectively ended his NHL career.