Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press on who may be exposed by the Wings for the Seattle expansion draft,
In addition to Panik and Nielsen, that also leaves exposed Vladislav Namestnikov. Yzerman signed him last fall for two years, $4 million, and Namestnikov delivered 17 points and a minus-5 rating in 53 games. If he were to be protected, it would bump Smith off the list, and though Smith has played just 37 career games, he’s shown he can be asset.
Evgeny Svechnikov also will be exposed, but the 2015 first-round pick was on waivers twice this past season, making it clear the team doesn’t view him as part of the rebuild.