Under the terms laid out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Anthony Mantha should be exempt from next year's expansion draft.
On June 22, 2016, the NHL released the official information on the expansion draft. In the weeks leading up to that release, there was confusion over what the exact requirements would be for a player to be considered exempt. The language released by the NHL did not do much to clear up that confusion.
Specifically, the question many Red Wings fans have been debating is: Will Anthony Mantha be exempt? If so, the Wings would be able to protect another player, an obvious boon to the team's ability to protect their young talent.