"We've certainly talked about the different scenarios. I've read the rules quite a few times over the past few months, but there are also so many intricacies in them," indicated John Sedgwick, the Canadiens' director of legal affairs. "There are little nuances in there.
"I've spoken to the League at length about the nuances to make sure the League and I have the same interpretation of the rules. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we're compliant and that we protect the players we have to protect," he continued. "They don't speak too much about the penalties for teams who failed to expose the correct amount of players, but I imagine they'll be pretty severe."
Among the numerous subtleties is that some players are protected by default, but won't count towards the team's protected total.
For example, all players in their first or second year in the professional ranks are exempt, as are any draft picks who are not yet under contract. That means that young players like Artturi Lehkonen, Michael McCarron, and Charlie Lindgren, or prospects like Mikhail Sergachev and Noah Juulsen won't be in the Golden Knights' sights.
Additionally, any player whose contract contains a no-movement clause in effect at the time of the draft - and who decides not to waive it - must be protected and will count against the limit. In Montreal's case, Sedgwick confirms that the team will not ask the two players with such clauses - Carey Price and Jeff Petry - to waive them.
The process actually started a few months ago, when meetings took place to start planning out the list. Several more meetings are on the agenda over the next few weeks.
"It changed the dynamic this year with trades and how teams went into the deadline to prepare. It adds a big variable to the equation that isn't normally there. I'm interested to see how it plays out," explained Sedgwick, who joined the Canadiens in 2013. "Even with relatively minor moves - like when a team signed a goalie, for example, you know why. In a normal year, a certain player may not have gotten the type of contract he did. Some guys signed earlier last summer because teams needed to have the requisite number of players to be exposed."
Sedgwick is part of an important contingent - including Marc Bergevin, Rick Dudley, Larry Carriere, Scott Mellanby, Martin Lapointe, Trevor Timmins, and Claude Julien - who will decide which Habs players to make available to the Golden Knights for the NHL's first expansion draft since 2000. Back then, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild plucked their inaugural rosters from 28 NHL clubs.