Before the Vegas expansion draft, teams were lining up to trade with the Golden Knights to ensure that certain players that could not be protected would not be selected. Since that idea ultimately benefitted Vegas more than teams like Minnesota and Florida, both the Wild and Panthers have opted for a different strategy to handle Seattle expansion: large buyouts. On Tuesday, the Wild bought out the big-ticket contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Then on Thursday, the Panthers bought out the remaining two years of Keith Yandle's $6.35 million cap hit. Both teams, in particular Minnesota, will find out over the next few seasons whether future dead cap space is worth clearing cap space today while being able to protect a certain player.

The writing on the wall first appeared for Yandle when he was nearly made a healthy scratch to start the season. Fortunately he wasn't, so he was able to keep his consecutive games-played streak intact (922 games, just 42 short of the all-time record). That streak is likely what is keeping him in the lineup; otherwise, he would walk that Shayne Gostisbehere/Erik Gustafsson fine line of either being a power-play specialist or a healthy scratch. Yandle is not the point contributor that he once was (27 PTS, 0.48 PTS/GP in 2020-21), but his 18 power-play points were still tied for sixth among NHL defensemen. Expect him to find a new home with a team that needs to improve its power play.

In related news, the Panthers also signed Gustav Forsling to a three-year extension with an AAV of $2.66 million. Yandle's departure could benefit Forsling, as he received almost no power-play time in spite of being hot during the second half (15 points in his last 29 games). Forsling also averaged nearly 21 minutes over that span, so he figures to serve in a top-4 role assuming the Panthers don't pick up any more defensemen.

The Panthers weren't done there, as they also extended Anthony Duclair to a three-year term with an AAV of $3 million. After bouncing around with several teams, Duclair seems to have found a home with the Panthers, scoring at a career-high 0.74 PTS/GP (32 points in 43 games). Duclair was a must-start during the fantasy playoffs, as he took advantage of his spot with Jonathan Huberdeau and the red-hot Sam Bennett by scoring 15 points over his last 13 games. Some other extremes with Duclair: a plus-27 ranking (in the league's top 10), but only two power-play points (Florida's first power-play unit is the place to be).

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In a trade that has implications for Seattle expansion, the Devils acquired Ryan Graves from the Avalanche for Mikhail Maltsev and a 2021 second-round pick (the 60th overall pick originally from the Islanders). Because Erik Johnson has waived his no-movement clause, the Avalanche can now protect Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, and Devon Toews while also protecting seven forwards. Before that, the Avs stood to lose a significant defenseman, but now it could be someone like J.T. Compher or Joonas Donskoi instead. They also clear just over $3 million of cap space that can help the cause in trying to re-sign Gabriel Landeskog and/or Philipp Grubauer.

Graves hasn't been a huge scorer, as his career high is 26 points in 69 games (0.38 PTS/GP) in 2019-20. However, he has accumulated a plus-55 ranking over the past two seasons, including a league-leading plus-40 in 2019-20. That plus/minus will really be put to the test on a rebuilding Devils team where only three players finished with a positive plus-minus last season. Graves also led the Avs with 91 blocked shots and finished second on the team with 77 hits, so he might be able to build on those numbers with increased icetime in New Jersey, likely as a top-4 d-man.

Maltsev played 33 games for the Devils, scoring six goals and nine points. Expect him to compete for a spot in the Avalanche’s bottom six.

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Could the Kraken show any interest in Ben Bishop? The oft-injured veteran goalie has decided to waive his no-movement clause, which will allow the Stars to protect Anton Khudobin (Jake Oettinger is exempt). Bishop last played during the Stars' playoff run in 2020, although he was held to three games while Khudobin carried most of the load. If Bishop has a clean bill of health for the 2021-22 season, he is an intriguing option. However, there's no guarantee that the 6-7, 34-year-old will be able to return to form after knee surgery.  

Jeff Skinner and the aforementioned Johnson are two other veterans who are reportedly waiving their no-movement clauses for Seattle expansion. With the recent buyouts, you'd have to think that those two players in particular would be at least considered for a buyout had they not waived their NMCs.

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The Leafs have reportedly granted Zach Hyman permission to talk to other teams. According to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, the Flames, Canucks, and Oilers are believed to be the frontrunners. Bidding wars between these three western Canadian rivals should be nothing new, as the Oilers had serious interest in ex-Canuck Jacob Markstrom before the Flames were able to land him. When push comes to shove, Hyman is going to get paid. Probably overpaid by a GM like Jim Benning or Ken Holland that values old-school players.

I'll take this opportunity to promote Scott Royce's Geek of the Week about Hyman from back in April.

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It doesn't look good for Shea Weber next season. According to Renaud Lavoie, Weber could miss all of next season career with foot, ankle, and knee problems. Soon to turn 36, Weber's career could even be threatened by these injuries. Because of how serious these injuries are, Weber won't be protected in the expansion draft. Weber has five more years left on his contract at a cap hit of $7.86 million, so the Habs may have to place him on LTIR.

At the start of the season, Weber's and Jeff Petry's values were almost identical. Yet perhaps due to Weber's injuries, the 33-year-old Petry has pulled away from him as a scoring option.

Weber: 48 GP, 19 PTS, 0.76 PTS/GP

Petry: 55 GP, 42 PTS, 0.40 PTS/GP

Power-play wise, however, the two defensemen were much closer.

Weber: 2:22 PPTOI, 11 PPP

Petry: 2:22 PPTOI, 15 PPP

Could Weber's departure help Petry in that sense? Perhaps, although no Hab averaged more than 2:25 on the power play (Tyler Toffoli). That's just over 53 percent of available power-play time. So the two power plays are very evenly distributed between the first and second units. Compare that to Edmonton, where the top forwards were in the 86-87 percent range of available power-play time, while Tyson Barrie took up 72 percent of available time. Usage from Dominique Ducharme could be dragging down Petry and others' power-play totals. In fact, the PPTOI was actually closer to 50 percent for Petry and other regulars under Ducharme, in case you thought Claude Julien was bringing down the average.

It's worth mentioning that this power-play time decreased further in the playoffs for both Weber and Petry, as Erik Gustafsson was often used on the first-unit power play. I'll assume Gustafsson was a rental, so the first-unit power play should belong to Petry next season. Of course, that could change if the Habs use Weber's newly found cap space to make a pitch for any of the numerous d-men that are available this offseason, such as Barrie, Seth Jones, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Suter, Nick Leddy, and now Yandle (did I miss anyone?)

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Some other recent signings:

Teddy Blueger has re-signed with the Penguins for another two years. In his third NHL season, he scored at a career-high half-point-per-game pace (22 points in 43 games). He also chipped in three shorthanded goals, which was tied for fourth in the league.

The Devils have re-signed Michael McLeod to a two-year extension with a cap hit of $975,000. The former first-round pick (12^th overall in 2016) scored 15 points in 52 games in 2020-21.

The Sharks have re-signed Dylan Gambrell to a one-year contract worth $1.1 million. Gambrell scored 12 points in 49 games last season.

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The Top 100 Roto Rankings have been updated for July. Some of the changes involve players that recently finished their seasons because of long playoff runs, but those aren't the only players whose values were updated. Was a player listed too high or too low? Is there a player missing from the list, or a player that shouldn't be on the list? Feel free to leave feedback, which I will consider for the following month and may discuss in a future Ramblings.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding