Source: Red Wings expected to lose Tomas Nosek in NHL expansion draft

Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption What to know about the NHL expansion draft Wednesday night's expansion draft could be a launching pad for the Vegas Golden Knights to be one of the most competitive expansion teams in NHL history.

The Detroit Red Wings are expected to lose forward Tomas Nosek in the NHL expansion draft tonight.

A person familiar with the situation told the Free Press today the Vegas Golden Knights had Nosek on their list of expansion picks.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the picks won't formally be announced until tonight's NHL Awards show.

If indeed Nosek is the choice, it is quite an indictment on the NHL players exposed by the Wings.

First and foremost, it reflects poorly on goaltender Petr Mrazek, 25, who not long ago was considered the Wings’ goalie of the future. He is coming off a career-worst 3.04 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 50 games last season. At the World Championship, he was so mediocre (2.47 goals-against average, .881 save percentage) the Czechs didn’t use him when they faced elimination in the quarterfinal.

Mrazek makes many great saves but also lets in one stoppable goal regularly, which is not a winning formula. Unlike when Jimmy Howard slumped in recent years, Mrazek did not show the same willingness to work extra in practice.

The Wings’ decision to expose Mrazek was a statement they are going with Howard and Jared Coreau as the future. Now it becomes a matter of finding out if Mrazek can be moved at all – Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Arizo are among the teams needing goaltenders.

Choosing Nosek also does not reflect well on Riley Sheahan. He had an awful 2016-17, going 81 games without a goal, but he’s 6-foot-3 and showed over the previous two seasons he can score in the 12-goal range. The same is true for defenseman Xavier Ouellet, who is a smart decision-maker.

Nosek is coming off a Calder Cup winning season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, the franchise's top developmental team, and he did look good in 11 games with the Wings down the stretch. But he has 17 NHL games to his credit and is not a strong skater.

Other NHL players exposed by the Wings include Darren Helm and Luke Glendening.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.