Sami Vatanen wasn’t on the move from the Ducks on Saturday – and there is no certainty he will be in the coming days.

Teams would love a 26-year-old smooth skater for a defenseman that has strong offensive instincts, loves to feast on the power play and is a coveted right-handed shot. The Ducks prize all of that and it’s why Vatanen was signed to a four-year extension last summer.

The issue with the Ducks is they have enough of that in others on a loaded blue line. There are also others they can’t move. So that makes Vatanen the one appearing to be the most expendable and his eventual destination is one of the hottest topics to start the NHL’s summer season.

Even with some teams having clear needs to upgrade their defense corps, Vatanen wasn’t dealt as a league-wide trade freeze went into effect at noon Pacific time. Teams can only deal with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights from now until the moratorium is lifted Thursday.

But it is believed that the Ducks and Golden Knights have completed a deal that neither side will announce until Wednesday, when Vegas will make public its selections in the NHL expansion draft that will be done in conjunction with the league’s awards show at T-Mobile Arena.

Teams submitted their list of protected players Saturday, with those lists released by the NHL early Sunday morning. The Ducks are expected to go with a 7-3-1 option (seven forwards, three defensemen, one goalie) as opposed to eight skaters regardless of position and a netminder.

That will allow them to protect winger Jakob Silfverberg along with other forwards Rickard Rakell, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler. The latter three have no-movement clauses in their contracts, making them automatically protected.

It also means only three defenders will be protected, which are expected to be Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Bieksa. Bieksa also has a no-move clause, which will expose Vatanen and Josh Manson and have both potentially lost to Vegas.

Neither is headed there. Multiple reports have Ducks general manager Bob Murray jumping ahead and working out a deal with Vegas GM George McPhee. And that isn’t expected to include Vatanen, who underwent shoulder surgery and may not be ready to play until December at the earliest.

Vatanen had a down 2016-17 with just three goals and 21 assists and the Golden Knights could jump on a top-four defender locked in as he enters his prime. The side deal, however, would have McPhee getting some juicy assets from Murray in order to select someone other than Vatanen or Manson, a big-hitting 25-year-old on the rise.

Manson has more size than the feisty, but diminutive Vatanen and is a counterbalance to the puck-moving Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm. The emergence of Brandon Montour as a talented everyday player with a similar skill set also makes Vatanen expendable.

But the Ducks do not count on losing him for nothing and they can use Vatanen in a trade later this summer for an impact forward instead of pulling the trigger on any low-ball offers that came their way. McPhee is expected to keep his end of the deal and pass on him in the expansion draft.

The Southern California News Group also confirmed that Kesler had hip surgery last week to remove loose bone fragments in what the Ducks termed as a general cleanup of the area.

Kesler was playing with pain during their Ducks’ run to the Western Conference finals but wouldn’t divulge his injury at the team’s exit meetings. Murray initially revealed the surgery to season ticket holders at a recent closed event.

The Ducks said Kesler should resume full activity in 12 weeks, which could limit his participation in training camp and the preseason but should have him ready for their 2017-18 season opener in early October. Kesler also had hip surgery in the summer after his career-defining 2010-11 season.

Kesler is expected to attend Wednesday’s awards, where he is a finalist for the Selke Trophy awarded to the league’s top defensive forward. The center not only is the Ducks’ shutdown center but is also a top faceoff artist that had 22 goals and 36 assists last season.

The Ducks weren’t completely silent Saturday. Forward Nic Kerdiles was signed to a one-year contract extension that’ll pay him $650,000 when he’s in the NHL and $70,000 in the American Hockey League.

Raised in Irvine where his family continues to reside, Kerdiles made his Ducks debut on Feb. 22 against Boston and also appeared in four playoff games. He got his first career point in Game 6 of the conference final against Nashville, assisting on Chris Wagner’s third-period goal.