Blueshirt Bandwidth #45: The Blueshirt Banter Fantasy Expansion Draft
Joe and Eric square off in the first-ever Blueshirt Banter Fantasy Expansion Draft, balancing cap hits, surprise steals, and plenty of trash talk. Who built the better franchise—and who just built a nursing home?
In the first-ever Blueshirt Banter Fantasy Expansion Draft, Eric, Joe, and special guest commissioner Roberto battle it out to build the best imaginary NHL franchise. With protection lists set, cap constraints looming, and plenty of chirps flying, the trio navigates surprising unprotected stars, risky long-term bets, and bargain gems—plus a few hilarious mispronunciations along the way. From strategic steals to baffling oversights, it’s part draft, part roast, and all Banter. Give it a listen!
Below, you'll find the final rosters for both expansion teams, and a poll for you to vote on who drafted the better team.
Here are the final rosters for Joe and Eric's expansion teams:
Atlanta (GM: Eric Kohn)
Forwards
- Alex Tuch (BUF)
- Boone Jenner (CBJ)
- Yegor Sharangovich (CGY)
- Logan O'Connor (COL)
- Mavrik Bourque (DAL)
- Mackie Samoskevich (FLA)
- Andrei Kuzmenko (LAK)
- Vladimir Tarasenko (MIN)
- Adam Edstrom (NYR)
- Garnet Hathaway (PHI)
- Carl Grunderston (SJS)
- Pius Suter (STL)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (TBL)
- Conor Garland (VAN)
- Adam Lowry (WPG)
- Justin Brazeau (PIT)
- Brandon Saad (VGK)
- James van Riemsdyk (DET)
Defensemen
- Shayne Gostisbehere (CAR)
- Mattias Ekholm (EDM)
- Justin Barron (NAS)
- Simon Nemec (NJD)
- Jordan Spence (OTT)
- Juuso Valimaki (UTA)
- Matt Roy (WAS)
- Connor Murphy (CHI)
- Alexandre Carrier (MTL)
Goaltenders
- Joonas Korpisalo (BOS)
- Semyon Varlamov (NYI)
- Anthony Stolarz (TOR)
Houston (GM: Joe Fortunato)
Forwards
- Logan Stankoven (CAR)
- William Karlsson (VGK)
- Ryan O'Reilly (NAS)
- Leo Carlsson (ANH)
- Cole Sillinger (CBJ)
- Philipp Kurashev (SJS)
- Ridly Greig (OTT)
- Valeri Nichushkin (COL)
- Ilya Mikheyev (CHI)
- Jesper Boqvist (FLA)
- Alexey Toropchenko (STL)
- Lawson Crouse (UTA)
- Warren Foegele (LAK)
- Anthony Duclair (NYI)
- Nils Hoglander (VAN)
- Alex Newhook (MTL)
Defensemen
- Dougie Hamilton (NJD)
- John Carlson (WAS)
- Brayden Pachal (CGY)
- Egor Zamula (PHI)
- Albert Johansson (DET)
- J.J. Moser (TBL)
- Ty Emberson (EDM)
- Braden Schneider (NYR)
- Conor Clifton (PIT)
- Henry Thrun (TOR)
Goaltenders
- Devon Levi (BUF)
- Casey DeSmith (DET)
- Jesper Wallstedt (MIN)
