 21 of the 22 franchises in the league at the time of the draft were allowed to protect two goaltenders and fourteen position players (the San Jose Sharks was the only team exempt of protection restrictions as they were an expansion team the previous season).Beyond that, every team had to make available at least one goaltender who had played at least one NHL game.This clause (known to the league teams far in advance) led to several trades so that teams could fulfill the requirement without exposing their lead goaltenders.