MontrealAlouettes.com and CFL.ca Staff
MONTREAL – This Monday, the Ottawa REDBLACKS will take the next step in bringing football back to the Nation’s Capitol when they select 24 players in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. But with the excitement of the Alouettes’ soon-to-be closest rival finally taking shape comes some question marks. How many players do the Alouettes stand to potentially lose? Can there be trades? What about the import/non-import ratio? And how about free agents?
Keep reading below to find out all the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
EXPANSION DRAFT MILESTONES AND KEY DATES:
November 25 – The Ottawa REDBLACKS were granted permission to begin signing free agents not currently under CFL contracts
December 9 – Protection lists were submitted from all 8 other member clubs
December 16 – The 2013 Ottawa REDBLACKS Expansion Draft begins streaming live on CFL.ca at 10:45 a.m.
ROUND-BY-ROUND OVERVIEW:
Round 1 (11:00 a.m.): Ottawa selects 8 import players (one from each team)
Round 2 (12:30 p.m.): Ottawa selects 8 non-import players (one from each team)
Round 3 (2:00 p.m.): Ottawa selects 8 more non-import players (one from each team)
PROTECTIONS:
On December 9 at 1:00pm all 8 member clubs submitted a list of protected players to the Canadian Football League office that contained 10 import players, 1 quarterback and 6 non-import players.
CFL clubs will submit a second list of additional non-import players for protection prior to the third round of the draft.
QUARTERBACKS:
Teams will protect 1 quarterback ahead of Round 1. If they lose a quarterback to Ottawa, they can then protect an additional 2 non-imports in Round 2. A team cannot lose both a quarterback and a kicker in the Expansion Draft.
KICKERS:
Teams can protect import kickers in Round 1 or non-import kickers in Round 2. If they lose a non-import kicker/punter to Ottawa, they can then protect an additional 2 non-imports in Round 2 or 3. A team that loses an import kicker can protect an additional non-import as well. A team cannot lose both a quarterback and a kicker in the Expansion Draft.
TRADES:
Ottawa is able to trade with other teams during the expansion draft and any time before that. All of the other 8 member CFL clubs cannot trade with each other as of December 9th.
RELEASING AND SIGNING PLAYERS:
As teams were eliminated from the 2013 CFL playoffs, they were not allowed to release any active roster players. Non-CFL free agent players can be signed at any time before the draft but can be eligible to be selected in the Expansion Draft if unprotected. Between December 9-16, teams cannot make any trades unless they are directly with Ottawa, release any players, but they can re-sign their own players, and can also sign non-CFL free agents who would be automatically added to the team’s unprotected list.
FREE AGENTS AND TRANSFERRING OF CONTRACTS:
If Ottawa selects a player that is a pending CFL free agent, they will retain negotiating rights to that player until February 15, 2014. Once players are selected by Ottawa, the REDBLACKS assume their current contracts including salary, length and pending free agency.
GOT ALL OF THAT?
Now’s your chance to play armchair GM.
Make your own Alouettes protection list and mock draft results and share them in the ongoing discussion on our official forums.
Who do the Alouettes stand to lose? Who is a must-protect player?
Join the conversation here.
