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Detailed Ottawa expansion draft rules should give the Redblacks a chance right out of the gate

Andrew Bucholtz

There's been a lot of talk about the upcoming Ottawa expansion draft this year, and for good reason, as it seems likely to impact everything from quarterbacksto free agency. It's also going to have a substantial effect on just how good the CFL's newest team will be in their first few seasons. The league released a detailed media backgrounder on the expansion draft Friday, and there are plenty of interesting details in it, including information on exactly how the trade deadlines will work (so hopefully Ed Hervey received a copy). Here are some of the most notable details not specifically covered in the initial rule release:

All teams will be able to trade amongst one another from Midnight ET on November 24th until 11:59pm ET on December 8th.

The League will issue a trade freeze that will run from Midnight ET on December 8th through the end of the Expansion Draft on December 16th at 4:00pm ET. However, from December 9th until the conclusion of the Draft (4pm ET), teams may make trades during this time if they directly involve the Ottawa REDBLACKS. For the REDBLACKS to conduct a trade, it can only involve players signed by Ottawa prior to the Draft, players acquired in the Expansion Draft or future Draft picks. However, in order to maintain the integrity of the Expansion Draft, Ottawa will not be eligible to solicit trades or incur benefits from other Clubs by agreeing NOT to choose an unprotected player.

For trades that occur between Grey Cup and December 8th, the Commissioner will enforce language from the by-laws in relation to in-season trades and forbid any player traded during that window to be traded back to the original Club until he has been on the roster for two regular season games.

Ottawa is forbidden from contacting any player prior to officially selecting him in the Expansion Draft.

Ottawa will keep the list of unprotected/protected players throughout the League confidential.

Any player signed by a Club after their protected list has been submitted to the League Office on December 9th will automatically be exposed to Ottawa on December 16th.

If a Club protects a non-import kicker on December 9th and ends up losing a Quarterback in the Expansion Draft; they have the opportunity to protect an additional non-import player prior to the commencement of the first round of non-import selections by Ottawa. (Expansion Draft guidelines outline that if a Club loses a QB, they cannot lose a non-import kicker).

That information, and in particular, the details on how Ottawa will have an exclusive trading window between the ninth and the 16th is quite interesting. There's a lot of flexibility there for new Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins and his front office. The ability to make trades in advance of the draft proper could enable Ottawa to do some useful building before the draft starts, and in particular, it gives them leverage; while they're not allowed to say they won't choose a particular player, they could say they will choose a player and offer teams future draft picks to acquire him ahead of the draft instead (freeing up their draft picks for other players). It's going to be interesting to see what Desjardins and his staff do, but the league certainly seems to have given them numerous options. That could bode well for their ability to compete from the get-go.