The Seattle Kraken have no players on their roster, yet. They’re already the most dangerous team in the NHL. Not only do they have the most valuable asset in the league, cap space, they also have the ability to take one of your favourite players on your favourite team. There’s plenty of great players that are unprotected, Carey Price, Vladimir Tarasenko, Max Domi, Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, and many more. I’m going to be going in-depth for every team, picking my Seattle Kraken roster. Honestly, I’d be happy if I get a third of these picks right. All we really know is that Seattle is going to use their cap space wisely, so I don’t actually expect them to take a player like Carey Price, with his 5 years remaining with an AAV of $10,500,000.
The Anaheim Ducks
Protected Players
The Anaheim Ducks have done something that I don’t think many people expected. For a team that is so obviously in need of a rebuild, their protected player's list is pretty strange. When it comes to the Ducks Forwards, I’m very confused. Sure, Rakell, Steel, Terry, Silfverberg, Lundestrom and Jones are easy picks. But Nicolas Deslauriers? Really? Danton Heinen, Sonny Milano, and Alexander Volkov are players I think that the majority of people would protect over Deslauriers in an instant. It’s a weird selection, and the only way it makes sense in my mind is if there are actually teams out there who are willing to give up assets to get Deslauriers? Either way, their protected defenceman aren’t much better. Hampus Lindholm is a must-pick, but once again, why protect Josh Manson or Cam Fowler over Haydn Fleury? Cam Fowler is a great defenceman, but him being 29 with 5 years left on a $6,500,000 cap hit is not something you want on an expansion team. I don’t think that Seattle would take the contract, so why waste a protection spot? But if they did select him, it would help Anaheim more than hurting them. It’s even more confusing when it comes to Josh Manson, because he’s older, is a UFA after this season, and has a higher cap hit compared to Haydn Fleury. Anaheim also obviously protected Gibson over Stolarz because, I mean, duh.
Available Players
There are a few options here for Seattle. If Bob Murray played this smart, the Ducks could get out of some money by losing a good, but expendable player in Danton Heinen, Sonny Milano, or Derek Grant. These are solid bottom 6 players, but with some of the other players on the board for the Kraken, I don’t think that they even consider either of those 3 forwards. Adam Henrique and Kevin Shattenkirk are still very good NHL players, but with their contracts mixed with their respective ages of 31 and 32, Seattle will probably pass on them. That leaves us with Alexander Volkov and Haydn Fleury. Volkov is a 23-year-old Stanley Cup Champion (2020) and is a winger with a solid amount of potential. Volkov has had really good numbers in the AHL, and his 8 points in 18 games since coming to Anaheim aren’t bad at all. I can see him being a very good 3rd line winger who has the potential to be solid on a team's second line. Haydn Fleury is a 25-year-old who is a solid defenceman that I think can play top 4 minutes and has the potential to get even better. I thought that Anaheim stole him from Carolina when Carolina had to deal him for expansion draft reasons midway through the season. Instead, Anaheim is making the mistake of leaving him unprotected. My pick is Haydn Fleury to become a Seattle Kraken.
The Arizona Coyotes
Protected Players
I think that Arizona did a very good job here. Lawson Crouse, Christian Dvorak, Conor Garland, Clayton Keller, and Nick Schmaltz are 5 must protect players for the Coyotes. I have a slight feeling that they asked Phil Kessel to waive his NMC, but he said no, so he’s here as well. Johan Larsson is an intriguing pick for me. He further proved himself as a very good defensive 4th liner, and I think they made the right decision to protect him over a player like Christian Fischer. Jakob Chychrun and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had to be protected by Arizona, and Capobianco has the potential to be a solid top 4 defenceman in the future. Kuemper had to be protected, that wasn’t a question after Adin Hill was moved.
Available Players
As you can tell, Arizona is one of the teams that don’t really have to worry about the expansion draft. Two players that are 27 and 29 are certainly not very attractive. There’s really only one option for Seattle here, and that’s Christian Fischer. Despite only having 11 points in 52 games this past season, I believe that Fischer can still be a solid bottom 6 option. He was a far worse defender in this past season compared to the 19–20 year, but I think at age 24, Fischer can become a positive asset for Seattle.
The Boston Bruins
Protected Players
You can kind of tell where Don Sweeney is going with this, but I’m not sure if that’s the right approach. Bergeron, Coyle, Marchand, Pastrnak, and Smith are all must protect players for this team, and that left the Bruins with 2 spots left. I personally think that Nick Ritchie is a true Boston Bruin, and I’m kind of confused as to why they left him unprotected instead of DeBrusk or Frederic. I think that the Bruins should want out of DeBrusk's contract, and I’m not sure what kind of value that he has on the trade market. I like DeBrusk, but I think that must’ve been protected because they know/think that DeBrusk can get them something before Free Agency. I still think that Ritchie should’ve been protected over Frederic, but we’ll have to wait and see if it bites the Bruins later down the line. Carlo, Grzelyck, McAvoy, and Vladar are obvious players to protect, especially with Reilly and Rask being UFA’s.
Available Players
Despite Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly both being UFA’s this offseason, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Kraken try to deal a deal done with either of them. If this does happen, my money is on Mike Reilly going to Seattle, but I don’t think that the Kraken will go with this approach. That leaves you with Kase, Lazar, and Ritchie upfront. Both Kase and Ritchie are RFA’s, and I don't know if Ron Francis is willing to take a risk on Kase with all of the injuries he has suffered from since becoming a Boston Bruin. Ritchie and Lazar are two players that can play in your bottom 6 and are solid on the powerplay and penalty kill respectively. On the blue line, Clifton and Lauzon are two players that I think that Seattle is willing to take a look at. I don’t think they’ll go for Clifton, purely because he’s already 26 and he may not make the Kraken's top 6, but Lauzon is an interesting one. He’s only 24, and I think that if developed properly he could be pretty solid playing top 4 minutes as soon as next season. He isn’t too shabby on either end of the ice, and I think Seattle will highly consider Lauzon. The Kraken may look away from Nick Ritchie, purely because of his Arbitration rights this offseason, and they won’t want to get stuck with too much cap space. That leaves them with Lazar and Lauzon, and I think that it comes down to Lauzon being an RFA next season, and Lazar being a UFA. With Lauzon also being younger, I think that they go with Jeremy Lauzon.
The Buffalo Sabres
Protected Players
Kevyn Adams had the easiest job for the expansion draft by a mile. Once Jeff Skinner decided to waive his NMC, anyone could have predicted the Sabres protected list…. for the most part. These 7 forwards are the 7 forwards the Sabres needed to protect. Why would the Sabres want to protect anyone of Skinner, Okposo, Girginsons, or Cody Eakin? There were really no other good options for Adams, and he made the right choice. My only disagreement is when it comes to their blue line. Jokiharju and Dahlin are the obvious picks, but I don’t think they should’ve protected Rasmus Ristolainen. The odds of Seattle taking his contract would be very low, but it’s better than nothing. I think that Will Borgen has some potential, and protecting him would’ve made more sense. The Sabres don’t really have any goalies that would intrigue Seattle, so protecting their best one is a smart thing to do when there’s still a very slight chance that you may resign him.
Available Players
Somehow the Buffalo Sabres are still the worst here again. Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo are players that make more money than they’re worth, so I don’t see them really getting selected by the Kraken. Will Borgen is not a prospect, but he is a 24-year-old defenceman who may be a top 6 defender one day. Colin Miller is an established guy, but like Girgenons and Okposo, I don’t think that Seattle will want to take on his contract. Cody Eakin was selected by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft, and I can honestly see Seattle copying that. He’s a solid 4th line center that is good at faceoffs. But once again, I think his contract is too much for what Seattle is trying to do. For that reason, I think that Seattle will take a risk with Will Borgen.
The Calgary Flames
Protected Players
Great job from the Flames here. Gaudreau, Lindholm, Monahan, and Tkachuk are all good players that needed to be protected. Mangiapane and Dube are two young wingers who are good now and will be very good players for the Flames in the future. Mikael Backlund might be a questionable choice, but I don’t think that there’s anyone else on this team that I would protect over him. Despite Giordano being this team's captain, it was the right move to leave him unprotected. Andersson and Hanifin are both young, good top 4 defencemen, and Tanev just had a fantastic season for the Flames. Giordano is still a very good defenceman, but this was the right move. Markstrom does have a NMC, but he was the goalie that the Flames should’ve protected no matter what.
Available Players
Despite Josh Leivo being a UFA this upcoming offseason, I really think that he’s an underused player who would be a perfect guy to play in the top 6 of an expansion team, but I don’t think that he’s their best option. Brett Ritchie is probably nowhere near the Krakens radar, but I don’t think he’s the worst option out there. Kylington, Simon, Phillips, and Parsons are all RFA’s this offseason, and although I think they’re all solid players, they more than likely aren’t going to be heavily considered by Seattle. Giordano is the obvious pick here. He’s still a very good defenceman, and I think that he’ll be a fantastic leader on the Seattle Kraken. If they’re willing to spend a solid bit of cap space, my bet is on Mark Giordano with his 1 year remaining with a $6,750,000 cap hit.
The Carolina Hurricanes
Protected Players
Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vincent Trochek are all very good players on the Carolina Hurricanes that deserved to be protected. Jesper Fast and Warren Foegele are very good 3rd line players that are on very, very good contracts. Pesce and Slavin are both extremely talented defencemen who the Hurricanes cannot lose. However, protecting Brady Skjei over Jake Bean is an extremely questionable choice. Bean is younger, will more than likely get a better contract than Skjei has right now, and arguably isn’t much worse, if at all, than Brady Skjei. Weird move by Carolina. At least they made the easy and obvious choice of protecting Nedeljkovic.
Available Players
Yes, I understand that it may be a bit of a stretch to suggest that the Kraken sign and pick Hamilton in the expansion draft, but I think that Dougie Hamilton is the most likely of the big-time UFA’s to go to Seattle in the expansion draft. He’s a top 2 right-handed defenceman who can do literally anything on the ice. Offence? Defence? Powerplay quarterback? Penalty Kill? Of course, he can do it all. I think this would be a great move by Seattle, but I still don’t trust it to happen. Morgan Geekie is a 22-year-old center who I am very confused about. I have no idea what his potential actually is, but I sure as hell know it’s not high enough for Seattle to pick him here. Nino Niederreiter is a good middle 6 winger, but I don’t think Seattle will like him so much that they’re willing to take on his $5,250,000 cap hit. Jake Gardiner falls under the same category as Niederreiter, but I think that the easy choice for Seattle is Jake Bean. I think that he is arguably able to play top 4 minutes right now, and he has RFA status in a year. I think that it’s a home run for the Kraken to take Bean.
The Chicago Blackhawks
Protected Players
Chicago did what I thought many other rebuilding teams would do, and that leaves their expensive players that aren’t young or part of the core left exposed. The Blackhawks did that by protecting players like Brandon Hagel, David Kampf, and Riley Stillman. Borgstrom is still a player I have high hopes for, despite things not working out for him in Florida. DeBrincat, Kane, Strome and Toews are all players that the Blackhawks needed to protect. Connor Murphy is a very good top 4 defenceman and Caleb Jones is a solid top 6 guy who has some potential to be a top 4 defenceman. Stillman, Zadorov, and De Haan were the 3 defencemen that were left to decide from, and I think the youngest, cheapest option in Riley Stillman was the correct choice for Chicago. Also, Lankinen was the obvious pick over Subban, if he can get back to how he played for the first few months of the 2021 season, he will be a solid starter for the Blackhawks.
Available Players
This is why the Blackhawks are in such a good situation with the expansion draft. Ryan Carpenter is a good depth forward, but he isn’t anything special. Brett Connolly is a really good 3rd line player, but Seattle won’t want him at $3,500,000 until 2023. Calvin De Haan is a good, underrated top 4 defenceman, but once again, I don’t think that his contract is something Seattle wants to get near. Zadorov is a good top 6 guy, but once again, has a contract that I don’t think that Seattle will want. Malcolm Subban is an alright goalie, but I think that the Kraken have much better options from other teams between the pipes. So, for that reason, as well as my belief in Gaudettes potential, I think that the Kraken will go with Adam Gaudette. I think he can be a very good third-line center in this league, and it’s not much of a gamble for Seattle. If he still isn’t very good, I don’t believe that the Kraken will regret it.
The Colorado Avalanche
Protected Players
There isn’t much to debate about over this list. Burakovsky, Jost, Kadri, MacKinnon, Nichushkin, and Rantanen are all obvious picks up front, but I don’t think that a single person expected the Avs to protect O’Connor over Donskoi. It is obviously an attempt to try to get out of cap trouble, and I think that it might work. Sam Girard, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews were the obvious picks for the Avalanche's blue line after the Ryan Graves deal. They don’t really have any other goalies to worry about, so not letting the Kraken have negotiations with Grubauer is the right decision.
Available Players
Joe Sakic has not won a GM of the year award yet. How, exactly has Lou Lamoriello won it 2 years in a row? Looking at this expansion list, you can tell that Joe Sakic had a clear thought in mind. He protected everyone who needed to be protected, but Donskoi, who’s a good 2nd line winger who would be a great pickup for Seattle. But, Colorado left him exposed so they can try to get more cap space to resign both Cale Makar and Philipp Grubauer. Donskoi isn’t on a bad deal whatsoever, so it would make a lot of sense for him to be Seattle's target here. J.T. Compher is younger, and a little bit cheaper, but I don’t think it’s enough for Seattle to take him over Donskoi. Erik Johnson is a 3rd pairing defenceman who makes $6,000,000 a year, so you know that the Kraken isn’t touching him with a 10-foot pool. Jacob MacDonald played very well defensively in sheltered minutes for Colorado this season, but he’s already 28 and there’s no guarantee that he can put stats like that up again. Jonas Johansson is an interesting one because he looked decent when he played for the Avs this season, but once again, none of these options are nearly as appealing as Donskoi. So basically, the Avalanche have left no other attractive options for the Kraken, aside from the one that would give the Avs cap relief. Great job by the Avs.
The Columbus Blue Jackets
Protected Players
This is a fantastic job by Jarmo Kekäläinen. First off, you keep your up-and-coming young forwards, as well as your core players. Columbus doesn’t really have much to worry about with the expansion draft, and when you’re able to protect Gustav Nyqvist in an expansion draft, you’re probably fine. Gavrikov, Jones, and Werenski were the obvious picks on defence. Even with Seth Jones inevitably being dealt out of Columbus, you have to protect him so you don’t just lose him for nothing instead. With Merzilikins being exempt, Korpisalo is the obvious pick to protect between the pipes.
Available Players
Yeah, this is probably the easiest one for Seattle. Kevin Stenlund is a young, solid player who can play on your 4th line. Gabriel Carlsson is a 24-year-old defenceman who had potential but probably won’t amount to anything more than a 7th defenceman at this stage of his career. Max Domi is a top 6 winger/center who can be a fantastic get for the Seattle Kraken. He has had a couple of down seasons, but giving him a chance on a brand new team seems like a great change of scenery for Max Domi.
The Dallas Stars
Protected Players
Despite making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020, the Dallas Stars don’t really have much to lose to Seattle. Their poor season mostly came due to injuries and COVID outbreaks. These 7 forwards and 3 defencemen are selections that aren’t really up for debate, they picked their best players at each division because they are trying to win now. Protecting Anton Khudobin over Ben Bishop is kind of weird to me, just because of how good I believe the Bishop is, but he didn’t play lasts season so I guess Seattle doesn’t want to take a risk on that, especially with 2 years left on his deal.
Available Players
As I said, I don’t see that the Dallas Stars are in much of a bind here. Whether this is a showing of Dallas’ lack of depth or not is another question, but it’s good for the expansion draft. Nick Caamano is only 22 right now, and his 1 point in 24 games this past season will likely turn the Kraken away. Blake Comeau and Andrej Sekera are two older players who have contracts through next season, but I don’t think that they’re attractive enough for Seattle. Julius Honka is a player that had a lot of potential when he was drafted in 2014, but he is now 25 and he hasn’t developed whatsoever. This leaves us with Ben Bishop and Jamie Oleksiak, and I think that it’s a fairly close decision. Bishop is still a top 10 goalie in this league, but his injury concerns and age is something that I’m not sure Seattle wants to deal with. So, I think that they try to get a deal done with Jamie Oleksiak before the expansion draft, and pick him. Jamie Oleksiak is one of the most underrated defensemen in this league, and I think that Ron Francis and the Kraken understand that and they’ll jump on the opportunity to pick up a play of Oleksiak's calibre.
I wasn’t originally going to be splitting this up into three parts, but after getting a third of the way in and this article already being this long, I think that the best option is to put this out today, part 2 out tomorrow, and part 3 out on Wednesday before the expansion draft.