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 Ottawa Senators
Protected Players
Alright Ottawa, let’s see what’ve you got. Batherson, Connor Brown, and Tkachuk are all top 6 players on this team that you need to protect. Nick Paul proved himself to be a very good bottom 6 NHL player, so it’s obvious that he was protected. Logan Brown is a prospect who has surprisingly not turned out yet, and I’m not sure if he will anymore, but it would be risky to leave him protected. Austin Watson and Colin White are pretty weird choices. Watson is a 4th liner, so it’s kind of strange to use a spot on him. Colin White is a player who had one good season and is overplayed because of it, and I don’t think he’ll ever reach that height again, so it’s kind of weird that they didn’t try to get out of his contract. Chabot and Mete are great choices, but protecting Zaitsev over Josh Brown is pretty questionable. Gustavsson is the easy pick over Murray, but we’ll get to that more later.
Available Players
So with Ottawa not having a great protection list when it comes to both their forwards and defenceman, you have to think that they lose one of those positions…right? Well, Vitaly Abramov is a prospect that I don’t think the Kraken will take a risk on, Dadonov is a great player but he didn’t live up to the contract that Ottawa signed him to in the last offseason. Chris Tierney has had terrible underlying results, and his poor season in 2021 doesn’t help his case. Josh Brown is a good 3rd pairing defenceman, and I think that he could be a target for Seattle, but I think that a better one is out there. Matt Murray is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, and two bad seasons in a row doesn’t help his case. He is also very overpaid for his performance in Ottawa, and I don’t think that Seattle will want to take a risk on him. So, Joey Daccord. After his first career NHL win, he had an inspirational interview, and him only being 24 years old I think that Seattle takes another netminder in Daccord.
The Philadelphia Flyers
Protected Players
After the Flyers moved Nolan Patrick on Saturday, you can tell that the Flyers aren’t scared of change. Their protection list shows that. Despite protecting their best forwards in Giroux, Konecny, Lindblom, and Hayes, some notable names are left off of the list. They filled those other two spots in with Aube-Kubel and Laughton, who are pretty solid depth players. Ellis, Provorov, and Sanheim were the go-to protections for Seattle after they shipped out Myers, and despite Hart's poor performance last season he still was the obvious goalie to be protected.
Available Players
I have to be honest with you, I can see the Kraken selecting any three of these players. german Rubtsov is a 23-year-old center who I have a strong feeling is going to stick in Russia for the rest of his career. van Riemsdyk had a rebound season last year, and I expect him to still be a very good player next year. What puts me off from picking him is the fact that he’s already 32 and has 2 years left on a big contract. I don’t know if I’m risking that, but Ron Francis might. Voracek is 31 with 3 years left on an even bigger contract than van Riemsdyk and is currently a worse player. I don’t see them taking him. Gostisbehere is an interesting one to me. Shayne Gostisbehere had a bounceback season analytically, and I think that if the Kraken were to select him and play him the way that he needs to be played he could be very good for them. The problem, as van Riemsdyk and Voracek, is his big contract. It’s less of a risk with Gostisbehere, but I don’t know if it’s going to be worth it. But one thing I do know is that Robert Hagg is a very safe bet. He’s only 26, he has a cheap contract through next season, and I think that he is a solid 3rd pairing defenceman. After trying to decide between van Riemsdyk, Gostisbehere, and Hagg, I decided to go with Gostisbehere. They have the cap space, and I think it’s worth the risk.
The Pittsburgh Penguins
Protected Players
Just as a heads up, I’m a Penguins fan, so I’m going to be a lot less objective here. But what is this protection list? There is no way the Kraken take Carter with his age, and the fact that he is more than likely retiring after next season, so why protect him? You could have kept Jared McCann, but instead, you ship him off for a prospect. Even after that trade, you have the option to protect Zach Aston-Reese and force Seattle to either take an insignificant player from the Penguins or take an expensive player that will help you with cap relief. Instead, they give Seattle plenty of options. Also, on the blue line, you protect Matheson over Pettersson? Pettersson has a better contract and is a really good defenceman. He may not be flashy, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t good, and he also has fantastic chemistry with John Marino. I don’t understand why you protect Matheson over Pettersson, but I guess Hextall has a plan?
Available Players
I have no clue what way Seattle is going to tackle this list. ZAR is a fantastic defensive winger who is very underused on the Penguins' 4th line, and I would love to see him get some more spotlight in Seattle. He needs a new contract through arbitration this offseason, and I think Seattle may want to stay away from that. Tanev is an extremely fast, 3rd line winger who is on a contract that may just go for a little bit too long. Jason Zucker was an extremely good player, up until the 2021 season when he had a very down year. He played well in the playoffs, and he’s a player that I would love to see stick around in Pittsburgh if he can get things together. Marcus Pettersson is a very good, not flashy top 4 defenceman who I think would be a great addition for the Kraken. The only problem is fears about his contract, but I don’t think that it’s that bad. Juuso Riikola is a great defenceman who can certainly play NHL minutes right now, but for some reason, Mike Sullivan doesn’t seem to like his game. Casey DeSmith is a good backup goalie but I have concerns on how much his level of play will go down if he plays too many games. I personally think that the Kraken will take Brandon Tanev, but it could be any of the names on the list and I wouldn’t be very surprised.
There was one huge surprise on this list for me. Couture, Hertl, Kane, Labanc, and Meier, and all great forwards that the Sharks needed to protect. Rudolfs Balcers just had a solid season, and at 24 years old he still has some potential. Jonathan Dahlen is one that made me do a double-take. Dahlen has been tearing up the HockeyAllsvenskan league in Sweden, and I think that if he ever comes over to the NHL, he could have a fantastic career. But, Ryan Donato is a player that I thought would be protected here. Burns, Karlsson, and Vlasic were kind of forced to be protected by the Sharks, and after the Adin Hill trade, he was easily going to be the protected goalie.
Available Players
Not much here to pick from, eh? Ryan Donato is still only 25 years old, and after a solid season on San Jose, I think that he would be a great get for the Kraken. Dylan Gambrell is a good defensive 4th liner, but I don’t think that he has enough upside to be picked over Donato. Radim Simek is a good defenceman, but him already being 28 and locked up long-term, I’m not sure if the Kraken wants to risk it, but I can 100% see it happening. So, I would pick Ryan Donato here, but I can see it going either way.
After Tarasenko requesting a trade, the Blues are obviously going to be heading into an offseason if retooling. O’Reilly, Perron, and Schenn are 3 top 6 veteran forwards that the Blues clearly see in their long-term plans. Barbashev, Kyrou, Sundqvist, and Thomas are 4 young players who have potential and were great protections by the Blues. Krug and Parayko are top 4 defencemen that needed to be protected, but protecting Justin Faulk, who has a huge contract for the next 5 seasons and is already 29, over Vince Dunn is a very questionable decision. But Jordan Binnington is the future between the pipes for the Blues, and as much as I don’t like his contract, he needed to be protected here.
Available Players
Despite the Blues looking to become younger, they left a few good young players on the board here. Sammy Blais is a 25-year-old player that hasn’t improved enough over the past couple of seasons to make me think that he’ll grow into a much better player. Zach Sanford is coming off of a down season, and I think that he can be a very good 3rd line winger in this league. Vladimir Tarasenko is quite possibly the best skater exposed in the expansion draft, but with his contract mixed with his injury history, I wouldn’t take him over the next guy. Vince Dunn is a good top 4 defenceman who is still young and needs a new contract this offseason with his RFA status. He needs a change of scenery, and I think that Seattle won’t hesitate to take Dunn.
The Tampa Bay Lightning
Protected Players
I like Erik Cernak as much as anyone, but I don’t think that losing Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, or Alex Killorn is worth it. Cirelli, Kucherov, Point, and Stamkos are the 4 best forwards on this team, so I understand why they're the 4 they choose. Cernak, Hedman, McDonagh, and Sergacev are also the 4 best defencemen on this roster, and obviously, you protect Vasilevskiy. They made the right choices for the format, but I’m not sure if they should have gone with the 4–4–1 instead of the 7–3–1.
Available Players
Although there’s a chance that the Lightning lose a Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph, or Cal Foote, they don’t get any cap relief, but they also keep most of their cup-winning core. For this reason alone, I think that the Kraken will be taking one of the big guys. Ondrej Palat is a great player whose points are inflated by the players he plays with. Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde are both very good options for the Kraken, but I don’t see how you can’t take Gourde. There aren’t many centers that the Kraken have to choose from, so when you get a chance to get one as good as Gourde, you don’t pass that up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
Protected Players
Alright, Kyle, I don’t understand this one. So you’re telling me you trade for a forward, and you still go with 4–4–1? Really? A lot of people say that Dubas was smart because now the Leafs have either McCann or Kerfoot because they can’t lose both, but why not just protect them? Going 7–3–1 and leaving Justin Holl unprotected is such an easy thing to do here. I really like Justin Holl’s game, but I don’t think that he has more value than either McCann or Kerfoot. A very weird one.
Available Players
There are a lot of players that the Kraken can choose from Toronto. Alex Kerfoot is a good 3rd line player, who is on a solid contract and could be a great asset for the Kraken. Jared McCann is a very versatile player who can play anywhere on the team's middle 6, as well as the powerplay. Travis Dermott is a good third-pairing defenceman who has the potential to possibly become a top4 guy. But, after watching him in Pittsburgh, and knowing what he brings to the table, Jared McCann is the obvious pick here for the Kraken. He is the best player here, and I don’t think that it’s particularly close.
The Vancouver Canucks
Protected Players
For all of the stupid things that I think that Jim Benning does, I don’t think that he has done a bad job with the Canucks at all this season. Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat, J.T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson are the future top 6 of this team, and they were obviously all going to be protected. The Canucks don’t have many players that are eligible that they have to worry about on the blue line, so they were fine there, as well as between the pipes.
Available Players
The Kraken doesn’t have much deliberation here. Kole Lind is a solid 22-year-old prospect, who I think would be a fantastic grab for Seattle. Zack MacEwan is a solid 4th line player, but I’m not sure if he has to potential to be much more. Madison Bowey is a young defenceman, but I don’ think that he’s as good of a prospect as many people make him out to be. I think the easy pick here is Kole Lind, and I don’t know why the Kraken would consider anyone else.
The Washington Capitals
Protected Players
With Ovechkin being a UFA, the Capitals are in a pretty good spot here. Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Mantha, Oshie, and Wilson are part of this team’s core, and they only have any other year or two of their cup window. Sprong and Eller are great depth pieces, so I can see why the Capitals protected them. Carlson and Orlov are this team's top 2 defensemen, so I can understand those. van Riemsdyk is an underrated blueliner who I think deserved to be protected, and Samsonov is the future of this team.
Available Players
The Capitals have some good options here, but one stands out for me. Hagelin and Sheary are great bottom 6 forwards who are locked up until 2023. Brendan Dillon and Nick Jensen are both underrated defensive defencemen who are locked up until 2024 and 2023 respectively, but I don’t like Dillon's contract for what he brings. Schultz had a fantastic back bounce season in Washington, but I still don’t like his defensive game enough to take a risk on him. Vitek Vanecek is the clear pick here. With Samsonov being out with COVID for a majority of the season, Vanecek proved himself to be a solid goalie at the NHL level. I suspect that he will be the backup, and an easy pick for the Kraken to make.
The Winnipeg Jets
Protected Players
Finally, the Winnipeg Jets. Connor, Dubois, Ehlers, and Scheifele are young players that will be part of this team's core moving forward, so they were obviously protected. Wheeler is their captain and is still a good enough player that he’s worth it to be protected. Copp and Lowry made up two-thirds of the Jets’ killer 3rd line this past season, so I also understand them being protected. Morrissey, Pionk, and Stanley are also all young blueliners who I see as being a part of this team's future. Connor Hellebuyck is obviously the easy choice between the pipes.
Available Players
Despite not having many options here, the Jets are in a pretty solid place. Mason Appleton was the last part of that third line that I mentioned earlier, and he is a 25-year-old winger that I really like. Dylan DeMelo is an underrated top 4 defenceman who has fantastic underlying numbers. He’s only 28, and he’s locked up until 2024 with an amazing contract. Sami Niku is a prospect who had a lot of promise a few years ago but hasn’t shown many signs of development over the past couple of seasons. I would personally go with Appleton, but it’s very close between him and DeMelo.