Gary Bettman, NHL Comissioner. Seattle hockey.
Welcome to Pacific Northwest Sports first “Way Too Early” mock expansion draft for the still-unnamed Seattle hockey team. The sports world is turned on its head due to COVID-19, and leagues are scrambling to find ways to start/continue their seasons.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman rolled out hockey’s return to play, which will take place this summer at neutral locations. The bad news is the 2020-21 season will get pushed back a month or two, but the good news is that it shouldn’t entirely derail the planned Seattle hockey expansion draft.
Until the 2019-20 season finally ends and teams go through free agency and arbitration this summer/fall, drafting a team is exceedingly difficult. That’s why we call it way too early. However difficult it may be for us, it’s likely tripled for GM Ron Francis and his staff. Per the set expansion draft rules, there are many perimeters existing teams must follow when submitting their protected lists.
One of the biggest criteria is that teams may protect either seven forwards, three defensemen, one goalie, or eight skaters, one goalie. At least two forwards and one defenseman, with a contract for the 2021-22 season, must be exposed. Finally, teams have to make available one goaltender, who is either signed or is a restricted free agent for that season. At this point, there are precious few players that even qualify, let alone leave unprotected.
Because of the restricted pool, its almost impossible to put the whole thing together, so a few modifications are necessary. For this mock draft, all players who are unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2020 or 2021 seasons can’t be protected. However, players who are restricted free agents after the 2020-21 season can be protected.
As contracts are signed, players moved via free agency or trade, and the rumored amnesty buyouts go forward, we will get a better picture of who will be available. Additionally, there is no way to account for trades Francis makes or backroom deals he puts together before and during the draft. For now, with the help of Capfriendly.com’s Expansion Draft Simulator, this is our preliminary team.
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning.
When Vegas played the inaugural season, they surprised the rest of the league with the quality of their forwards. The Knights were able to score goals in bunches to put opponents on their heels quickly. Seattle could come very close in that regard with a very quality corps of forwards as well. The following are the forwards selected in this mock, along with their current team, age, and cap hit, beginning with the 2021-22 season.
While this group is young, there is plenty of NHL talent. The top two projected lines can score, while the third will be a classic checking line with some offense mixed in. Point is the best of the bunch. He has 262 points in 295 NHL games.
Unless Vorbyev, Jones, or Dano, beats out one of the above (which could happen), they will start in the minors.
Braden Point is the team’s star. If Fabbri is back from his knee injury, he’ll be a catalyst. Eberle is a scoring threat that will elevate his linemates. Roussel and Kassian are perfect players to “maintain the peace” and keep opposing teams from running roughshod over the younger guys. Even the third and fourth lines have players with some offensive upside.
Colin Miller, Buffalo Sabres.
The way to build a good hockey team is from the net out. There is a premium put on playing solid defense. Overall, this group is steady, but nothing to write home about. They aren’t going to lose games for the team, but they aren’t likely to win many either. There is good news, Seattle won’t be tied to the majority of them, long-term.
Some of these defensemen will be dealt before the season starts, but most certainly by the trade deadline. Players such as de Haan, Miller, and Moore are reasonably inexpensive. On a team ready to contend for the championship, they are good second/third pair options an acquiring team won’t have to break the bank to get.
The seventh defenseman will be Kulak, while Wolanin and Quenneville head to the AHL.
Again a fair-to-average group of d-men. Seattle can make a splash by drafting someone older and more expensive, such as Brent Burns (35, four-years, $8M). But why would Francis want to tie himself down for so long to an aging player? It will be much more beneficial to wait until after the draft to see who is remains available in free agency.
Honka has excellent puck-handling and skating skills, but his slight frame (5-10, 175-pounds) makes him somewhat of a defensive liability. That’s what hurt him in Dallas and to some extent in Finland last season. If he can play in a system where he could use his quickness, speed, and intelligence, instead of power, Honka could turn into a top-tier quarterback on the ice.
Where this Seattle hockey team will feel the sting of an average group of defensemen is on special teams. Miller will run the first power play unit and either Moore or Honka the second. De Haan and Simak would handle defensive duties on the penalty kill.
Sam Montembeault, Florida Panthers.
Going back to Vegas, the key to their entire Stanley Cup Finals run was goalie Marc-Andre-Fleury. If Seattle hockey fans are looking for hope of a hot start to the franchise, look no further than this cadre of backstops. Among them, there is starting material, backups, reliable third options, and future mainstays. It’s also not hard to envision Francis trading at least one, and more likely two of them for good draft picks and young players. Not bad for a group of only six men.
Campbell has the best NHL track record so far. After struggling early in his career, he found his game, the past few seasons in Los Angeles and Toronto. The Michigan native has earned his chance to be the number one goaltender. It’s his job to lose. Husso will push Campbell and has the talent to force a timeshare. He’s the odd man out of the goalie situation in St. Louis. The Blues’ loss can be Seattle’s gain.
DeSmith and Petersen are borderline second/third-string NHL netminders. Both have managed to hold their own in limited appearances. The big battle, however, will be between Montembeault and Vanecek to see which one is the team’s goalie of the future. One of them is behind an unmovable contract, which is too expensive to buy out. The other is in the middle of an all-star and the “next big thing.”
One other thing to watch for, going forward, is how much value does the organization place on players who grew up in the area or played for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Vegas did very well with Deryk Engelland, as their captain. He played for the Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL at the outset of his career. Someone like TJ Oshie, who grew up in Everett and is a former Team USA star, would give a huge PR boost to the Seattle hockey organization.