Seattle Kraken: 3 players from each Eastern Conference play-in series teams to watch
Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders. (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wickicommons)
Florida Panthers (10) vs. New York Islanders (7)
This could be a good series, depending on which Sergei Bobrovsky shows up in the Columbus net.
Florida
Anton Stralman, D – At one time, Stallman was a good offensive defenseman, but he has been plagued by inconsistency in recent years.
Brett Connolly, W – Finally coming into his own after struggling early, Connolly is a classic third-line player.
Noel Acciari, C – With a career-high 27 points, Acciari might be a player who interests the Seattle Kraken. He’s signed to a very reasonable $1.67M per season through 2022.
New York Islanders
Jordan Eberle, RW – The Islanders have so many good young forwards. They could gamble that the Seattle Kraken wouldn’t want to pick up then 31-year-old’s contract, which pays a $5.5M average annual value until 2024.
Adam Pelech, or Scott Mayfield. D – This could come down to a coin flip for the Isles.
Columbus Blue Jackets (9) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (8)
The Leafs have something to prove, and it will come at Columbus’ expense.
Columbus
Nathan Gerbe, W – The Blue Jackets list him at 5-5, 178-pounds. He might make those measurements in skates and full pads. Gerbe is lightning-fast and a fan favorite everywhere he goes. Unfortunately, his lack of size always comes back to bite him.
Scott Harrington, D – A perpetual bottom pairing NHL defenseman, Harrington comes with a reasonable price tag.
Eric Robinson, LW – Robinson is a bottom-six power forward and not likely to score very often.
Toronto
Mitchell Marner, RW – Marner could be the best combination of age and talent in the expansion draft. If I were Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas, I’d take the risk that Seattle wants no part of Marner’s contract that has an AAV of $10.8 M through 2025 and a no-movement clause in the final two.
Jack Campbell, G – He struggled early in his career to live up to his first-round draft status. The past few seasons have seen Campbell look more comfortable in the crease.
William Nylander, LW – Another uber-talented young forward with a big contract.
We will have players to watch from the Western Conference later this week.