Seattle Kraken: 4 players from each Round-Robin team to watch
Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues. (Photo by Sarah Connors, via Flickr)
West 1 – St. Louis Blues
The defending Stanley Cup Champions have an extraordinarily deep talent pool.
Jake Allen, G – He may have lost his starting job to Jordan Binnington, but Allen had a 2.15 Goals Against Average and .927 Save Percentage this season. Both goalies are free agents after next season, but Binnington won the Blues a cup. He gets the extension, and Allen walks. He could wind up walking into the Seattle Kraken locker room.
Ivan Barbashev, C – The young Russian center’s production hasn’t matched his potential since making the Blues on a full-time basis in 2018. If it comes to a numbers game, Barbashev could get squeezed out.
Sammy Blais, LW – The hard-hitting power forward can be a force on the ice, just not on the score sheet. There are too many scoring threats on the roster to protect a checking-line banger.
Robert Thomas, RW – Thomas has a game. Like several other young forwards in the Blues organization, there may not be enough available slots to keep him. If he’s available, Thomas is exactly the type of player the Seattle Kraken would want on their roster.
East 1 – Boston Bruins
Boston is the surprise team of 2019–20. Picking them to have the best record in hockey over Washington, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay could have won somebody a nice chunk of change.
David Krejci, C – Krejci, will be available for the Kraken to select. They won’t because he makes too much, gets hurt too often, and doesn’t score enough anymore.
John Moore, D – At one time, Moore showed some promise. Now closing in on 30, Moore could be a decent veteran on a young expansion team.
Nick Ritchie, LW – He already blew through his opportunity in Anaheim after the team chose him 10th overall in 2014. Ritchie added some grit to the B’s since coming over in a deadline deal. Players like him will be plentiful for Seattle to choose from come draft time.
Chris Wagner, C – Wagner is a hard-nosed dependable bottom line center. He’s got no quit in him. Young players could learn from his work ethic.
If you missed our three players to watch from each Eastern Conference play-in team, you can read it here. Three players to watch from the Western Conference can be read here.