T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals. (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikicommons)
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken has a name, next they need a team to defend the ice at Climate Pledge Arena. Much of that first squad will come from next year’s expansion draft. Kraken General Manager Ron Francis and his staff have their hands full as they scout players from around the world. As a matter of fact, they had to hire a ton of new scouts and executives.
Until this season finally ends and the National Hockey League goes through its free agency and arbitration periods, sometime this fall, mock drafting a team is exceedingly tricky. There are plenty of potential difference-making talents whose contracts are up.
Teams must lock up unrestricted and restricted free agents before the expansion draft picture becomes clearer. Fortunately, for fans scouting potential players can be both fun and interesting.
As part of their “return to action” plan, the NHL invited the top 24 teams to two different sites, Toronto and Edmonton, Canada. Beginning August 1, teams ranked between 5th and 12th in the respective conference standings when play stopped due to COVID-19 will play in a best of three “play-in.”
Winners of those series will advance to the actual Stanley Cup playoffs, where the top four teams from each conference will be waiting for them. Each of the top four teams plays a three-game round robin with the other teams in their conference to determine seeding for the following rounds.
Playoff hockey brings out the best in players. Exhibition games have been going on for the past week, so most everyone should be in decent shape. By the time the puck drops for real, fans will see the NHL players at a near-peak level.
Here is a look at four players from each team in the round-robin who could be available for the Seattle Kraken to select in the expansion draft. Among play in teams, Calgary has the deepest group of potential players in the west. Meanwhile, Toronto and the New York Islanders are the deepest in the east.
As expected, the best teams likely have the deepest groups of players. Here are four players to watch from each round-robin team that Kraken fans could see in the expansion draft.
Joe Pavelski (Photo by Dan4th Nicholas, via Flickr)
Dallas is one of the harder teams to find players do to the many pending free agents they have.
Ben Bishop, G – The big man (6-7, 215-pounds) has been a stabilizing presence between the pipes since arriving in Dallas three seasons ago. Bishop turns 34 in November, and highly prized prospect Jake Oettinger is working his way through the AHL.
Jason Dickinson, C – Dallas’ 2013 first-round draft pick is out of time. There are too many better centers on the team for him to get top-six minutes. Dickinson is a restricted free agent after next season;o one would be surprised if the Stars let him walk.
Radek Faksa, C – Good defensively, Faksa is the kind of player every coach wants on his bench. He’ll be on the ice against other teams top forwards, and the penalty kill.
Joe Pavelski, C – If Bishop’s name was a mild shock, then “Little Joe” is a slap in the face. He’s 35-years-old, and his skills are fading. Most importantly, Pavelski comes with a $7M cap hit for the 2021–22 season.
The Flyers have plenty of potential prospects in their system. They can only protect so many of them.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, F – He replaces Oskar Lindbom (another expansion draft candidate), who is out for the year with Ewing’s Sarcoma. A two-way center, Aube-Kubel, doesn’t put up enough offense for the Flyers to protect.
Scott Laughton, C – Laughton is a very talented player who can dominate in the faceoff circle. He has struggled to find offensive consistency in Philadelphia. A change of scenery might do him some good.
German Rubtsov, F – The rookie will likely be the 13th or 14th forward on the roster. There may be too many good young players on the team to protect instead of him.
James van Riemsdyk, LW – For all that he does well, the Team USA mainstay has had a decline in points every season since 2016–17. A $7M cap hit through 2023 likely prices him out of the Flyers protected list.
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikicommons)
Yes, Vegas is exempt from this expansion draft. They will, however, have players whose contracts will expire at the end of next year. Seattle can sign as many of them as they like. If they are on the ice, why not scout them?
Nick Cousins, F – Cousins seems destined to bounce around the NHL for another few seasons as a third/fourth line player.
Alec Martinez, D – He’s an old school stay-at-home blueliner. He went to Vegas from LA at this year’s trade deadline. Martinez now plays with Knights Captain Derek Engelland. By the time Seattle starts signing players, maybe the defenseman can be to the Kraken what Engelland is to Vegas, the team leader.
Brandon Pirri, F – He’s been a fringe-NHL player since breaking into the league in 2011. He’s not likely to see much action unless one of the Knights forwards gets hurt.
Paul Stastny, C – By the time his current deal expires, Stastny will be six months on the wrong side of 35. He won’t get a big-money deal next time out, but he could help a young team. Stastny is one of the NHL’s best faceoff men.
Alex Ovechkin will be a free agent after next season. Relax Kraken fans, he’s chasing history and won’t sign with an expansion team.
Carl Hagelin, LW – Hagelin is an outstanding defensive forward, with high-end wheels. He has a very reasonable $2.75M per year through 2023.
Garnet Hathaway, RW – He’s one of many bottom-six forwards available in this draft. The biggest thing that makes him attractive to the Seattle Kraken is that they can flip his reasonable $1.5M annual salary to a team that needs forward depth in exchange for a draft pick.
Nick Jensen, D – A bottom pair stay at home defender.
T.J. Oshie, RW – Oshie grew up near Everett and played his early junior hockey in Seattle. He’s a popular choice among Kraken fans to become a member of this team. It won’t be as simple as Washington exposing him in the expansion draft.
Watching Oshie in a shutout is like watching a master craftsman do his job. For all his offensive talent, however, he’s only scored 30 goals and 60 points once each in his 12-year career.
Joonas Donskoi, Colorado Avalanche, (Photo by Quintin Soloviev, via Wikicommons)
Colorado is an up and coming young team with a solid leadership core.
Joonas Donskoi, RW – Donskoi is a classic middle-six wing. He’ll play on the third line and step up on occasion to a scoring role. It’s hard to see the Kraken selecting Donskoi in the draft, with all the talent Colorado will have available. Then again, trades will happen, and the Avs have plenty to protect.
Tyson Jost, C – It’s hard to believe Colorado exposes 2016’s tenth overall pick in the expansion draft. He has struggled to make an impact in the league since arriving on the scene in 2017. In three full seasons, Jost hasn’t scored over 26 points in a season.
Nazem Kadri, C – Kadri is a three-time 50 point scorer. He’d be an excellent pickup for the Seattle Kraken. Colorado can use the money they save from Kadri’s $4.5M for the mega-extension captain Gabriel Landeskog will get next summer.
Nikita Zadorov, D – He’s young, he’s talented, and he’s on the same team as Erik Johnson, who has a no-movement clause, Cale Makar, and Samuel Girard. He played for $3.2M this season and is a pending restricted free agent. Zadorov might be priced-out at expansion draft time.
There is no way the Bolts can protect all the quality players they have. Tampa is going to lose someone good.
Tyler Johnson, C – He’s a former 70-point scorer for the Lightning. On any other team, Johnson would be a guaranteed top-six forward. Tampa is so deep up front; they can utilize Johnson’s outstanding defensive ability.
Alex Killorn, C – Another talented forward, not utilized to his potential. Killorn could be left unprotected due to too many good players and not enough spots to protect him. Then again, he might be protected because he’s paid less than everyone else on this watch list.
Ryan McDonagh, D – There are three reasons why Ryan McDonagh will be left unprotected, Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and Cal Foote. He’s a former New York Rangers captain and a certified on-ice leader. Unfortunately, McDonagh also 31-years-old and has an annual cap hit of $6.5M through 2026.
Brayden Point, C – Why in the world would a young high performer like Point be available in the expansion draft? Last season he scored 92 points, this season he has 64 points in 66 games. Brayden Point has a $6.5M cap hit through 2021–22. That’s an average annual value, his actual pay that final year is $9M.
Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues. (Photo by Sarah Connors, via Flickr)
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.
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.