Seattle Kraken mock expansion draft version 5.0
Ed Stein
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Forwards
When Vegas played their inaugural season, they surprised the rest of the league with the quality of their forwards. The Knights scored goals in bunches and put opponents on their heels quickly. Seattle could come very close in that regard with a quality group of forwards as well.
Mikael Backlund – Calgary, 31, 3-years, $5.35M
Anders Bjork – Buffalo, 24, 2-years, $1.6M
Ryan Donato – San Jose, 25, RFA
Pierre Engvall – Toronto, 24, 1-year, $1.25M
Radek Faksa – Dallas, 27, 4-years, $3.25M
Luke Glendening – Detroit, 32, UFA (proposed 2-years, $3M, $1.5M AAV)
Jordan Greenway – Minnesota, 24, 1-year, $2.10M
Carl Grundstrom – Los Angeles, 23, 1-year, 725K
Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado, 29, UFA (proposed 6-years, $57M, $9.5M AAV)
Johan Larsson – Arizona, 28, 1-year, $1.4M
Nino Niederreiter – Carolina, 28, 1-year, $5.25M
T.J. Oshie – Washington, 33, 4-years, $5.75M
Eric Robinson – Columbus, 25, 1-year, $975K
Antoine Roussel – Vancouver, 31, 1-year, $3.00M
Pavel Zacha – New Jersey, 24, 1-year, $2.25M
There is great value here. Local product T.J. Oshie is the big pickup in the expansion draft. Expect to see his face plastered on billboards across the Pacific Northwest. Oshie should be a valuable member of the Seattle Kraken through the end of his contract.
Lines
- Landeskog – Backlund – Oshie
- Niederreiter – Zacha – Greenway
- Donato – Faksa – Roussel
- Robinson/Gundstrom – Larsson? – Glendening
Robinson and Gundstrom alternate on the fourth line, with the other serving as the 13th forward.
Overall, this is a good group of forwards with a good combination of skill, size, and grit. They can skate and play physically. The Top-6 could put up lots of goals. It will be fun to watch Kraken power forwards crash the net. When Backlund got his chance to play an offensive role in Calgary, he responded well. That makes him an ideal pivot for the crafty Oshie and hard-charging Landeskog.
Zacha is just coming into his own. If he’s ready to take the next step, it’s a steal. Niederreiter is a good compliment to him and Greenway has Donato looking over his shoulder for playing time. Roussel is the “protector” with some help from Glendening. Faksa is a reliable faceoff man for the third line. There is a question mark next to Larsson’s name because I believe the fourth line center will be signed as a free agent just before training camp opens.
How do you see the Seattle Kraken expansion draft shaping up? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.