Tyson Barrie, Edmonton Oilers.
Welcome to Pacific Northwest Sports’ fifth Seattle Kraken mock expansion draft. We dropped the “too early” because the 2020–21 NHL regular season is over. We know which players from the 30 teams reached the expansion draft qualification criteria, which is explained later.
While there might be trades among the other 30 beforehand, it’s much easier to project who might be available in the expansion draft, than it was even a few weeks ago. Kraken General Manager Ron Francis will have some quality players to choose from.
This mock draft will be like version 4.0 because free agent signings I think the Seattle Kraken should make are included. We will hold off on the trade part this time. Rest assured, Francis will be wheeling and dealing with his counterparts in the days and weeks before the draft happens.
Before getting into the details, there are some important dates to keep in mind.
The Kraken has an exclusive, two-day window to sign unrestricted free agents. If they sign a UFA before the expansion draft, he counts as the player Seattle drafted off his original team. For example, if Seattle signs Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on July 19, he would count as Seattle’s expansion selection from the Oilers.
There are positives to signing early free agents. Kraken GM Ron Francis could land a few choice draft picks from teams who don’t want to lose key players. In this example, the Bruins don’t want to lose a promising young player like Ondrej Kase or Jakub Zboril. Boston could offer up a second-round pick if the Kraken sign UFA defenseman Kevan Miller.
As mentioned earlier, here are some players the Kraken should sign before draft day.
Gabriel Landeskog – Six years, $57M ($9.5M average annual value), with a nice bonus on the front end. Backup plan Taylor Hall or RNH. This money goes to the franchise cornerstone. It’s a rare chance that a new team can sign an impact player and leader in his prime. Whichever one of these three Seattle signs wears the “C” as the first Kraken captain.
Tyson Barrie – (Five years, $30M). Barrie is the elusive puck-handling, power-play quarterback every team needs. He had an excellent bounce-back year in Edmonton and earned his payday.
Luke Glendening – (Two years, $2.5M) Glendening is the type of two-way grinder every team needs. He also adds some additional leadership in the locker room.
The NHL has a precise set of expansion draft rules. They are the same ones used by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019. All parameters existing teams must follow when protecting players are listed below.
Here is a brief recap of the rules in place when the Seattle Kraken selects the Expansion Draft. They are quite favorable to the drafting team. Remember Vegas went to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence.
Again, there is no way to account for trades Francis makes or backroom deals he puts together before and during the draft. There is no cap on the number of transactions he can make.
For now, with the help of Capfriendly.com’s Expansion Draft Simulator, this is our preliminary team.
Going back to Vegas, the key to their entire season and big Stanley Cup Playoffs success 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, third options, and a number one.
The following list is goalies selected in this mock, along with their current team, age, and annual cap hit (beginning with the 2021–22 season).
Jake Allen – Montreal, 30, 2-years, 2.88M
Casey DeSmith – Pittsburgh, 29, 1-year, $1.25M
Samuel Montembeault – Florida, 24, RFA
Keith Kinkaid – New York Rangers, 31, $825K
Malcolm Subban – Chicago, 27, $850K
Many think the Kraken should find a way to get future Hall-of-Fame goalie Carey Price from Montreal. He’s one of the best ever to put on goalie gear. Additionally, Price played his junior hockey nearby, with the Tri-City Americans.
Selecting Price is exceedingly short-sided. He is 34-years-old, with five years left on his contract at a whopping $10.5M AAV. Even if the Kraken did want Price, he has a no-movement clause in his contract and can’t be moved without his permission.
If the Seattle Kraken felt they needed a venerable veteran for the Marc-Andre Fleury role, they could always draft Jonathan Quick from Los Angeles. His contract is for less money and a much shorter commitment. The results would likely be similar.
Price’s Montreal Canadiens teammate Jake Allen is a much better investment. The eight-year vet is four years younger than Price and has two years left on his current deal with a $2.88M AAV. Allen is a starting-caliber goalie who has a career 2.52 goals against average and .912 save percentage. Those numbers improved to 2.06 and .925 in 29 postseason appearances.
Either Casey DeSmith or Keith Kinkaid, two experienced NHL netminders, will back Allen up. One will stay in the Emerald City while the other gets flipped for something else of value. Malcolm Subban is on the team in case of emergency, while Sam Montembeault is the Kraken goalie of the future.
The way to build a good hockey team is from the net out. Playing solid defense is crucial at the NHL level, especially in the playoffs. This group of blueliners should keep things steady in their own zone without sacrificing offense.
Tyson Barrie – Edmonton, 29, UFA (proposed 5-years, $30M, $6M AAV)
Nathan Beaulieu – Winnipeg, 28, 1-year, $1.75M
Josh Brown – Ottawa, 27, $1.2M
Erik Cernak – Tampa Bay, 23, 2-years, $2.95M
Dante Fabbro – Nashville, 22, RFA
Haydn Fleury – Anaheim, 24, 1-year, $1.30M
Jeremy Lauzon – Boston, 1-year, $850K
Scott Mayfield – New York Islanders, 28, 2-years, $1.45M
Philippe Myers – Philadelphia, 2-years, $2.55M
Marco Scandella – St. Louis, 31, 3-years, $3.28M
The Kraken will trade some of these defensemen before the season starts. As always, there is a strong market for top-four quality D-men. Some of the selections could bring back a return of solid prospects for long-term development. Then again, Ron Francis could wait until the trade deadline and try to get more from a desperate team.
Scandella and Barrie are the top pair. While Barrie causes havoc in the offensive end, Scandella is the “stay-at-home guy.” They should work well together.
Just like the backup goalie situation, one of Cernak or Myers makes the team, playing second-pair minutes. The other gets flipped. For what it’s worth, I’d put my money on Cernak and his fists of fury.
I really like two of the younger guys, Lauzon and Fabbro. Both have the potential to play big minutes. In Lauzon’s case, he has the skills to become a top-pairing defenseman.
Between Beaulieu, Mayfield, and Fleury, one will be part of the regular lineup, one is the seventh defenseman, and the other is out of luck. Josh Brown needs to show more than he has so far in his NHL career to avoid becoming a career minor leaguer.
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.
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.