Seattle Kraken mock expansion draft version 6.0 – pre-protected lists
Goalies
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
Keith Kinkaid – New York Rangers, 31, $825K
Malcolm Subban – Chicago, 27, $850K
Vitek Vanecek – Washington, 25, 717K
Outlook
Many think the Seattle Kraken should try to deal for Montreal Canadiens backstop Carey Price. After he led the bleu, blanc, et rouge to the Cup Finals, it’s certainly a popular option. It’s also exceedingly short-sided. Price is 34-years-old, with five years left on his contract at a whopping $10.5M AAV. Even if he were to waive his no-movement clause, this contract would tie up Seattle’s salary cap for half a decade.
Montreal 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 netminders, will back Allen up. One stays in Seattle while the other gets traded. Malcolm Subban is on the team in case of emergency, while Vitek Vanicek is the Kraken goalie of the future.
Vanecek could throw a huge wrench into this plan. He’s NHL ready but stuck behind Ilya Samsonov in Washington. If the Czech seizes his opportunity early on, three or four of the selections could get dealt. Seattle can always find veteran backups later in free agency.