Seattle Kraken
By this point, anyone interested in the Seattle Kraken has read mock drafts until their eyes filled with squid ink. That’s why we will keep our final mock draft much shorter than usual.
The Kraken had an exclusive two-day negotiating window from July 18-20. If Seattle signs someone during this period, he counts as the player selected from his former team.
How much big game hunting did the team do? Rumor has it GM Ron Francis signed goalie Chris Driedger away from Florida. There are plenty of other big-ticket free agents out there, such as Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado) and Taylor Hall (Boston), and Dougie Hamilton (Carolina).
All along, I thought the Kraken should go hard after Landeskog. He’s the kind of player and leader a team can build around. Landeskog’s contract demands could make him cost-prohibitive, but he’s with the effort. There are other free agents I think the Kraken should sign pre-draft, and they are included with their likely salary.
Before proceeding to the mock draft, I encourage everyone to read this article on how the Seattle Kraken should handle their draft. In short, it’s how Francis can take advantage of supply and demand to build a strong organization.
Update 8:00 AM PDT – The Seattle Kraken signed defenseman Adam Larsson from Edmonton for 4-years, $16M ($4M AAV).
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.
Casey DeSmith – Pittsburgh, 29, 1-year, $1.25M
Chris Driedger – Florida, 27, 3-years, $10.50M)
Braden Holtby – Vancouver, 31, 1-year, $4.3M
Kaapo Kahkonen – Minnesota, 24, 1-year, $725K
Keith Kinkaid – New York Rangers, 31, $825K
Vitek Vanecek – Washington, 25, 717K
As mentioned above, Driedger is Francis’ choice as the franchise’s first goalie. He should be able to flip Holtby, Kinkaid, and DeSmith for good returns. That leaves two excellent goalie prospects in Kahkonen and Vanecek. They can rotate between Driedgers backup and starting AHL games.
Josh Brown – Ottawa, 27, 1-year, $1.20M
Vince Dunn – St. Louis, 24, RFA
Haydn Fleury – Anaheim, 24, 1-year, $1.30M
Jake Gardiner – Carolina, 31, 2-years, $4.05M
Oliver Kylington – Calgary, 24, RFA
Adam Larsson – Edmonton, 28, 4-years, $4.00M
Jeremy Lauzon – Boston, 1-year, $850K
Colin Miller – Buffalo, 28, 1-year, $3.88M
Radim Simek – San Jose, 28, 3-years, $2.25M
Nikita Zadorov – Chicago, 26, RFA
Francis should have no problems moving Miller, Fleury, Brown, and, Kylington. If there is an opportunity to get a huge return on Gardiner, then the Kraken can deal him and keep Miller.
Dunn and Gardiner can both quarterback the power play. Lauzon is becoming a good stay-at-home defender. Newly signed Adam Larsson is just starting his prime and still has untapped potential. Zadorov is a steady defense partner for Dunn, while Simek should hold down third pair minutes.
Mason Appleton, RW – Winnipeg, 25, 1-year, $900K
Nathan Bastian, RW, C – New Jersey, 23, 2-years, $825K
Michael Dal Colle, LW – New York Islanders, 25, RFA
Joonas Donskoi, RW – Colorado, 29, 2-years, $3.90M
Jonathan Drouin, LW – Montreal, 26, 2-years, $5.50M
Matt Duchene, C – Nashville, 30, 5-years, $8.00M
Christian Fischer, LW, RW – Arizona, 24, 1-year, 1.00M
Luke Glendening, C – Detroit, 31, (proposed 2-years, $2.5M, $1.25M AAV)
Zach Hyman, LW, RW – Toronto, 29, (proposed 5-years, $27M, $5.40M AAV)
Tyler Johnson, LW, C – Tampa Bay, 30 (3-years, $5.00M)
Tanner Kero, LW – Dallas, 28, 2-years, $750K
Blake Lizotte, C – Los Angeles, 23, 1-year, $800K
Kevin Stenlund, RW – Columbus, 24, 1-year, 1.05M
James van Riemsdyk, LW – Philadelphia, 32, 2-years, $7M
This is a very good top six. It would be better if the second line had a stronger pivot and Johnson moved to wing on the third. Additionally, the team could use a legitimate tough guy. Francis will make enough trades to get both. At worst, he signs a free agent or two later in the summer. *Note: If the Seattle Kraken and Landeskog reach an agreement, he replaces Donskoi. Max Domi becomes the pick from Columbus over Stenlund, and Calle Jarnkrok replaces Duchene as the Preds selection.
Once all the players are announced, fans will see the extent of how the Kraken did in the exclusive free-agent negotiating window and the trade market. There will be fans who are disappointed with some of the picks. Those players could be the results of some backroom deals. It will be very interesting to see how many early round draft picks Seattle comes away with.
Are you ready for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on social media.