Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks. (Photo by Mark Mauno, via Flickr)
Seattle Kraken.
No one knows yet who NHL teams will or will not expose to the Seattle Kraken in next year’s expansion draft. After the Stanley Cup Playoffs, free agency, arbitration, and the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, all of which will wrap up by November, will make the picture much clearer. Of course, those dates may still change due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But they are solid at this point.
Here is a brief recap of the rules in place when the Seattle Kraken selects in the Expansion Draft sometime in early-to-mid-summer of 2021.
Seattle Kraken General manager Ron Francis can still negotiate for some of these players the same way Vegas’ GM George McPhee did a couple of years ago. There will be plenty of trades before the expansion draft as well. The player can waive a “No-movement” clauses. That was the case with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury who was selected by the Knights from the Penguins. There are rumors that the Seattle Kraken wants to do the same with Montreal netminder Carey Price. Otherwise, if the player does not waive his no-movement clause, he must be protected.
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights. (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikimedia)
We won’t know until the 2020-21 trade deadline passes if forward Keegan Kolesar, or defenseman Shea Theodore, will be available to the Kraken. As of now, they and all of the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt from the 2021 expansion draft. That doesn’t mean either can’t come to Seattle in a trade. It’s doubtful Vegas would part with Theodore, especially after the great run he had in the playoffs this year. Kolesar isn’t one of Vegas’ top prospects. He could come to Seattle as part of a bigger trade.
Then there is center Alexander True, from the San Jose Sharks. Big and strong at 6-5, 205-pounds, True is a regular visitor to the penalty box. That’s because his play lacks discipline at times and is also why the power forward isn’t a full-time NHLer yet. He hasn’t qualified for the expansion draft with only 12 NHL games under his belt. But San Jose might sacrifice True in a trade to protect someone else.
The next two players are also T-Birds alumni. However, they are very valuable to their current teams and prime candidates to be protected. Kraken fans can still hope.
Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders. The New York Islanders first-round pick in 2015 (16th overall), Barzal has led the Isles in scoring for three straight seasons. He plays on New York’s top line, and his team is currently in the Eastern Conference Finals. A former Calder Trophy winner as Rookie of the Year in 2018, Barzal is a dangerous scorer, even on Barry Trotz’s defense-first team. He has 207 points in 234 NHL games. More than 60 percent of those games were under Trotz.
Barzal’s entry-level contract is up this year, making him a restricted free agent. If he and the Isles can’t come to a long term solution…
During his time with the Thunderbirds, Barzal earned MVP of the WHL playoffs by scoring 25 points in 16 games, taking the T-Birds all the way to win their first championship in 2017. He was also the Western Conference Player of the Year, with 79 points in only 41 regular-season games.
Ethan Bear, D, Edmonton Oilers. Barzal’s teammate in Seattle, defenseman Ethan Bear was chosen in the fifth round by the Oilers in 2015. As a rookie this year, Bear plays quite a bit on Edmonton’s top defensive pair and averages almost 22 minutes of ice time per night. He has played 89 NHL games and scored 25 points.
There are several former T-Birds players, in and around the NHL, who are worth more than a passing glance come expansion time.
Calvin Pickard, Colorado Avalanche. (Photo by Richard Bartlaga, via Flickr)
Originally undrafted, Brenden Dillon has played in the NHL since 2011. In that time, Dillon has played 598 games with Dallas, San Jose, and Washington, scoring 114 points and a +13. Known for his physicality, he has spent lots of time in the box, 574 minutes, to be exact. Dillon’s contract is up after the Cup Finals. The 29-year-old shouldn’t have a difficult time finding somewhere to play next season.
Patrick Marleau turned 41 this week. It’s been 23 years since he scored 125 points, on the way to the T-Birds first WHL Western Conference Championship. Marleau broke into the NHL with San Jose as an 18-year-old after being the second overall pick of the 1997 draft. 518 goals and 584 assists later, “Mr. Shark” is a guaranteed Hall of Famer. The question is, will he hang up his skates before Francis can talk him into one more year. If there was ever someone to wear the first “C” in Seattle Kraken history, Patrick Marleau is the man.
Nate Thompson was drafted 183rd overall in 2003. Since he made his debut with Boston in 2007, the journeyman center has played for several teams, including NYI, Tampa, Anaheim, Ottawa, Los Angeles, and Montreal before joining the Philadelphia Flyers last season. In 13 NHL seasons, he has played in 767 NHL games with 156 points. What keeps Thompson in the league isn’t scoring; it’s his tight-checking game and top-shelf faceoff skills. He’s won 52.9 percent of his career draws, and his lowest season faceoff-win percentage since 2016 is 53.1 percent.
Currently down in the AHL at Grand Rapids, Calvin Pickard has played 107 NHL games with five different teams. He has a career 3.00 goals Against Average and .905 Save Percentage. Most notably, he earned the AHL’s Harry Holmes Memorial Award for best goaltending duo and helped his team win the Calder Cup Championship in 2018.
Thomas Hickey, New York Islanders. (Photo by Lisa Gansky, via Flickr)
As previously mentioned, some of our other favorite players will not be eligible because they are still developing in the AHL. Then some minor league veterans may wind up with the Kracken through trades or other roundabout ways. Seattle still needs to fill a minor league roster, and a few well-placed vets can help younger players develop.
It seems very odd to see Thomas Hickey‘s name on a list of AHL veterans. After seven seasons and 449 games with the Isles, his game started to slip during the 2018-19 season, which earned him a trip to Bridgeport of the AHL after clearing waivers. If it weren’t for Andrew Ladd, Hickey would be a the top of NYI’s buyout list. He’s scheduled to make $2.5M through 2022. You can bet Islanders President Lou Lamoriello will do his best to incentivize Seattle to take Hickey off their hands to protect other players.
One of the New York Rangers problem children, former second-round pick Ryan Gropp is on the outs with his organization. At one point, Dobber Prospects ranked Gropp as the second-best left wing prospect in NYR’s organization. Unfortunately, the former high scoring T-Birds forward hasn’t been able to make a go of it in the AHL. Last season he was suspended for failure to report when he refused a demotion to the ECHL. His entry-level contract is up, and he most likely won’t get a new one from New York. Maybe a change of organization will help.
At 23-years-old, Lane Pederson is yet to have his first taste of NHL action. Undrafted, Pederson came to the Yotes on an amateur tryout in 2017 where he earned a three-year, entry-level contract. He’s been in the Coyotes system for three seasons and has 107 points in 163 regular-season AHL games. Arizona thought enough of Pederson to sign him to a one-year contract extension last month.
Fans of Pacific Northwest teams would be thrilled to see some of the area WHL alumni come “home.” What matters most is that the Seattle Kraken have a few superstars and plenty of depth. Vegas went on to play in the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year. The Kraken have the same expansion draft rules to work with as Vegas did. That may change if there is future expansion. For now, Francis must take advantage of the existing structure and select a good team.
This concludes our series. Click on the name of the area WHL team to see their player profiles.
Tell us in the comments section below who is your favorite player that you want to see come home to the Kraken next year.