Seattle Kraken: Way too early mock expansion draft version 2.0
James Neal, Nashville Predators (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikimedia).
Forwards
When Vegas played the inaugural season, they surprised the rest of the league with the quality of their forwards. The Knights were able to score goals in bunches, which put opponents on their heels quickly. Seattle could come very close in that regard with a quality group of forwards as well.
The following are the forwards selected in this mock, along with their current team, age, and cap hit, beginning with the 2021–22 season.
Noel Acciari – Florida, 28, 1-year, $1.67M
Mikael Backlund – Calgary, 31, 3-years, $5.35M
Anthony Cirelli – Tampa Bay, 23, RFA
J.T. Compher – Colorado, 25, 2-year, $3.50M
Jordan Eberle – NY Islanders, 30, 3-years, $5.50M
Pierre Engvall – Toronto, 24, 1-year, $1.25M
Conor Garland – Arizona, 24, RFA (arbitration-eligible)
Max Jones – Anaheim, 22, RFA
David Kampf – Chicago, 25, RFA (arbitration-eligible)
Casey Mittelstadt – Buffalo, 23, RFA
James Neal – Edmonton Oilers, 33, 2-years, $5.75M
T.J. Oshie – Washington, 33, 4-years, $5.75M
Jack Roslovic – Winnipeg, RFA
Colton Sissons – Nashville, 5-year, $2.86M
Pavel Zacha – New Jersey, 1-year, $2.25M
This group of forwards is more experienced than the ones in our previous version. The big get is obviously local product T.J. Oshie. He should be a contributing member of the Seattle Kraken through the end of his contract. If Zacha can play anywhere near his pre-entry draft projections, he’d be a steal. The same goes for Roslovic.
Lines
- Neal – Backlund – Oshie
- Compher – Cirelli – Eberle
- Sissons – Mittelstadt – Roslovic
- Garland – Zacha – Acciari
Engvall serves as the 13th forward. Unless Kampf or Jones beats out one of the above (which could happen), they will start in the minors.
The first line has the potential to be explosive, but two of them are over 33-years-old. While line two might not have the same name value, they are “sneaky” good players. Seattle’s bottom six in this scenario has plenty of talent. Watch out for the fourth line because all three of them have chips on their shoulder.
There is a little bit of everything among the forwards, scoring, playmaking, defense, and potential. What this team lacks is a “policeman” to protect the younger players. On should be easy to find in free agency.