The Seattle Kraken are about to enter the National Hockey League as the 32nd franchise in the fold, and this week, they get to break hearts.
The expansion draft is this week and only the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt from the picking over of the carcass.
We thought we would take a swing at a mock draft for the Kraken as they select four goalies, 16 forwards and 10 defensemen.
Shall we?
Goalies
There are some tantalizing names in the list of available goalies for the Kraken. For one, Kaapo Kahkonen is available from the Minnesota Wild. He was 16-8-0 with two shutouts for the Wild. Braden Holtby is also available from the Vancouver Canucks. Holtby was 711-3 this past season with under performing Canucks squad due to poor play and Covid-19. Louis Domingue won his only game in Calgary this past season. As a third goalie on the depth chart, Domingue would be an easy slide into a number two role. The New York Rangers left Keith Kinkaid available for this draft. Kincaid played very well for New York during a stretch of injuries to the club’s top two goalies. He would be excellent insurance for the Kraken.
Defensemen
Under ideal conditions, the Kraken are able to make some selections from the available blueliners. Keep in mind “under ideal conditions”. Mark Giordano is available from the Calgary Flames. Giordano has a year left on his contract in Calgary and a bad season behind him, he may have one or several decent leadership campaigns ahead of him. The Philadelphia Flyers’ Justin Braun is available for selection. Braun has more than 700 games under his breezers and is 34. He would be a solid anchor on the back line. Justin Schultz, 31,would be another good selection for the Kraken, coming from the Washington Capitals. He had 27 points points in 46 games this past season and was +12. The Montreal Canadiens left Brett Kulak unprotected, at 27, he would be a good middle distance asset for the Kraken. Jacob Larsson from the Anaheim Ducks iced in 47 games this season and had seven points and was a -9 on a terrible team. At 25, Seattle would gain some youth. The Detroit Red Wings left Dennis Cholowski unprotected. at 23, he is a youngster and played only 16 games this past season on another bad team. Connor Clifton played well for the Boston Bruins this year and the team left him unprotected. Seems the Kraken would do well to pick up a d-man with a +10 rating and seven points off one goal. You cannot protect everyone you want to keep, and the St Louis Blues left Vince Dunn open for the Kraken. Dunn is 24, and iced in 43 games this season with 20 points off six goals and was a -8. Tyson Barrie was left unprotected by the Edmonton Oilers. At 23, Barrie has years ahead of him and he may want out of Edmonton anyway. This past season, Barrie collected 12 points on 11 assists and was a -2 for the campaign. He had one goal in 11 playoff games this season. The Kraken have the chance to take a big defenseman in Erik Gudbranson from the Nashville Predators. His numbers this season were sketchy, but his size would provide some benefit to a new club.
Forwards
A total of 16 forward postilions are open for the Kraken. These are actually the easier of the three category selections. Josh Bailey was left open by the New York Islanders and would seem to be a natural selection for the Kraken. Good, steady forward to place on the right wing. The Tampa Bay Lightning left Yanni Gourde open for selection and Seattle would do well to make him a draft pick. The Winnipeg Jets put Mason Appleton on the unprotected list and he would be another good placement for the Kraken. The 25-year old center would compliment the roster.   The Colorado Avalanche left quite a few high end, older players on the list of available players. Joonas Donskoi is one of them. He picked up 31 points in 51 regular season games, off 17 goals. He was also a +14 on the season and kicked in three goals and five points in 10 playoff games this season. Christian Fischer had a bad year with the Arizona Coyotes. Well, that’s a relative statement given how mediocre the club was. In 52 games, Fischer had three goals and 11 points on the season. There is still upside to the 24-year old forward. The Toronto Maple Leafs may well lose Alexander Kerfoot who is available. In 56 regular season games, Kerfoot had 23 points on eight goals. In the playoffs, he picked up six points on five assists.  The San Jose Sharks have little to offer an expansion franchise. Seattle is committed to taking at least one player from each of 30 teams. From the Sharks, Dylan Gambrell may be the best choice. The Columbus Blue Jackets made Max Domi available and why not take him and his 76 penalty minutes, 24 points and nine goals over 56 games? Look for the Florida Panthers to be losing Alex Wennberg. He is not the popular choice from the Panthers, but his numbers over the 56-game included 17 goals and 29 points on the season with a +6 rating. Like Florida and other clubs, the Dallas Stars would less a team with one of the players on their unprotected list. Look for Blake Comeau to be a Kraken this coming season. In a very odd season, Comeau had 14 points in 51 games. The New Jersey Devils placed a number of grey zone players on their unprotected list. Players with hefty salaries and their best years in the rear view mirror. One player, Nathan Bastian, may stand out for the Kraken. He iced in 41 games and collected 10 points on three goals. When you get to some teams, you realize they are using the expansion draft like a neighborhood garage sale, get what you can, and if you can’t get anything, there’s always the dump. Such is the case with the Ottawa Senators. If Seattle selects anyone, it most likely be Evgenii Dadonov who had 20 points on 13 goals and was a -9 in 55 games. At some point, you get to being in the position of, ‘do I have to?”. Seattle will need to select from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and if you really want some level of talent and resilience than Brandon Tanev. is the choice. Like so many teams, the Pens are getting older and the expansion draft would alleviate some of that age. Not all of it. Mikael Granlund of the Nashville Predators may find himself in the Pacific Northwest. In 51 games, he potted 13 goals and 27 points, then added five points off two goals in six playoff games. If the Rangers give up a skater, in addition to a goalie, then Colin Blackwell may be the selection. Thought eh Rangers did trade for and leave Barclay Goodrow unprotected. In 47 games, Blackwell had 12 goals and 22 points. The Los Angeles Kings seemed to be stockpiling expansion draft picks this season. One player they picked up in a trade this season was Brendan Lemieux from the Rangers. He collected four goals and 11 points on the season and 73 penalty minutes. It might do the Kraken well to have at least one hard-nosed forward on the ice.
It’s all in fun for now, but the Kraken will make their selections and then teams will need to mend fences at home or make deals to shed salary and older talent.
You must be logged in to post a comment.