If you were responsible for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft selections, what would your strategy be for selecting the team? Would you draft young to build for the future or grab a bunch of veterans to compete in year one? Would you draft lower-paid players to use your cap space as a weapon or players on higher salaries to put the best team on the ice? Would you be able to do it all without a preexistent bias you have for some players?
To help answer those questions I thought we would play a simple game of “would you rather?”
The game is simple. I am going to lay out three teams and a few of the players that are expected to be exposed in the Expansion Draft. You will select the players in a short survey at the bottom of the post. The catch here is that the teams and player names are hidden to erase any bias you might have of certain individuals.
Team A
Player 1
- Position: Right Wing/Center (can play either)
- Age on 10-1-2021: 27.8 years old
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: $2.8M through the 2025-26 season.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Solid two-way center that is projected as a third-liner. Can put the puck in the net but does not score often. He had eight goals and eight assists over 54 games this year. Averages ~.3 points per game over the last three seasons.
Player 2
- Position: Center
- Age on 10-1-2021: 30.6
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: $8M/year through the 2025-26 season.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Big playmaking center that averages 12 to 15 goals a season. He is a first-line center but lacks consistency on a night in, night out basis. Productivity has declined over the last few seasons and still has five years remaining on his contract.
Player 3
- Position: Wing
- Age on 10-1-2021: 24.3
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: Becomes RFA after this season with a qualifying offer ~$700k.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Physical forward with some goal scoring capabilities. Started this season in the AHL where he had 21 points with 10 goals and three assists in 13 games. Made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season when he played 15 games and had five goals and two assists. NHL potential is still unknown but has shown promise in development.
Team B
Player 1
- Position: Wing
- Age on 10-1-2021: 26.2
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: Becomes RFA after receiving $2.8M/year on previous contract.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Good skater with good hands. Had seven goals and seven assists over 43 games during the 2020-21 season. Lack of scoring could be misleading since he played on one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL. Could be a 20+ goal scorer if given the opportunity.
Player 2
- Position: Defense
- Age on 10-1-2021: 23.4
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: Becomes RFA after receiving $745K/year. Qualifying offer will be under $1M.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Offensive-minded defenseman that is not afraid to jump up in the play. Has played fewer than 20 games in the NHL in each of the last three seasons. Only played 13 games in 2020-21 and only had four points. He put up 20 points in the AHL over 28 games. Still young, turned 23 in May.
Player 3
- Position: Defense
- Age on 10-1-2021: 32.7
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: $3.9M through the 2022-23 season.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Excellent offensive capabilities with great transitional speed and patience with the puck. Had 15 points over 55 games on a low scoring team during the 2020-21 season. Had 34 points over 70 games during the 2019-20 season. Can be a significant power play contributor as well.
Team C
Player 1
- Position: Defense
- Age on 10-1-2021: 28.5
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: $4.5M/year through 2022-23 season.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Excellent skating abilities with a strong offensive game. Can quarterback the power play and scores some clutch goals. Had nine goals and 11 assists in 41 games during the 2020-21 season. Lacks some consistency and can have defense lapses that costs the team some goals.
Player 2
- Position: Forward
- Age on 10-1-2021: 23.0
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: Becomes RFA after receiving $874K/year. Qualifying offer will be ~$1M but he might require close to $2M.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Projected as an excellent two-way center that has progressed slower than expected. Injuries have been a significant contributor to this player’s development and missed the entire 2019-20 season. Had nine points in 52 games in 2020-21. In his second year of pro hockey, he had 13 goals and 18 assists over 72 games during the 2018-19 NHL season.
Player 3
- Position: Wing
- Age on 10-1-2021: 32.41
- Annual Salary Cap Hit: $7M through the 2022-23 season.
- High-Level Scouting Report: Big forward that is not afraid to drive the net. Excellent goal scoring capabilities with great hockey sense. Had 17 goals and 26 assists in 56 games. Has been a goal scorer his entire career and at 32-years-old, does not appear to be slowing down.
Submit your Expansion Draft selections
If you want to play GM, fill out the questions below and we will share the results in the Weekly One-Timers at the end of the week.
