In the last 72 hours there was a flurry of trades that will certainly impact the Expansion Draft protection lists across the NHL. With so many moves in a short time, it’s a bit tough to understand the influence they will have on those lists and who might ultimately be available for the Seattle Kraken. To help you with navigating the moves, here are my initial reactions to the 11 trades that occurred leading up to the Expansion Draft.
July 12th Trade
Trade #1
Los Angeles Kings acquire: Viktor Arvidsson (Forward)
Nashville Predators acquire: 2021 Second-Round Pick, 2022 Third-Round Pick
NSH Impact – Predators create space for another forward to be protected. Forecast has Colton Sissons or Rocco Grimaldi now protected.
LAK Impact – Arvidsson will be protected. The Kings have a lot of bubble forwards and this will just add one more player to the pool. One of Lias Andersson, Dustin Brown, Blake Lizotte, or Trevor Moore will be exposed in the Expansion Draft that would have otherwise been protected before the trade.
Seattle Impact – With Nashville expected to go with a 4-4-1 protection scenario, the Predators were set to expose a decent middle-six forward. That list of forwards got smaller and might be non-existent when this thing is all said and done.
July 14th Trades
Trade #2
Edmonton Oilers acquire: Duncan Keith (Defense) and Tim Soderlund (Forward)
Chicago Blackhawks acquire: Caleb Jones (Defense) and Conditional 2022 Third-Round Pick
EDM Impact – None. Oilers had signaled that Jones would be protected, so Keith simply takes Jones’ spot on the protected list.
CHI Impact – None. Same as the Oilers, Keith would have been protected and now Jones takes his spot on the protected list.
Seattle Impact – None.
July 15th Trade
Trade #3
New Jersey Devils acquire: Ryan Graves (Defense)
Colorado Avalanche acquire: Mikhail Maltsev (Forward) and 2021 Second-Round Pick
NJD Impact – Likely means that both PK Subban and Will Butcher will now be exposed in the Expansion Draft.
COL Impact – Graves looked like the leading candidate to get picked by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft. This prevents Colorado from losing him in the draft.
Seattle Impact – Colorado was one of the most vulnerable teams headed into the Expansion Draft, but with this trade and Erik Johnson waiving his no-movement clause, the options now seem thin. Maybe that will drive Ron Francis and team to dig into the dark arts of the pending unrestricted free agents of Gabriel Landeskog or Philipp Grubauer.
July 16th Trades
Trade #4
Detroit Red Wings acquire: Nick Leddy (Defense)
New York Islanders acquire: Richard Panik (Forward) and 2021 Second-Round Pick
DET Impact – Leddy probably bumps Danny DeKeyser off the defensive protected list in Detroit.
NYI Impact – Leddy was not projected to be protected, but this did help the Isles clear $4 million in cap space (more on this later).
Seattle Impact – Leddy was projected to be a Kraken target, so he is obviously no longer an option. Seattle is probably not interested in DeKeyser.
July 17th Trades
Trade #5
Vancouver Canucks acquire: Jason Dickinson (Forward)
Dallas Stars acquire: 2021 Third-Round Pick
VAN Impact – This apparently bumps 23-year-old Kole Lind off the protected lists.
DAL Impact – Dickinson was a leading candidate to be selected from Dallas. This move assures they do not lose him for nothing.
Seattle Impact – Neither Dallas nor Vancouver was expected to have much to select from in the Expansion Draft. Dickinson was the most likely candidate from the Stars and Lind was expected to be protected. I would anticipate Seattle selecting a pending UFA in Dallas and letting them walk. Lind or a side deal involving Holtby could be the play in Vancouver.
Trade #6
Arizona Coyotes acquire: Josef Korenar (Goalie) and 2022 Second-Round Pick
San Jose Sharks acquire: Adin Hill (Goalie) and 2022 Seventh-Round Pick
ARI Impact – Adin Hill looked like the pick from Arizona, so moving him prevents the Coyotes from losing him for nothing.
SJS Impact – Korenar was expected to be protected, so Hill will take his protection slot.
Seattle Impact – Hill seemed like the pick from Arizona, and now it looks like it will be rather slim pickings for Seattle. Korenar was expected to be protected in San Jose so maybe Seattle selects Korenar from Arizona instead, which seems possible.
Trade #7
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire: Filip Hallander (Forward) and 2023 Seventh-Round Pick
Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Jared McCann (Forward)
PIT Impact – Jared McCann was the likely target from the Penguins in the Expansion Draft. Hallander is exempt, so they do not lose McCann for nothing.
TOR Impact – If Toronto goes with the 4-4-1 format, McCann will be exposed but Seattle will need to select McCann or Alexander Kerfoot.
Seattle Impact – The net of the trade means that Seattle can only get one of McCann or Kerfoot, but not both, since they can only select one player from the Maple Leafs.
Trade #8
New York Rangers acquire: Nick DeSimone (Defense) and 2022 Fourth-Round Pick
Vegas Golden Knights acquire: Brett Howden (Forward)
NYR Impact – Howden was a potential expansion candidate, so the Rangers salvage a draft pick instead of losing him to the Kraken.
VGK Impact – No impact.
Seattle Impact – Seattle’s options on the New York Rangers just got a little thinner. Expect Colin Blackwell or Kevin Rooney as possible options.
Trade #9
Nashville Predators acquire: Philippe Myers (Defense) and Nolan Patrick (Forward)
Philadelphia Flyers acquire: Ryan Ellis (Defense)
NSH Impact – Nashville’s final protection list will be interesting. Moving Ellis might open the door to protect Alexandre Carrier as a fourth defenseman, or the team could go back to a 7-3-1 format and protect some of their younger forwards in Tanner Jeannot, Yakov Trenin, and/or Rem Pitlick. The Preds had a plan that involved moving one of their top defensemen out, and we will see what that plan is when their final protection list comes out.
PHI Impact – Nolan Patrick was projected as the seventh forward to be protected by the Flyers, which will now move someone like James van Riemsdyk or Nicolas Aube-Kubel onto the protected list.
Seattle Impact – This is tough to read without seeing Nashville’s final protected list, but the Flyers are still expected to expose Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, and either James van Riemsdyk or Nicolas Aube-Kubel, so there are still decent options in Philly.
Trade #10
Nashville Predators acquire: Cody Glass (Forwards)
Vegas Golden Knights acquire: Nolan Patrick (Forwards)
NSH Impact – The Nolan Patrick era was over in Nashville before it even began. Patrick would have needed to be protected or exposed, while Glass is exempt from the Expansion Draft, so the Preds will get one more spot to protect.
VGK Impact – None since they do not participate in the Expansion Draft.
Seattle Impact – Minimal since Patrick was never really a consideration out of Nashville.
Trade #11
Arizona Coyotes acquire: Andrew Ladd (Forward), 2021 Second-Round Pick, 2022 Second-Round Pick, and 2023 Third-Round Pick
New York Islanders acquire: “Future Consideration”
ARI Impact – Nothing since Seattle would never have considered Andrew Ladd.
NYI Impact – Frees up cap space.
Seattle Impact – On the surface nothing, but between this trade and the Nick Leddy trade, the Islanders cleared $8.5 million in cap space. The cap situation in New York would have otherwise been a vulnerability that Seattle could have taken advantage of in the Expansion Draft.