It’s easy and probably overly simplistic to suggest that the Seattle Kraken go all out in signing unrestricted free agents (UFA) at July’s Expansion Draft. If Seattle were to agree to terms with one of those players in the team’s 48-hour exclusive negotiating window, that guy would become its pick from the Expansion Draft list.
But should the Kraken explore this route? Are there players available that would be worth it?
The only sensible answer is maybe.
While there are big-named UFA’s out there, like Alex Ovechkin and Taylor Hall, the chances of them being signed by Seattle are pretty slim. In fact, signing any UFA’s at the Expansion Draft is far from a given for the Kraken. Looking back at Vegas’ Expansion Draft, the Golden Knights signed one UFA, Deryk Engelland, at the Draft.
It’s a different NHL world this time around, however. The flat salary cap has teams dealing with tighter budgets and Seattle may be able to offer more lucrative deals.
The most likely scenarios for this to happen come from teams who don’t have attractive unprotected players for the Kraken to simply pick with their Expansion selection. It’s also possible that from these clubs, Seattle chooses to pick a player who is set to become a free agent and simply allows them to walk – something that Vegas did with three players.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t options that warrant kicking the tires on. We have a list of some interesting UFA players that are worth exploring. Will they sign all of them? No, but these players would be quality additions for Ron Francis and his crew to consider.
Potential Seattle Kraken UFA targets at the Expansion Draft
Tyson Barrie, D, Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers brought Barrie in during the offseason, signing him to a one-year, $3.75 million deal, and have reaped the benefits. Barrie possibly could have found more money elsewhere, but the gamble has paid off for both player and team.
Barrie, who has always been a scoring defenseman, is having one of his best seasons in the NHL with Edmonton. His 39 points through Edmonton’s first 46 games match his point totals in 70 games with Toronto the previous year. Barrie has thrice topped the 50-point mark and is on that kind of pace this year.
connor mcdavid gets his league leading 50th point of the year with this filthy feed to tyson barrie, who puts the oilers up 2-1! –@zjlaingpic.twitter.com/fKcgGsXqAo
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) March 13, 2021
So why should Seattle consider Barrie as an Expansion Draft UFA?
Having a puck-moving defenseman who can contribute offensively and man the power play is essential in today’s NHL. Barrie is that guy and if signed by the Kraken would most likely move to the top of their defensive pairings when you consider the other defensemen who may be available.
He does have some flaws – most notably the play in his own end. Barrie has been a minus player for the majority of his career, but as we know, the plus-minus number can be deceiving. Digging further, he’s coming off two seasons where he topped the 50-percent Corsi-for number. This year he’s a hair under 50 and is on the ice for more scoring chances against than he is for which could be a concern.
With Toronto, a team that has been challenged defensively, the numbers were better and he was a positive player in terms of scoring chances.
Coming off a strong offensive season probably means a pay bump and term for Barrie, but at 29 years old he’ll be relatively affordable with productive years still to come. Edmonton could look to re-sign Barrie but doing so would require them to protect him and risk exposing a young defenseman like Ethan Bear.
Other Oilers options
Barrie may be the top option from Edmonton. Oscar Klefbom is a player who has been hurt all year, and if the Oilers can’t get an injury waiver for him, they may gamble that Seattle would balk at an injured player. If healthy, he’s a better option than Barrie but also likely protected. Otherwise, Seattle is looking at younger, less proven guys like Caleb Jones on defense or former first-round pick Tyler Benson.
Chris Driedger, G, Florida Panthers
The 26-year-old Driedger has been a pleasant surprise for the Panthers this year and a big reason they’re in a race for the Discover Central top spot. Coming into the season he had 12 NHL games under his belt but caught fire and is out-playing Sergei Bobrovsky, whom Florida is paying $10 million a year through the end of time.
Driedger’s save percentage of .923 tops Bobrovsky’s .905 and his $850K-per-year pay check makes him a bargain. Driedger will be in for a raise, but who can pay him more than Ron Francis and the Seattle Kraken?
Florida has a logjam in the net and with Bobrovsky taking up such a huge cap hit, the team won’t be able to pay Driedger. After Driedger, the Panthers have the heralded Spencer Knight waiting in the wings to be the next goalie, making Driedger expendable.
There will be goalies available elsewhere in the Expansion Draft that the Kraken could look at. They need three and based on this season, Driedger would be among the top guys they could rope in.
The biggest question surrounding Driedger is if he can be trusted. He has not played a lot of NHL hockey and spent most of his pro career bouncing around the minors from the AHL and ECHL. Goalies are a different breed and take longer to develop. Driedger is still relatively young and if the Kraken feel that this season is proof of the player he’s going to be, he’d be a UFA worth going after at the Draft.
Other Panthers options
The Panthers aren’t going to offer too many attractive players for Seattle at the Expansion Draft. They acquired Sam Bennett at the trade deadline, and while he was a target on Calgary’s roster, he most likely will be protected by Florida. Otherwise, Seattle is looking at guys like Radko Gudas and Markus Nutivaara which makes Driedger a more desirable option.
Linus Ullmark, G, Buffalo Sabres
Another option at goalie, Ullmark is a year older than Driedger and has a longer NHL resume to consider. He’s in the final year of a $2.6 million contract and may want to escape the mess of Buffalo for greener pastures with the expansion Kraken.
Ullmark has appeared in 117 games with the Sabres and his save percentage has increased the last three seasons as his playing time has risen. While he’s not an elite goaltender, he’s been good and has been stuck on a bad team for the entirety of his tenure.
He also has a Kraken connection as he worked with Kraken pro scout Andrew Allen when Allen served as Buffalo’s goaltending coach. Can Seattle cash in on that to lure him away?
Buffalo most likely would want to sign Ullmark and could do so prior to the Expansion Draft. They have cap room and no other strong goaltending options. If the Kraken is interested, they would have to bank on Ullmark wanting a new home in order to make it happen.
Other Sabres options
The Sabres added Anders Bjork in the Taylor Hall deal at the deadline but most likely will protect him now. That doesn’t leave too many exciting options from Buffalo. Guys like Kyle Okposo, Will Borgen, or Cody Eakin are other options but don’t move the needle much.
Ryan Murray, D, New Jersey Devils
It feels like a lifetime ago when Murray was selected second overall in the NHL Entry Draft from the Everett Silvertips. That was in 2012 and while he’s been a solid, two-way defenseman, he’s been plagued by injuries. In his eight NHL seasons he’s played more than 60 games only three times.
He was traded from Columbus to New Jersey this offseason and has stayed healthy, playing in 41 games so far. Murray has 12 points but scoring isn’t really his main strength. He’ll never light up the scoresheet but he’s good in his own end and has been that with the Devils this season.
Murray’s underlying stats are even for the most part, and he would provide the Kraken with an experienced blueliner.
At 27 years old, he still has good hockey in him, and while he’s coming off a $4.6 million contract, it’s possible that the Kraken could get him at the Expansion Draft on a similar, if not cheaper, UFA deal. The Devils could look to re-sign Murray, but they already have a good deal of cap space tied up in defensemen P.K. Subban and Damon Severson.
Other Devils options
The Devils could dangle Subban and his $9 million a year contract in front of the Kraken. While he’s a big name, Subban’s production has waned the past couple of seasons. It would be a splash for Seattle to select Subban but perhaps may not be the best on-ice move. Murray is three years younger, cheaper, and just as productive.
Zach Hyman, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs don’t have cap space. That’s the result of having three players – Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner – each making over $10 million a year, and that means they are going to lose some free agents.
Hyman has twice topped the 20-goal mark, is 28 years old, and too pricey for the Maple Leafs to reasonably re-sign.
He would be a solid addition for the Kraken to swing for via the UFA window at the Expansion Draft. Hyman has the skill to score and his underlying numbers are great. He drives play.
Hyman’s Corsi-for this season is 52 percent, his expected goal percentage is an impressive 67 percent, and while he’s on the ice the Maple Leafs enjoy a 63-percent advantage in terms of high-danger scoring chances. That all adds up to a quality player that Seattle would benefit from.
Seattle won’t get him for the bargain of $2.25 million a year as Toronto has enjoyed. Looking at some comparables, he’s in line for a pay raise. It helps that the Kraken have all the cap space in the world at the moment.
Other Maple Leafs options
Looking at the Toronto projected protected list, the most intriguing player available may be defenseman Justin Holl. While he’s having a good season, he is not as productive as Hyman and would be a downgrade.
When the puck drops for the Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season this fall, ESPN will return to broadcasting NHL games for the first time since 2004. Perhaps it’s a fitting coincidence of timing for two sports businesses that had their share of detractors when they were trying to get started.
Overcoming rejections and the cynical naysayers requires a determined attitude and special leadership to make these innovative visions, which were underestimated by others, a reality. For Seattle hockey fans, they’ve had Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke to plan and deliver the renovation of Climate Pledge Arena and Kraken majority owner David Bonderman and president and CEO Tod Leiweke to recognize the region’s untapped interest in hockey.
In ESPN’s case, founder Bill Rasmussen took an idea for a 24-hour sports network and turned it into a reality in 1979 despite multiple prospective investors turning down his proposals and many broadcasters and businesspeople telling him it would fail.
“He’s got more optimism than anyone I think I’ve ever met,” said Mike Soltys, who Rasmussen hired as ESPN’s first intern in 1980 and is now vice president, corporate communications at the network. “He’s always just looking at things from the positive side and how to make them happen. And when things don’t go right he has the ability to just move on from them. He doesn’t dwell on it.”
Now 88 and living in Lake Forest Park just north of Seattle, Rasmussen radiates the positivity and optimism that served him well in the network’s formative days and beyond. In a Zoom interview last month, he recalled how he persevered to achieve his goal to create ESPN.
“It’s hard to believe that in the 1970s before ESPN came along there really weren’t, comparatively speaking, very many live sports on television,” Rasmussen said. “The three big networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) only did about 1,300 hours combined in the course of a year. … Saturday afternoon football or a baseball game and Sunday ‘Wide World of Sports’ or something. We were saying we’re going to do 8,760 hours of sports around the clock all year.
“And you know, of course everybody says that’s not gonna work; nobody’s gonna watch it. Where are you going to find all the sports, etc.? And by comparison, of course, we did get to 8,760 hours, we went 24 hours a day. Not right at the beginning but shortly thereafter.”
For some perspective, he pointed out, ESPN in 2019 presented 83,340 total live hours of studio and event programming – TV and digital combined. Safe to say, millions of sports fans are thankful Rasmussen persisted and eventually landed crucial investment money from Getty Oil to turn his idea into the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.
Getting fired by the WHA’s New England Whalers in 1978 helped lead Bill Rasmussen to create ESPN and what would become one of the biggest brands in sports business. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Rasmussen forges ahead while confronting Parkinson’s disease
Even in retirement, Rasmussen has been resilient while forging ahead through personal setbacks such as Parkinson’s disease. He doesn’t like to describe himself as “suffering” from the disease because he can do everything he enjoys. Rasmussen has had to make some adjustments, although “I don’t think I could field groundballs anymore at third base like I used to,” he said.
Unsurprisingly, he’s tackling Parkinson’s with the same spirit he tapped into for overcoming obstacles and achieving his business success.
“Everybody kids me, how can I be so optimistic? Well, that’s the way I’ve been. I’ve been around for (nearly) 90 years … and I’ve just been positive,” he said. “I think we can do anything that we set our minds to do. Someday there’ll be a cure for Parkinson’s.”
To stay active and sharp, Rasmussen has been writing a book that is due to be released in the fall. It looks at the evolution of sports and sports radio, TV and streaming from the 1930s to the 2020s along with major historic U.S. and world events during his lifetime.
“I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease many years ago. And so a neurologist said, ‘You have to keep busy; do something. Write a page a day; write a book. Do something.’ So I said, ‘Well, why not write the book?’ It has been very helpful and it’s fun to go through and recall all of the things that I witnessed and go and learn (about) the things before.”
Rasmussen has been witness to significant changes in sports and broadcasting. Born in Chicago, he served in the Air Force and earned an economics degree and an MBA before starting an advertising services business. Then in the early 1960s his love of sports led to a career pivot, and he became a versatile TV and radio broadcaster who worked on news and multiple sports.
He said he had been eager to become a baseball play-by-play announcer and finally got his chance. After working games for a Double-A team in Pittsfield, Mass., he discovered the hard truth that all hockey fans can understand.
“About the 10th game in I decided this is a really boring job,” Rasmussen said with a laugh. “Hockey was much better because (it’s) in motion all the time.”
Hockey, it turns out, had a big assist in creating ESPN. In 1974, Rasmussen joined the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers as their communications director. But in 1978, Whalers owner Howard Baldwin fired Rasmussen along with the rest of the front office.
If Baldwin – the movie producer who later brought action stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Russell Crowe to the ice in “Sudden Death” and “Mystery, Alaska,” respectively – hadn’t fired Rasmussen, he wouldn’t have had the urgency to start a new business. ESPN would not exist – or at least be what it is today – without the head start it got from Rasmussen and his son Scott.
Quest to find a cure
Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, Bill Rasmussen has tried to use his influence and connections to help others, improve research, and raise money to find a cure for the disease.
“The biggest single thing with Parkinson’s is people don’t want to even go find out whether or not they have it,” Rasmussen said. “They might notice a little tremor; they might notice a little hesitation in their step. I say, ‘Well, you know, that’ll be OK,’ those are the early indications of Parkinson’s. But people don’t want to hear those words, so you can’t really attack living with it until you admit that you have it.”
The ESPN founder is on the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s patient council and is actively involved in the American Parkinson Disease Association to help raise awareness. He said it’s important for more people of all ages with the disease commit their time to participate in research studies.
“No one knows when it starts. They can’t just say, OK we’ve discovered you at this stage, we know that you probably contracted this a year ago or 10 years ago, we can’t do that because we haven’t got enough research,” Rasmussen said.
A person is diagnosed with Parkinson’s about once every nine minutes in the United States, according to the APDA.
“So you can imagine that’s lot of people, and we don’t even know how many people who just don’t want to admit it,” Rasmussen said.
One of the main messages he makes through his volunteer roles and outreach is to remind people to not give up. Describing himself as being on the “intentionally optimistic side rather than ‘Oh, woe is me’ side” in response to being diagnosed, Rasmussen also is excited by the advances being made to cure the disease.
“I’m a confident guy. I think they can solve it,” Rasmussen said. “I don’t know if it’s while I’m still here, but I’ll just have to live longer that’s all. I figure 100, 105 maybe. By that time I’ll be slowing down.”
“I’ve been asked that a few times, and it probably wouldn’t have (been created),” Rasmussen said of ESPN. “I would have kept on doing hockey till I either got fired or got bored, one or the other, and it turned out I got fired first.”
While stuck in freeway traffic in Connecticut, Rasmussen and his son were killing time by brainstorming “what if” and “what about” ideas when it led to thoughts of creating a 24-hour sports channel.
This perfect example of one door closing and another one opening combined with some serendipity in acquiring satellite access and making your own luck through ingenuity and hard work created a path to success. Rasmussen eventually used $9,000 from a credit card advance to create ESPN, and the world’s first 24-hour television network was launched in 1979.
Whalers connections from ESPN to the Kraken
Another parallel between ESPN and the Kraken is the team’s links to the Whalers. The WHA’s New England Whalers joined the NHL and became the Hartford Whalers a year after Baldwin fired Rasmussen. Seattle general manager Ron Francis was drafted fourth overall in 1981 and played 10 seasons in Hartford. Former NHL Seattle advisor Dave Tippett, who’s now coaching the Edmonton Oilers, played seven seasons in Hartford.
After witnessing the wild days of the WHA, Rasmussen could probably write an entertaining book about the ups and downs of the New England Whalers. As was common for the upstart league that tried to compete with the NHL in the brawling 1970s, the Whalers had their share of notable characters, such as colorful coach Harry Neale, combative goalie Al “The Bear” Smith, hard-hitting Jack “Killer” Carlson, “Slap Shot” Hanson brother Steve Carlson, and feisty pest Johnny “Pie” McKenzie.
McKenzie, who had helped the Boston Bruins win two Stanley Cups before bouncing around the WHA, was a gritty, 5-9 grinder who liked getting under the opponent’s skin. Rasmussen recalled McKenzie “around a gaggle of players” and doing his instigating best during a 1978 game after the Hartford Civic Center’s roof had collapsed in a snowstorm.
Gordie Howe getting suited up at age 50. You can literally feel the old man strength. pic.twitter.com/lw4utTUjKS
“We were playing up in Springfield, and it’s an image I can see right now talking to you,” Rasmussen said. “He was agitating, you know, elbows and the stick and all this. Somebody turned around, and I don’t know if they were swinging at him but they missed him and hit somebody else. He just went over and he jumped up and sat on the boards while there’s a big fight going out on the ice. He’s the guy who started it all, and he’s sitting over on the boards. He looked like a little kid with his legs hanging down, and he was laughing. He was a character.”
Another “big-time instigator” Rasmussen admired and has fond memories of is Gordie Howe, one of the WHA’s marquee players and the biggest star of the New England Whalers. After moving from the Houston Aeros to the Whalers in 1977-78 with his sons Mark and Marty, the Detroit Red Wings legend led New England in scoring with 96 points in 76 games. Even as he was turning 50 in 1978, Howe’s fitness was superior to most of his teammates, and Rasmussen said he could still run rings around the rookies.
“I remember (Neale) saying this one year you had to have the players run, I don’t know a six-minute mile or some such thing as part of their conditioning in the fall. And Gordie won it every time! He was ahead of them, so he finally said, ‘You can’t do this, Gordie. You’re embarrassing them,’” Rasmussen said with a laugh.
“Can you imagine the young, what 18-, 20-year-old who thinks he’s in great shape and here’s this graybeard saying, ‘Come on, kid, catch up.’”
Old-time hockey, like Eddie Shore
Rasmussen’s old-time hockey connections run even deeper than the WHA. While he was working radio and TV jobs in Springfield, Mass., Rasmussen did play-by-play for the American Hockey League’s Springfield Indians/Kings. Team owner and Boston Bruins legend Eddie Shore decided he needed to give Rasmussen some one-on-one lessons on the finer points about hockey.
“I remember Johnny Wilson was the coach and he had me down (on the ice for practice). And if they were missing somebody I would skate the right wing or left wing or center, whatever the deal was,” Rasmussen said. “I was just filling a position, nobody did anything to me. But you’d have to wear shin guards because those guys they just can’t help but tap somebody in the shins with a stick.
“But Eddie Shore came out one day, and he used to come out and blow the whistle when the Zamboni was coming out after the morning skate. And I’d go off like everybody else, and he said – I can still hear him – he said, ‘Mister come over here. Mister you, over here. He says, if you’re gonna do this you oughta learn how to skate.”
Rasmussen wasn’t exactly a novice. He said he’d skated for 40 years and was a referee for junior hockey in Massachusetts.
“And then he said, ‘Do you know how to hold a hockey stick?’ I mean he’s really giving it to me. So come over here, he dropped a bunch of pucks and he started backhanding them up against the boards. … And he’s just standing and he’s firing pucks backhand and he says, ‘OK you do that.’ I couldn’t do a backhand. I couldn’t lift the puck off the ice backhanded if I was doing it from then till now. It would never happen. But he said, ‘We’re going to teach you,’ and he frequently would come over as we were going off and he’d say, ‘Let’s try this today.’”
Shore’s legacy as a rugged Hockey Hall of Fame player and two-time Stanley Cup winner for the Bruins is nearly matched by his notoriety as a cheapskate owner. Rasmussen recalled a famous 1966 players strike over poor wages that led to Shore recruiting replacement players from the Eastern Hockey League, which “was known mostly for drop the puck and let’s fight. Those were tough days.”
“It was comedy on ice for about two or three games before they finally reached some sort of an accommodation, and the real guys came back and played,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen, left, and Bristol, Conn., Mayor Michael Werner dig into the groundbreaking ceremony for ESPN studios in 1980. (ESPN Images)
The standards for running a pro sports franchise have thankfully progressed since the 1960s. Shore resisted broadcasting Indians games on the radio until the mid-1960s because he thought it would hurt ticket sales, although Rasmussen said they “always sold out 5,934 people every game.”
Shore’s management style for pinching pennies involved members of his family helping the Indians cut costs. Rasmussen recalled dropping in on the Eastern States Coliseum in West Springfield in the offseason during a horse show and running into Shore’s son Ted.
“I said, ‘Teddy, what are you doing here? There’s no hockey today.’ He says, ‘Oh, I’m making popcorn,’” Rasmussen said.
“I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m making popcorn.’
“This is like August or early September, so he took me back and showed me they had these big, they looked like 55-gallon drums, and they’re made out of fiberboard. He’s back there filling those and making popcorn for the season. So you know the popcorn that you’re eating in November and December was probably made in August and September.”
Fortunately venue management and sports franchise ownership have evolved considerably since then, and Rasmussen and his fellow Seattle hockey fans can expect much fresher fare when Climate Pledge Arena opens. And whenever the Kraken make their national TV debut, Seattle fans should give some thanks to their innovative neighbor in Lake Forest Park with the unwavering optimism for not giving up on his vision to create ESPN.
“I think I’m a great advocate of getting up in the morning and having a happy thought right away,” Rasmussen said. “I remember Jimmy Durante used to sing this song about you’ve got to ‘Start Off Each Day With a Song,’ and that’s a happy song.”
(Top photo of Bill Rasmussen on the “SportsCenter” set: Rich Arden/ESPN Images)
Jim Wilkie is a longtime Northwest journalist, former NHL editor and NHL Insider writer for ESPN.com, onetime GSHL All-Star, and SJHA hockey dad. Follow him on Twitter @jimwilkie.
Last week’s trade deadline was an important milestone to settle the outlook for teams’ protected lists for the fast-approaching Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft on July 21. In addition to the 50 players that changed teams prior to the trade deadline, there were three contract extensions signed, as well as two waiver claims.
We will not see nearly that amount of movement leading up to the Expansion Draft, but we should not bake our projected protected lists just yet. Here are three ways you can expect NHL rosters, and thus protected lists, to change leading up to the Expansion Draft.
Pending UFA contract extension
We do not have to look far for an example of this scenario. Late last week, Winnipeg signed Adam Lowry to a five-year contract extension that will undoubtedly signal that the Jets will be protecting him come July. This will then force a scenario where some other forward will be exposed to the Kraken.
Looking back at 2017 during the previous Expansion Draft, this scenario was not that common. Vladimír Sobotka would be the only UFA contract extension I could find where they signed him, then protected him in the Expansion Draft.
There are several pending UFAs of note, but a few of those are worth keeping an eye on for potential contract extensions: Taylor Hall (BOS), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Brandon Saad (COL), Dougie Hamilton (CAR), and Gabriel Landeskog (COL).
As a side note, there were several scenarios in 2017 where pending restricted free agents, or “RFAs”, had signed extensions with their existing team and then were protected. In most of these cases, these players would have been protected in the Expansion Draft, regardless of whether they had signed.
Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Drouin, and Teuvo Teräväinen are all examples of RFA players that signed and were protected. (Click here for more info on RFA)
Trading of expiring UFA signing rights, then extending
During most years, there are a few scenarios where a team trades a player that is on an expiring deal. The acquiring club then tries to re-sign the player before they enter free agency. This gives the acquiring club the sole negotiating rights to re-sign the acquired player.
In 2017, Ben Bishop was on an expiring deal with the Los Angeles Kings. On May 9, Bishop was traded to the Dallas Stars for a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Dallas signed Bishop to a six-year deal on May 12 and protect him for the Expansion Draft in June.
Scott Darling went through a similar process when he was traded to Carolina on April 28, 2017, from the Chicago Blackhawks. Darling signed an extension on May 5 and then was protected in the Expansion Draft in June.
It is difficult to predict trades, but here are a few players we are keeping an eye on: Chris Driedger (FLA), Ryan Murray (NJD), and Antti Raanta (ARI).
Pre-Expansion Draft trades
Offseason trades are common before the NHL Entry Draft as teams attempt to bolster their draft position or strategically shake up their roster. Leading up to the 2017 Expansion Draft, several teams also made trades of protectable players.
On June 15, 2017, three days before the Expansion Draft protection lists were announced, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded forward Jonathan Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Sergachev was exempt from the Expansion Draft, but Drouin was protected by the Canadiens.
On June 16, 2017, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Nick Cousins and the signing rights of prospect Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for the signing rights of prospect Brendan Warren and a fifth-round draft pick. The only player eligible for the Expansion Draft in that trade was Nick Cousins, and he was protected by the Coyotes.
On June 17, 2017, the Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames swapped goalies, with Chad Johnson headed to Arizona and Mike Smith headed to Calgary. Both goalies would be protected on their new teams.
Also on June 17, the San Jose Sharks traded former first-round pick Mirco Mueller to the New Jersey Devils for a few draft picks. Mueller was protected by New Jersey. If the trade had not been made, Mueller would have been exposed by San Jose.
Summary
In 2017 there were nine players that either signed an extension or were traded following the season that impacted their protection statuses in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Those nine players would only be three percent of the total protected players across the 30 teams participating in the Expansion Draft.
That is not much, but it is something to keep an eye on since it could impact a couple players that look like leading candidates to be selected by the Seattle Kraken come July.
On Tuesday, the Seattle Kraken were kind enough to make general manager Ron Francis available to the media.
Francis kept things relatively diplomatic and unsurprisingly avoided any earth-shattering revelations. However, we did get some interesting nuggets out of the presser surrounding the Kraken’s plans for the NHL Draft, their goaltenders, their first head coach, and their AHL affiliate for the upcoming inaugural season.
Here is what we at Sound Of Hockey asked Francis and his answers to our questions.
Sound Of Hockey’s questions for Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis
Andy Eide:I had a question about the amateur draft. I’m curious about what your day-to-day involvement in that process of scouting is, and do you have a sense of the overall depth and talent of this year’s class?
Francis:Yeah, so I’ve been fairly involved. It’s tough to go to games; you can’t go to Canada because you gotta quarantine for two weeks and a lot of those leagues weren’t playing…
We’ve done a lot of homework basically via video and stuff. It’s going to be an extremely challenging draft for sure. There’s going to be players especially from the Ontario League that may have not played a game since last February or March, and you’re watching them on video; certainly challenging. Everybody is in sort of that same boat.
[Other teams] probably have a little bit more data on the players than we do. We certainly have some scouts with experience that have more data on players, but we don’t have the database that some of those other teams have, just on the fact that they’ve been in operation for two or three years.
John Barr:Obviously, you couldn’t make trades [prior to Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline], but there were trades made. There were a couple contract extensions and waiver claims. As a whole, how do you think Seattle did [Monday], and were there any surprises?
Francis:No, I mean, before the waiver claims we said there are two guys that would probably get claimed. It may not have been 100 percent on the actual team [that selected each player], but it goes by worst to best on who gets first choice on those waiver claims.
And then a lot of the guys that moved were guys for the most part that were UFA status… I think overall it wasn’t any huge surprises for us, per se, and we have already taken a look at where we think we have been affected sort of positively or negatively. And we will continue to look at that and evaluate as we move forward here and regroup as a whole and start preparing from here to July.
This is what we said all along. We can do a mock draft 12 months ago or six months ago, but until we get closer to that day and until we get to see that final list, it’s hard to project with 100 percent accuracy what we’re going to be picking from. But we’ll look at all the scenarios that we think might present themselves and be the best prepared as we possibly can be.
Darren Brown: Is there any chance whatsoever that the coach that you hire as the first coach is somebody who has not actually been a head coach in the NHL before?
Francis: I think I’m on record as saying I’d like a head coach that has been in that role before. I think it’s a tough challenge to bring everybody together in such a quick fashion and having a little bit of experience certainly would help in that regard.
Having said that, if there is somebody that hasn’t been a head coach in the NHL that auditions and interviews extremely well we’re not opposed to going that direction, but I think it is our preference to get somebody with head coaching experience if possible.
Brown: I’m wondering if you can just talk about your plans a little bit for your goaltenders; if you’re going to be using two veterans for example, or one veteran goaltender and one younger goaltender or a platoon situation. Any thoughts you might have on that?
Francis: The goaltending front is going to be interesting. You know, as we get into the last month here of the season, into the playoffs, we’re going to get a better read on some of the guys that might be available and who we think is the best fit for us. But you also have to factor in all the different options you’re going to have on different teams, and just because this [team] might have a goaltender doesn’t mean you will take that goaltender.
So ideally you get a guy that’s lights out as your starter and a great number two. Maybe you go with two ‘1-B’s,’ maybe you go with one veteran and a younger guy. I think that remains to be seen. I think we’re open to evaluating all those different scenarios and certainly our goalie scouts have been working hard in addition to our pro staff to indicate which guys we should be interested in and our analytics team is working hard behind the scenes to see if they can figure it out as well.
Doing a lot of things and hopefully we get the right two guys to stop pucks when we get to that point.
Eide: I had a question about your American Hockey League situation. How much progress has been made or is there a timeframe for identifying an affiliate for your players to play on next fall and do you prefer them to be on one team or to be spread across more than one team?
Francis: Yeah, so we’ve had a lot of conversations with different teams. Ideally we have it with one team, and we are in talks with a specific team currently; we’ll hopefully get that wrapped up sooner rather than later. And if we can do that, we put everybody in one spot ideally.
If not, then we’re probably looking at spreading some players out here and there and different things, but not having your own minor league team next year, we’re probably looking somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 players. Ideally if you can put that in one spot, it makes it a lot easier.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Funny enough, the Seattle Kraken had their tentacles all over the come-and-gone NHL Trade Deadline.
Sure, there were the lets-go-win-a-Cup type trades, like Taylor Hall to Boston and Nick Foligno to Toronto, but there were also plenty of deals with a sprinkle — or in some cases a downpour — of Expansion Draft considerations.
Here’s how all the wheeling and dealing in the preceding days and on the day of Monday’s noon PT deadline may have impacted the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft.
Anaheim Ducks
Players in: D Haydn Fleury; F Alexander Volkov
Players out: D Ben Hutton; D Jani Hakanpaa
The Ducks, despite sitting at the bottom of the standings, added some intriguing pieces rather than fully selling.
Fleury is a player many circled as a candidate for Seattle from Carolina, and his move to Anaheim might land him on the Ducks’ protected list. He may knock off someone like Kevin Shattenkirk, who may not be as intriguing as young defensemen Josh Mahura or Brendan Guhle.
Volkov, who was almost certainly going to be protected by Tampa Bay, might wiggle his way onto the Ducks’ Expansion list, too.
Overall, the Ducks’ pair of moves limited some of the options for Seattle — at least on the surface.
Boston Bruins
Players in: F Taylor Hall; F Curtis Lazar; D Mike Reilly
Players out: F Anders Bjork
Despite taking a big swing at acquiring Hall, the pending unrestricted free agent likely won’t be protected — unless the Bruins sign him to a contract extension, which seems unlikely.
Buffalo Sabres
Players in: F Anders Bjork
Players out: F Taylor Hall; F Curtis Lazar; D Brandon Montour; F Eric Staal
Losing Hall and Staal won’t impact the Sabres too much, considering both were set to be unrestricted free agents this summer and didn’t figure much into expansion. Montour was a player we identified as being an intriguing option in the Expansion Draft, but he’s no longer an option.
Bjork likely takes Lazar’s spot on our Sabres’ protected list.
The Flames’ fractured relationship with Bennett meant he wasn’t going to ever be protected, so the Kraken lose that “take-a-gamble-on-a-first-round-pedigree” option — Bennett still should be available, only on a team with more exciting choices in Florida.
Maybe Mark Giordano is destined to don a Seattle jersey after all?
Chicago Blackhawks
Players in: F Josh Dickinson; F Adam Gaudette; F Brett Connolly; F Henrik Borgstrom; D Riley Stillman; F Vinnie Hinostroza
Players out: D Madison Bowey; F Mattias Janmark; F Carl Soderberg; F Matthew Highmore; D Lucas Carlsson; F Lucas Wallmark; F Brad Morrison
The Blackhawks made a flurry of deals along the perimeters of their roster, where there are a few interesting developments.
Carlsson is someone we identified as being a young option for Seattle, so he probably isn’t in the mix anymore. But Stillman, who we had on our watch list for Florida, fills that void quite nicely.
Wallmark was projected for protection by Sound Of Hockey. It’s likely Gaudette, who has seen his struggles in Vancouver but still harbors plenty of upside, Borgstrom, or Connolly replaces him.
Chicago’s flurry of moves is a win for Seattle because there are now far more intriguing (and young) options than there were before.
Colorado Avalanche
Players in: F Carl Soderberg; G Devan Dubnyk; F Patrik Nemeth;
Players out: D Greg Pateryn
The Avalanche’s acquisitions of a veteran forward in Soderberg and a backup goalie in Dubnyk won’t shake the Expansion Draft tree.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Players in:
Players out: F Nick Foligno; D David Savard; F Riley Nash
The Blue Jackets made some huge organizational moves, acquiring a load of draft picks for their team captain and a top-four defenseman. But both Foligno and Savard were pending free agents and weren’t going to factor into the Expansion Draft, anyway.
Detroit Red Wings
Players in: F Jakub Vrana; F Richard Panik; F Hayden Verbeek
Players out: F Patrik Nemeth; F Anthony Mantha; D Jon Merrill
The Red Wings executed one of the most impressive pieces of business at the deadline in flipping Mantha for Vrana, Panik, and picks. Vrana will undoubtedly take Mantha’s spot on the Red Wings’ protected list, while Panik will probably be available for selection, though the 30-year-old winger hasn’t been all that productive this year, anyway.
Florida Panthers
Players in: F Sam Bennett; D Brandon Montour; D Lucas Carlsson; F Lucas Wallmark
Players out: F Emil Heineman; F Brett Connolly; F Henrik Borgstrom; D Riley Stillman; F Vinnie Hinostroza
The Panthers were plenty busy at the deadline, acquiring some depth pieces to complement a dangerous core, but it will be hard for any of the quartet to move someone off Florida’s projected protected list. All four, who were potential Expansion Draft targets on their previous teams, remain so with Florida; the only issue is that Seattle only has one selection via Florida.
It’s possible Bennett replaces Connolly on Florida’s protected list, but at the moment, players like Alexander Wennberg, Carter Verhaeghe, or Mason Marchment hold the inside track until we see Bennett’s fit with the Panthers.
Los Angeles Kings
Players in: D Christian Wolanin; F Brendan Lemieux
Players out: F Jeff Carter; F Michael Amadio
Brendan Lemieux is the player to note here. The 25-year-old was one of our targeted options for the Rangers and he’s very much in the mix for protection for the Kings. Someone like Austin Wagner, Blake Lizotte, or Carl Grundstrom may be bumped off if Lemieux jells with the Kings.
Although Carter is a big name, he carries little-to-no Expansion Draft significance at this point.
Wolanin was on Ottawa’s watch list, but it’s hard to know how he stacks up with the Kings’ list of potential targets right now.
Also of note, the Kings signed Alex Iafallo to a contract extension on Monday, all but ensuring his protection in the Expansion Draft.
Montreal Canadiens
Players in: F Eric Staal; D Jon Merrill; D Erik Gustafsson;
Players out: F Hayden Verbeek
Staal, Merrill, and Gustafsson are all nice pieces, but likely won’t figure into the Canadiens’ Expansion Draft picture.
Anyway, it’s Jake Allen or bust in Montreal — hop on the train before it’s too late!
Nashville Predators
Players in: D Erik Gudbranson
Players out: D Brandon Fortunato
Nashville’s trade deadlines actions aren’t as much highlighted by what it did do, but rather what it didn’t do.
Gudbranson is an intriguing pickup for Nashville, but he likely won’t affect the Predators’ protected list because Nashville already boasts a strong and deep defensive corp.
Mattias Ekholm was a popular name as the deadline approached, but he wasn’t dealt. Nor were Erik Haula or Mikael Granlund, who are also UFAs after this season.
In fact, Predators’ general manager David Poile may have tipped his hand at the Predators’ approach to the Seattle Expansion Draft.
I asked Predators GM David Poile about how keeping Mattias Ekholm past the trade deadline could affect his approach to the expansion draft: pic.twitter.com/d6HeIJTUY9
With Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, and Dante Fabbro all worthy of expansion protection, it would be shocking if the Predators didn’t go with a 4-4-1 approach.
New Jersey Devils
Players in: D Jonas Siegenthaler; F A.J. Greer; F Mason Jobst
Players out: D Dmirty Kulikov; F Kyle Palmieri; F Travis Zajac
Trading Palmieri answered one question about New Jersey, because we wondered if the Devils would re-sign the pending unrestricted free agent to a contract extension and protect him. One of Janne Kuokkanen, Miles Wood, or Yegor Sharangovich likely takes his spot.
Siegenthaler is an interesting pickup. PK Subban and his lofty contract always made him a candidate for exposure, and Siegenthaler, 23, could take his spot — as could Will Butcher, who has returned to regular action after starting the season mostly as a healthy scratch.
The Devils’ defensive corp is something to keep an eye on moving forward.
New York Islanders
Players in: F Kyle Palmieri; F Travis Zajac; D Braydon Coburn
Players out: F A.J. Greer; F Mason Jobst
With plenty of forwards worthy of protection and not a lot of cap space, it’s hard to see Palmieri on the Islanders’ protection list. Veterans Zajac and Coburn won’t figure into protection, either.
Players out: D Mike Reilly; D Christian Wolanin; D Erik Gudbranson; D Braydon Coburn
Reilly was likely going to be protected by Ottawa, and Wolanin’s departure means that someone like Josh Brown likely fills his spot on the protection list.
It’s slim pickings in Ottawa, folks.
Philadelphia Flyers
Players in:
Players out: F Michael Raffl; D Erik Gustafsson
Raffl and Gustafsson don’t carry much Expansion Draft significance, but the Flyers signed forward Scott Laughton to a contract extension on Monday, meaning he could knock someone like Nicholas Aube-Kubel off their protected list.
San Jose Sharks
Players in: D Greg Pateryn; F Alexander Barabanov
Players out: G Devan Dubnyk; F Stefan Noesen; F Antti Suomela; D Fredrik Claesson
San Jose was the third team brokering many deadline deals and didn’t make any very impactful additions or subtractions, other than trading a goalie away and acquiring a young forward in Barabanov that’s not eligible for selection in the Expansion Draft.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Players in: D David Savard; D Fredrik Claesson
Players out: F Alexander Volkov
As discussed above in the Anaheim section, Volkov is no longer an option in Tampa Bay’s pool of potential targets — which is already very strong.
While Savard is a nice addition to Tampa’s defensive group, the UFA won’t figure into their protected list.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Players in: D Ben Hutton; G David Rittich; F Nick Foligno; F Stefan Noesen; F Riley Nash; F Antti Suomela
Players out: F Alexander Barabanov
Toronto was keen on adding a load of depth for what it hopes to be a long playoff run, but none of the players they nabbed at the deadline will figure into the Expansion Draft.
Vancouver Canucks
Players in: D Madison Bowey; F Matthew Highmore
Players out: F Adam Gaudette; D Jordie Benn
After Vancouver inked Tanner Pearson to a three-year deal on April 8, it appeared Gaudette’s spot on the Canucks’ protected list could be numbered. Vancouver confirmed that by trading him to Chicago.
Also of note, the Canucks’ addition of Bowey provided the defenseman for exposure that’s required under the Expansion Draft rules — prior to Bowey’s arrival, the Canucks only possessed three that fit that criteria and needed at least four.
Washington Capitals
Players in: F Anthony Mantha; F Michael Raffl
Players out: F Jakub Vrana; F Richard Panik; D Jonas Siegenthaler
The Capitals’ will fill in Vrana’s spot on their protected list with Mantha, but we had Panik listed as protected as well. Now that he’s gone, it’s possible the Capitals will keep Ovechkin protected — we outlined a wink-wink type of deal that would behoove both parties a few months back — or add TJ Oshie, whose big contract is an underlying issue for the cap-strapped Caps.
We also had Siegenthaler listed for protection. He’s likely replaced by Brendan Dillon, who signed a rather large contract extension with Washington in the offseason.
The Capitals still seem ripe for a side deal.
*The Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Arizona Coyotes didn’t make any trades near the deadline.
*The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Winnipeg Jets made trades that carried no significance to the Seattle Expansion Draft.
*The Vegas Golden Knights are exempt from the Seattle Expansion Draft.
Sound Of Hockey will have additional versions of the Mock Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back regularly!
Josh Horton is a freelance writer, former newspaper journalist, and former Western Hockey League writer for the Everett Herald and The Spokesman-Review (Spokane). He is NOT a juggler, nor is he a former professional baseball player. Follow him on Twitter @byjoshhorton.
What the people need and what they want are two very different things. At Sound Of Hockey, we typically focus on producing the content that we believe hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest and beyond need in preparation for the inaugural Seattle Kraken season. But sometimes, we have to give the people the content they want, and we have learned that more often than not, what they want is goalie content. Three months have passed since our last twirl on the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft goalie carousel, and a lot has changed in that time. Let’s take another spin, shall we?
Still riding after all this time
This is actually our third ride on the Seattle Kraken goalie carousel, with the first dating all the way back to our NHLtoSeattle days. A few backstops have been on our radar since that first post in June, 2020, and it’s time we check in on those individuals to make sure they are still upright on their respective mechanical horses and are not in need of any motion sickness remedies or bags.
When Braden Holtby was with the Capitals, Seattle fans clamored for him to be the first Kraken netminder. That tune has changed a bit now that he is with the Canucks. Now, the question is no longer if he will be made available in the Expansion Draft—he certainly will—but if Seattle would want him anymore.
Vancouver stinks, but Holtby has done little to help right the ship. Instead, he has gone 4-6-2 in the backseat behind Thatcher Demko and has posted a dreadful 3.57 goals against average and .894 save percentage. His contract is also structured to make his selection by Seattle less palatable, so we think it is now unlikely that Holtby will be moving his tortoises to the Emerald City prior to next season.
While Holtby is lying on the floor of this merry-go-round, being dragged by the stirrup of the oscillating horse from which he fell long ago, Adin Hill is still riding upright and proud in the saddle of his noble steed.
In fact, we at Sound Of Hockey believe Hill’s position as a future Kraken netminder has been solidified over the past few months, with Arizona’s protection list now clearer. Frankly, there won’t be much to choose from for the Kraken at either forward or defense, so they might as well take a look at the Coyotes’ goal crease.
Hill has once again been thrust into NHL action with both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper somehow simultaneously injured for the umpteenth time. Hill, 24, has performed admirably behind a mediocre team, going 4-3-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage. He also just notched a shutout against San Jose and recently defeated a Colorado team that was absolutely rolling. He won’t necessarily be the bona fide starter for Seattle, but Hill makes a lot of sense in a tandem or even as a third option.
Settled in on the merry-go-round
There were a few other netminders that became Seattle Kraken goalie candidates on our second twirl back in December.
Jordan Binnington signed a long-term deal with St. Louis, so he has calmly and respectfully exited after just one revolution.
Anton Khudobin is still on the ride, but he’s making a bit of a ruckus, and the ride operators are considering asking him to depart in the near future. After carrying the Stars in stunning fashion all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Khudobin has fallen back down to Earth with a thud.
He’s had every opportunity to secure his spot as Seattle’s first goalie, but Khudobin has struggled to the point that Jake Oettinger has nabbed the lion’s share of starts lately for Dallas. Oettinger, 22, is exempt from the Expansion Draft, while still-injured Ben Bishop is expected to return this season and has a no-movement clause. So, it will still be Khudobin that gets exposed, but like Holtby, we’re questioning if any interest remains from Seattle.
Cam Talbot and Jake Allen each appear content to continue riding.
Talbot has been a huge bright spot for Minnesota this season and is probably the second-biggest reason behind Kirill Kaprizov that the Wild are solidly in a playoff position. We still have him tabbed as the netminder to get exposed there, however, as Kaapo Kahkonen has also been excellent, and at just 24 years old, we expect the younger netminder to get protected. Still, Minnesota has a big protection issue with its skaters, so a forward or defenseman remains the more likely selection for Seattle.
Allen, meanwhile, hasn’t played quite as large of a role for Montreal, but he has solidified himself as an obvious option for the Kraken to consider. The former St. Louis Blue is 4-3-4 with a 2.34 GAA and .920 save percentage playing behind Carey Price. Allen has all the talent in the world, but his streakiness requires him to be part of a platoon to be successful.
Just climbing aboard
Of course, it wouldn’t be a carousel if there weren’t newcomers with every turn.
One such newcomer is Dan Vladar, who has gotten a couple chances in Boston this season and has not disappointed, allowing just three total goals and winning both contests. He’s had good AHL numbers over the past few years as well, so one could make a case for taking Vladar as a pick for the future, especially if the Kraken can snag him in a side deal. The Bruins also have Jeremy Swayman in their system, so perhaps they will view Vladar as expendable.
The rub with Vladar, though, is that both Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak are on expiring deals. In theory, the Bruins could wait to re-sign those guys, protect Vladar from the Expansion Draft, and then get their veteran goalies back in the fold, assuming there’s still mutual interest. So there’s a chance Vladar is not available to the Kraken in the end.
Moving down the coast a bit, Vitek Vanecek was not on our radar entering this season for Washington. With Holtby moved onto smaller and poorer (is that the opposite of bigger and better?) things in Vancouver, it was expected that Ilya Samsonov would seize the Capitals net, with Henrik Lundqvist affording him the occasional break. Instead, Lundqvist had offseason heart surgery, and Vanecek emerged as the number one netminder. Samsonov is still getting a good share of the starts, though, and both are playing relatively well behind an excellent team. Both require protection so whichever of Vanecek or Samsonov is left exposed will be a good pick for the Kraken.
Even farther down the coast, Chris Driedger has also emerged as an unexpected breakout star for the Florida Panthers. He’s been good enough to take 15 of 35 starts from Sergei Bobrovsky, who is on a $70 million contract. Driedger tops our wish list, but the problem is that he will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. To get Dreidger, the Kraken will have to get him to agree to terms on a contract during the team’s 48-hour exclusive negotiating window, then select him in the Expansion Draft. With the allure of the open market, Driedger spinning off the carousel and into the Climate Pledge Arena goal crease feels like a longshot.
Finally, folks in the Seattle area got pumped about Joey Daccord when he won his first NHL game for the Ottawa Senators and gave a really great post-game interview. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has a 1-3-1 record with a 3.27 GAA and .897 save percentage. He only has one season of AHL hockey under his belt with decent (but not exceptional) statistics. Daccord also injured his leg a couple weeks ago, and there is a chance he misses the remainder of the season, so we do not expect to see him land in Seattle.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
