On March 1st, 2018, the hockey fans in Seattle sent a message to the NHL, its team owners, city officials, and the broader Seattle community, that we want hockey. In a matter of 12 minutes, the NHL Seattle organization hit its target goal of 10,000 season ticket deposits. Within an hour, it had 24,000 deposits, and within the next three days, it had 32,000 deposits before finally shutting it off and going to a waitlist.
With an arena that only has roughly 17,000 capacity, this unprecedented demand created a new and perhaps unexpected issue: scarcity of tickets.
Getting new hockey fans in the door is going to be a huge hurdle that will require some creative thinking for the Seattle Kraken, and it’s something that I’ve personally been pondering since that incredible day in 2018. The good news is, I think I have the solution. Of all places, the Broadway theater scene – and more specifically, the smash hit, Hamilton – may provide a good model for how to do it.
720 seconds.
That’s how long it took to hit our goal of 10,000 deposits.
As of the writing of this article, the Seattle Kraken are closing in on officially selling out their season and half-season packages. That is going to leave a lot of people shut out, despite those people having put down $500 to $1000 per seat for the opportunity to buy tickets. The team has acknowledged that there will be an allocation of single game tickets available, but with about 10,000 depositors closed off and an additional 50,000 on a waitlist, tickets are going to be hard to come by.
Scarcity of tickets is not a new problem to the NHL. Roughly 50% of the teams sell out every game, and that creates a scarcity issue. That scarcity creates high ticket prices despite some teams’ best efforts to make it affordable for casual fans. The consequence is this prevents casual sports fans from giving hockey a try and potentially growing the fan base.
What Comes Next?
First up, let’s make the assumption that by the time the Kraken hit the ice, COVID is in the past and attending games goes back to pre-COVID norms.
Whenever we hear hockey fans trying to convince non-hockey sports fans to like our sport, most lead off with some derivative of “You just gotta see a game live! There is nothing else like it.” With extreme demand and high-ticket prices, this becomes a challenge. The team cannot expect people to spend $100+ per ticket on the chance they might enjoy hockey. Meanwhile, in addition to the casual/potential fan, there are plenty of hard-core hockey fans that also cannot afford tickets.
In the Room Where It Happened
One possible solution to getting more people to experience hockey would be to have a lottery system for each and every game. This isn’t a new concept, but was massively popularized with the smash Broadway musical Hamilton. The #Ham4Ham lottery system was instituted as a way to distribute affordable tickets to people that might not be able to purchase the normal market rate tickets and expose them to this culturally relevant and critically acclaimed show.
For hockey, this lottery would be relatively simple. Two days before a game, fans enter the lottery online. Then, on the day of the game, lottery winners are notified and must purchase their ticket(s) for something like… oh, let’s say $20 by 4pm. It’s free to enter, and fans would only spend money if they win the lottery. Chances of winning are entirely based on how many people enter.
Meet Me Inside
All of these “Ham4Hockey” tickets would be digital and non-transferable. To prevent any resell, tickets would only show up inside the Kraken app based on proximity to the arena, and when the customer is on the arena Wi-Fi network less than 30 minutes before the game.
The details could have some flexibility and tweaks to integrate with the team’s digital experience. For example, the team could make it available to Washington State residents only and change the number of Ham4Hockey tickets available based on day of the week, opponent, and even time of year. The club could completely contain this experience inside the app, where fans could enter the lottery via the app, get notified via the app, and even present their tickets (should they win) via the app.
The benefits to the Kraken exceed the short-term hit related to lost revenue by selling the tickets at a discount.
A certain number of these lottery attendees could become fans for life.
Once attending a game, a fan could be much more likely to support the team beyond the in-game experience either through buying merchandise, watching games on TV, or attending a team practice at the facility (this will help sponsorship value, TV Ratings, and advertising).
Exposing the sport to someone who might not normally get the opportunity to attend a game helps reach a broader and more diverse demographic.
In cases where some of the lottery winners are already hockey fans, this can create a unique “surprise and delight” moment that will become a shared story of that fan’s life.
Tomorrow There Will Be More of Us
My conviction for bringing the NHL to Seattle was based on the opportunity to grow the sport that I have learned to love. I don’t just want to see a sold-out arena. I want to see every bar with a TV tuned in for Kraken game nights. I want to see watch parties and road trips planned by the fans. I want Seahawks-level passion for this team and sport. I want to talk about the previous night’s game at work with everyone in the office, job-site, etc. Let’s build learn-to-play youth and adult hockey programs to the point that they are busting at the seams. Let’s get 100,000 people down at Seattle Center for a Kraken outdoor watch party.
There are so many hockey fans in this city that don’t even know they are hockey fans yet because they haven’t had the opportunity to experience it. Getting some of them inside will go a long way to grow the fan base and create hockey evangelists for years to come.
In my short time covering hockey, I have never seen anything like this. Nashville is ridiculous right now. pic.twitter.com/pSCuXeGDda
When the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft rolls around next year, the Senators won’t be letting any highly valuable assets go for nothing. Besides being one of the NHL’s worst teams last season, Ottawa was also one of the cheapest.
Ottawa’s 62 points were second-worst last season, behind only the Detroit Red Wings, and its $70.516 million in player salaries ranked 27th out of 31 teams, according to Spotrac.
Only in mid-October did the Senators exceed the salary floor of $60.2 million, leaving them with $11.8 million in cap space as of November 14. Unpopular owner Eugene Melnyk probably wouldn’t spend much money in better times either, though. This makes it likely that the Senators will be hovering around the salary floor again next offseason when they have to submit their protection list for the Expansion Draft.
So, which Senators players will be available to the Kraken?
Here’s why Seattle will likely choose a depth player from Ottawa.
Assumptions
Because of their large amount of cap space, the Senators might be willing to acquire another team’s bad contract if it comes with a top prospect and/or high draft pick. Look for these deals to happen around the 2021 trade deadline or offseason, especially if the NHL has to go very long without fans in arenas because of the pandemic.
Those bad contracts will be available for the Kraken to choose no matter what team they belong to, so the question is whether Seattle general manager Ron Francis believes it’s worth taking on any of those pricy risks. If it’s a serviceable player with only a year remaining on his contract, Francis could be enticed with an extra player or Entry Draft pick through a side trade.
Senators Offseason Wildcards
With so much cap space, Ottawa has room to bring in more free agents this offseason. All indications are that the Senators are content with their roster, however, after signing forward Alex Galchenyuk to a one-year, $1.05 million deal late last month.
Even if Melnyk permits a larger payroll, any new contracts will be short term because of revenue uncertainty over COVID-19.
Protected List
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk, LW (Lock) Drake Batherson, RW (Lock) Connor Brown, RW (Lock) Colin White, C Logan Brown, C Evgenii Dadonov, RW Austin Watson, RW
Dadonov, 31, signed a three-year, $15 million free agent contract that’s back-loaded with $6.5 million due in the final year of the deal. So if the former Florida Panther fails to click and falls down the depth chart next season, perhaps the Senators will leave him unprotected.
Defense
Thomas Chabot (Lock) Nikita Zaitsev (Lock) Josh Brown
Acquired in an offseason trade from Florida, the 6-5 and 217-pound Brown is no more than a fifth or sixth defenseman. But being a right-handed shot will help Brown’s stock when the Sens submit their protected list.
Goalie
Matt Murray (Lock)
After being acquired from Pittsburgh and signing a four-year, $25 million contract, Murray would have to have a disastrous first season in Ottawa to be left unprotected. The two-time Stanley Cup champion does have a lot to prove after a disappointing 2019-20 in which he was 20-11-5 with a 2.87 GAA and .899 save percentage.
Top Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Players – Senators
Forwards
Center Chris Tierney (6-1, 195 pounds) had an unspectacular 11 goals and 26 assists in 71 games last season, but he was Ottawa’s best faceoff man (51.17 percent) and a good penalty killer with four short-handed goals. The six-year veteran with 61 goals, 128 assists and 189 points in 436 games is only 26 and would be a good role-playing, bottom-six forward who could occasionally move up to the second line.
Left winger Nick Paul is a year younger than Tierney and has less NHL experience (112 games, 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points). But he’s bigger at 6-3 and 219 pounds with good speed. He can also kill penalties and would be a bottom-six forward at best.
For the Senators, the final forward to protect from the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft might come down to deciding between Tierney and Austin Watson. At Expansion Draft time, Watson will have two years and $3 million remaining compared with Tierney’s one year and $3.5 million. Watson is two years younger, less skilled but bigger (6-4, 204 pounds) and plays a more rugged game. As the younger, skilled Sens develop, they’re going to need veteran players such as Watson to protect them.
Fun fact: From 2014-15 to 2017-18 with the Sharks, Tierney scored eight goals and 12 points in 18 games against the Vancouver Canucks. He also notched four assists in four games against the Canucks since he’s been a Senator. So he’s got that going for him if he ends up back in the Pacific Division.
Defense
Seattle’s pickings appear slim among Ottawa blue-liners with Christian Wolanin, 25, and Maxime Lajoie, 22, leading the way.
Wolanin (five goals, 10 assists and 15 points in 43 career NHL games and eight goals, 24 assists and 32 points in 49 AHL games) missed much of 2019-20 to injury. But the 6-2, 185-pound left-hand shot figures to compete for the third pairing next season.
The speedy Lajoie (seven goals, eight assists and 15 points in 62 NHL games) has faded since a quick start to his NHL career in 2018. He’ll likely be back in AHL Belleville, where the left-handed shooting Lajoie notched four goals, 13 assists and 17 points in 48 games last season.
Goalie
After Murray, the Senators have a bunch of question marks on their goaltender depth chart. No. 2 Anders Nilsson, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021, is a career backup and not worth considering. Marcus Hogberg and Joey Daccord figure to continue playing in Belleville of the AHL, and Filip Gustavsson is on loan to Sodertalje SK in Sweden.
Unless Hogberg or Daccord emerge with a spectacular season, Gustavsson is the most intriguing option for Seattle. The 2016 second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins was a highly touted prospect who was named the top goalie of the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championships after leading Sweden to a silver medal. He has been disappointing over two-plus seasons in Belleville (29-28, 3.28 GAA, .891 save percentage), but the 22-year-old is off to a nice start in 14 games at Sodertalje (8-5, one shutout, 2.20 GAA, .925 save percentage).
Goalies take a lot longer to develop. Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom, for example, split time between the AHL and the Florida Panthers at the same age and never became a No. 1 goalie until he was 27 with the Canucks. So if Gustavsson can get back on track, the Kraken might consider taking him as a project for their third goalie.
Side Deal Scenarios
Ottawa has a deep prospect pool (recently ranked seventh by The Athletic), and it added three first-round picks during the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately for Seattle, the Senators’ best prospects will be protected or be exempt from Expansion Draft protection because of a lack of pro experience.
Unless many fringe players have breakout seasons next year, Sens GM Pierre Dorion should have no need to pursue any trades to steer Francis from taking certain players. Dorion does have three 2021 second-round Entry Draft picks, as well as all of his 2022 and 2023 picks, though, should the need arise.
Other Notes
The Senators’ top prospects such as C Josh Norris, LW Alex Formenton and D Erik Brannstrom are exempt from the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft due to lack of North American pro experience.
Jim Wilkie is a longtime Northwest journalist, former NHL editor and NHL Insider writer for ESPN.com, a onetime GSHL All-Star, and SJHA hockey dad. Follow him on Twitter @jimwilkie.
Bubbles? Realignment? Everything is on the table as the NHL ponders the best way to proceed towards a plan to start the 2020-2021 season (don’t worry yet, Seattle Kraken fans). That may have to be amended to simply be called the 2021 season as the league has targeted a January 1 start date. Reading the tea leaves, it seems less likely there will be bubbles and more likely there will be a temporary realignment allowing for a Canadian Division as well as three divisions in the United States.
Here’s the part that should be of great interest to Seattle Kraken fans. The date of the Expansion Draft and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft will both depend on when the NHL finishes this season. The NHL finish date could also affect a little thing like the Kraken inaugural season opener.
Here are the rest of your Weekly One-Timers:
Seattle Kraken Northgate Practice Facility On Schedule
The Kraken invited the local hockey media into the Northgate construction site and the reviews were glowing. The future Kraken players will have all the amenities you can imagine, including a spacious lounge to relax in, a state-of-the-art training area, and a dressing room with the logo on the ceiling to avoid anyone stepping on it.
A look at the inside of the Seattle Kraken’s new practice facility. Photo taken by Brian Liesse.
But it’s not just a place for the players. The team continues to look at Northgate as a community asset. Local adult and youth hockey will be able to take advantage of the three rinks as the Kraken estimate there will be 20,000 hours of ice time available.
There’s also a bar. Not just any bar either. Up above the NHL rink and one of the community rinks sits a pub that the club is hoping will become the top place to come and watch sports in the area. They’re already planning watch parties for home and away games.
The bar should open in September of 2021, a month after the NHL offices and facilities are on line.
Local Tidbits
Former Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Shea Theodore has established a fund to help fight cancer in Nevada. Theodore, 25, has spent the last three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. This week he launched Kay’s Power Play honoring his grandmother, who passed away due to breast cancer.
Kay’s Power Play hopes to raise funds to help with early detection in Nevada and Theodore has donated $40,000 to the cause. Theodore was diagnosed with testicular cancer himself, prior to the 2019-2020 season and was able to fight through it thanks to early detection.
How about this for a deep cut? Former Seattle Junior Hockey Player and friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Devan McConnell, gets hired by the Arizona Coyotes.
Quebec Bubble Hockey! So… Hockey dans une bulle? Did we do that right? The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s return to play has been rocky to say the least. Time to pivot. It would appear that the league is headed to a quasi bubble strategy for the 2020-21 season. As of now, this will feature 7 teams headed to Quebec City from November 17th to the 27th to play 6 games each. Meanwhile the QMJHL Maritimes Division appears to be going relatively well.
NCAA Hockey has returned to play, kind of. All conferences operate independently and will have different return to play strategies and formats. The BIG 10 has indeed returned to play this weekend. Atlantic Hockey and Hockey East will begin conference play next week, and there will also be a whole host of other non-conference games. Wisconsin defeated Notre Dame 2-0 in the first college hockey game in nine months on Friday night.
The Seattle Kraken were trending on social media on Friday, but not for a reason you might expect. The official team Twitter account put out this gem late Friday night, indicating that they weren’t initially sure what was up either.
This is the first in Sound Of Hockey’s series on the Seattle Kraken NHL Expansion Draft, which will examine all 30 of the participating NHL teams over the next couple of months. Read our previous story that explains the rules of the Expansion Draft here. We hope this series will help you get a grasp on who will be available for the Kraken to target when they assemble their inaugural team next summer. Enjoy!
The Detroit Red Wings were bad last year. How bad? They earned 39 points which was last in the NHL by 23 while being outscored by 122 goals, more than double the next worst in the NHL. If the traditional stats don’t convince you then consider the Red Wings were last in Corsi for (45.99), last in high-danger chances (483), and second-worst in high-danger save percentage (.770). They couldn’t score, couldn’t create chances, and didn’t make big saves. That adds up to 39 points.
General Manager Steve Yzerman has a rebuild on his hands and although they have cap space going into next season, the Red Wings are in full youth movement mode. That means that the Expansion Draft options for the Seattle Kraken will most likely yield a depth player at best.
Assumptions
Yzerman is building around his young players which means that guys like Dylan Larkin or Anthony Mantha will be protected and unavailable. The Red Wings won’t be in contention next season so will not be buying at the trade deadline. In that same vein, it’s unlikely they will move any players at the trade deadline that are of interest to Seattle.
Offseason Wildcards
Detroit’s roster is mostly set heading into the season, so any major additions or blockbuster trades seem unlikely at this point.
Protected List
Yzerman has some decisions to make here. The vets he has either will be unrestricted free agents in 2021 or aren’t worth protecting. He’ll lean on his young players and will have to make a choice of exposing depth players.
Forwards
Up front, a player to note is former Tri-City Americans center Michael Rasmussen. Selected ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen spent his rookie year of 2018-2019 in the NHL, appearing in 62 games for the Red Wings and picking up 18 points. Last season he was sent to the AHL and spent some time injured while recording 22 points in just 35 games. It seems like a long shot he would be exposed, considering his upside at just 21-years-old, but it may come down to how he performs this season.
Like Rasmussen, this coming season will be an important one for Evgeny Svechnikov. He has yet to crack the NHL lineup as a regular, and this coming year will say a lot about his future with the Red Wings. He burst out with a strong rookie season in the AHL with 51 points but has only picked up 55 in the following two seasons. Will Yzerman give up on the former first-round pick – one that was selected by the previous regime – or give him a chance to earn a roster spot and protection?
Svechnikov is far from a lock to be protected. If Yzerman feels the 24-year-old has peaked, he may very well feel comfortable in exposing him. If that’s the case, look for the Red Wings to protect forward Givani Smith instead. Smith is two years younger than Svechnikov and may ultimately have a better shot at contributing in the NHL.
For this exercise, we’ll protect Svechnilov which makes Detroit’s protected list look as follows:
Protected
Dylan Larkin Anthony Mantha Tyler Bertuzzi Robby Fabbri Vladislav Namestnikov Michael Rasmussen Evgeny Svechnikov
Defense
The biggest challenge for Yzerman here is between Dennis Cholowski and Gustav Lindstrom. Cholowski, 22, is a left defenseman who was a first-round pick in 2016 but has only played nine NHL games and two less-than-exciting seasons in the AHL with Grand Rapids. Lindstrom is the same age and has played 16 NHL games but with less offensive upside than Cholowski.
There is a strong chance one of the two will be left unprotected.
Protected
Danny DeKeyser Filip Hronek Dennis Cholowski
Goalie
There isn’t much to choose from here. Detroit signed Thomas Greiss this offseason and do not have a long-term option behind him. He’ll be protected while back up Jonathan Bernier is a UFA after this season and won’t be in play for the expansion draft unless he is re-signed during the season.
Top Expansion Draft Players
Players who could be on the radar to be selected by Seattle:
Forwards
Givani Smith
Defense
Gustav Lindstrom Troy Stecher
Thoughts
The Seattle Kraken are not going to find a top-end player from the Red Wings in the Expansion Draft. Detroit is rebuilding, so it can and will protect its best players on the roster.
Svechnikov very well may be exposed, and he’ll be someone to ponder for the Kraken. His production has regressed in pro hockey after putting up huge numbers in the QMJHL, and if he’s available that means he didn’t play well again this coming season.
Another forward to really consider will be Smith, if he is left unprotected. He’s 22 years old but doesn’t project to be a top-six player in the NHL. Even so, the lack of huge numbers in the AHL doesn’t mean he couldn’t be a grinder that might give Seattle some good, hard minutes as a third or fourth-line guy or even an AHL depth player.
Still, with the pickings slim up front, the Kraken most likely will be looking at one of Detroit’s available defensemen. It makes more sense that the Red Wings will protect Cholowski since he has more of an offensive skill set. Lindstrom isn’t a flashy player or high pick, but could end up providing defensive depth. It’s just hard to see him being anything other than a bottom pairing guy or potentially an AHL player for the Kraken.
If Seattle prefers a player with more experience, Troy Stecher, 26, could be an option on defense. Detroit brought the former Vancouver Canuck in as a free agent this offseason. Stecher is a solid two-way defenseman who has played in 286 NHL games and comes with an affordable $1.7 million cap hit.
Having a veteran presence on the back end could prove valuable, so Stecher might be the best option here.
Side Deal Scenarios
Detroit has over $9 million in cap space with no prohibitive contracts on the books. Without that pressure on Yzerman to make a deal, it’s hard to find a realistic trade scenario.
Other Notes
Forward Frans Nielsen has a modified no-movement clause in his contract. Forwards Darren Helm, Valterri Filppula, Luke Glendening, Bobby Ryan, and Sam Gagner are all scheduled to be UFA prior to the 2021-2022 season.
On defense, Mark Staal, Patrik Nemeth, Jon Merrill, and Alex Biega are UFA after the completion of next season.
Now that the NHL Entry Draft is done, and the bulk of the NHL Free Agency period is complete, we can officially start zeroing in on how teams might approach the Seattle Kraken NHL Expansion Draft next summer. There will certainly be roster moves between now and that momentous event, but those changes will pale in comparison to the volume of transactions we’ve witnessed over the past three months.
Here at Sound Of Hockey, we will be going through every team over the next few weeks to project who will be protected and who might be targeted by the Kraken, and we will look to uncover all the nuances that come with the Expansion Draft.
Before we start, let us walk through Expansion Draft rules. 30 of the 31 existing NHL teams will be participating, with the exception being the Vegas Golden Knights, who are exempt. Each team participating will lose one player to the Kraken.
Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Rules
Seattle must select one player from the 30 participating teams. They are required to select at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders. That would leave four additional players for the Kraken to choose for whichever position they see fit. Additionally, 20 of the players selected must be under contract for the 2021-22 season, and the aggregate salary cap hit must be between 60 and 100 percent of the 2020-21 upper limit of the cap.
Other Teams’ Expansion Draft Rules
Existing clubs will be able to protect either:
7 Forwards, 3 Defensemen, and 1 Goalie
8 Skaters (any combo of Forwards and Defensemen) and 1 Goalie
Any player with a full No-Movement Clause in his contract must be protected unless said player waives his NMC, which was not common in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Exemptions
Players with two or fewer seasons of pro hockey experience in North America, either AHL or NHL, are automatically exempt from the Expansion Draft and therefore do not need to be protected by their teams. There is also a threshold of 10 games that needs to be exceeded to count as a season of pro hockey.
A good example of this will be Quinn Hughes. Hughes only played five games in 2018-19, and thus that season will not count as a pro season. Since he played more than 10 games in the 2019-20 season, he can play the entire upcoming season with no significant injuries, and he will still have only two completed seasons when the Expansion Draft occurs, making him exempt.
Exposure Requirements
As part of their requirements, the 30 teams participating in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft must expose two forwards and one defenseman that are under contract for the 2021-22 season. These players are required to have played 40 games in the 2020-21 season or have 70 or more NHL games over the 2019-20 & 2020-21 seasons combined. Similarly, teams must expose a goalie that is either under contract in 2021-22 or a restricted free agent following the 2020-21 season.
Worth noting, we highly anticipate that the games played requirements for forwards and defensemen will be adjusted down due to the 2019-20 season being abbreviated and the likelihood that the 2020-21 season will also be shorter than the usual 82 games.
Career-Ending Injuries Clause
Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games may not be used to satisfy a team’s player exposure requirements unless approval is received from the NHL. These players will be deemed exempt from selection. Ryan Kesler would be a good example of a player that fits in this category. Due to injuries, Kesler has not played a game since the 2018-19 season and is unlikely to take the ice next season, even though he is under contract until 2022. In this scenario, Kesler cannot be used to fulfill one of the spots in the two-forward exposure requirement.
These exposure requirements are designed to guarantee the 30 NHL teams participating make legitimate NHL-level players available to Seattle.
2017 Expansion Draft
To get some insight on how the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft may play out, we can look back at the 2017 Expansion Draft because the rules were identical for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Here is how NHL teams chose to protect their players, either via the seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie scenario, or via the eight total skaters and one goalie route.
This is how Vegas drafted its players across positions.
As a reminder, the minimums for forwards and goalies was 14 and three respectfully, thus Vegas used all four of its position agnostic picks on defensemen.
The Rest of the Story
It gets more complicated. Another part of the Expansion Draft will be the trades that occur before, during, and after the event. Predicting these scenarios will be downright impossible without insider information up until the very moment the Kraken submit their picks to the league. A lot of this will involve wheeling and dealing by teams to try to manage their cap space, so here are some of the terms and scenarios you should be aware of before the Expansion Draft.
Pending Unrestricted Free Agents
There will be several players exposed by their teams that will be “Pending Unrestricted Free Agents” (UFA). The scenario is that a player will have just played the last year of his NHL contract with his team and will become an Unrestricted Free Agent roughly one week after the Expansion Draft. The Kraken will have a 48-hour window before their selections are made to talk and negotiate with any of these UFAs. An example here is where a player like Taylor Hall is left unprotected by Buffalo. Seattle could discuss a potential contract term for a new deal with Hall. If they reach an agreement, Seattle would then choose Hall in the Expansion Draft. If they cannot reach a deal, Seattle would find some other player to select from Buffalo.
Draft and Let Walk
This is a scenario where Seattle would draft a player that they know will become an Unrestricted Free Agent on ~July 1st (or a week after whenever the Expansion Draft actually happens). This would imply no actual intention of signing this pending free agent. This would come into play if the Kraken do not see any other notable assets on the NHL team’s roster, but selecting this UFA would fulfill the rule of selecting one player per team. Vegas did this with three players: Chris Thorburn (WPG), Connor Brickley (CAR), and Jean-Francois Berube (NYI).
Draft and Flip
In this scenario, the Kraken more than likely would have a predetermined arrangement with another NHL team that if Seattle chooses Player X on Team A, then Team B would trade assets (either players from Team B or picks for the Amateur Draft) to Seattle for Player X. After the Vegas Expansion Draft there were four players that were immediately traded to another NHL team, literally being jettisoned the following day. Alexei Emelin (MON -> NSH), David Schlemko (SJS -> MON), Marc Methot (OTT -> DAL), and Trevor van Riemsdyk (CHI -> CAR) are in this category.
Side Deals
The side deal is the meatiest of meaty subjects in the Expansion Draft. Fans and the media alike point to the side deals as the reason Vegas got so good so fast. Vegas completed nine side deals leading up to and during the Expansion Draft.
This is where Seattle would negotiate terms of their player selection with each respective team in advance. An example of this was when Anaheim agreed to trade Shea Theodore to Vegas if Vegas selected Clayton Stoner in the Expansion Draft. Clayton Stoner was injured and would never play another NHL game. Theodore was a young, up-and-coming defenseman for Anaheim. Vegas gets a young prospect, while Anaheim would get the Clayton Stoner contract and financial commitment taken off their books.
Side deals in the Expansion Draft netted the Golden Knights an additional six players, 10 Entry Draft picks, and signing rights to one player. The media narrative going around is that teams will be less wiling to do these side deals with Seattle, but with a flat salary cap expected over the next few seasons, you can imagine that teams will be forced to unload some contracts to remain cap compliant.
Summary
We hope this gives you a good overview on what to expect in the Expansion Draft scenarios as the Kraken get closer and closer to selecting their team. There is no doubt NHL rosters will change before summer, 2021, but we can start to circle some players on teams that may be candidates, and that is exciting stuff.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken opened the doors for local media to get a look at their Northgate practice facility Tuesday as they are within nine months of completion.
When finished, Northgate Ice Centre will be a 167,000 square foot, state of the art facility that the NHL club will use to train and practice. It will also house their front office staff and feature three sheets of ice. Those sheets will be available to the public and will be the only accessible sheets of ice within the Seattle city limits.
The Kraken hope that Northgate will become the meeting place and hub of hockey in the Northwest.
“We have a big focus on grassroots, learn to skate, learn to play, the youth programs all the way to the adult programs,” Todd Humphrey, Seattle’s Senior Vice President of Digital, Fan Experience, and Kraken Training Center said during the media tour Tuesday afternoon. “So, as a community, this should be a place where you can come and really experience hockey.”
The facility will be opened in phases.
In July of 2021, the NHL rink and office will be online with the community rinks following in September.
The building is impressive, even in its current skeletal state.
It contains all the bells and whistles you would expect in an NHL practice facility. The players will have a lounge to relax in, training rooms, and a spacious dressing room. Hockey superstition says that you cannot step on the logo on the floor of most dressing rooms, so to avoid any mistakes, the Kraken logo will be on the dressing room’s ceiling.
Media members check out the Kraken dressing room during a tour of the Northgate Ice Centre (Brian Liesse)
Beyond the NHL facilities, there are other highlights that will serve the community at large.
That includes a Virginia Mason Health Center and a rather spacious pub. The yet to be named bar covers the width of two rinks — the NHL rink and one of the community rinks will be visible to its patrons. Can’t get tickets to a game? The Kraken hope to turn the bar into the place for fans to gather and watch both home and away games.
Scheduling the three rinks will be a challenge as the team estimates they will have 20,000 hours of ice time available for the community. Planning will include existing youth and adult hockey organizations.
“We are (talking) in earnest,” Humphrey said about youth hockey clubs. “We have been clear with them, we are not looking to steal their business. We are coming in here to build this game and build on the work they’ve already done. We think there’s a huge opportunity.”
The facility in Northgate is set up perfectly for youth hockey games, adult games, and hosting tournaments. Supporting the current youth organizations is part of the game plan as well as offering Kraken led teams and training.
“You will see the Junior Kraken, whether it’s next year or the year after,” Humphrey said. “We intend to have a Junior Kraken program. We’re working with USA hockey to make sure we are teaching youth the right way.”
Building a training facility from scratch is a challenge and it began with Dave Tippett’s influence and continued after he left to coach the Edmonton Oilers. General Manager Ron Francis took over and helped design a building that the Kraken feel will be attractive to NHL players.
With approximately nine months before open, most of the major design decisions have been made. The only decisions left are the fine, finishing touches.
“There are nuances in the design, the colors, the carpet, and staff uniforms,” Humphrey said. “Those decisions are still in the air but we’re working on it.”
Right now, the three rinks are in place. They are covered in dirt and still need boards and ice. The Kraken have installed a 28-ton ice maker which is ready to go. July will come quick and the rinks will be crowded with NHL players, as well as youth hitting the ice for the first time.
“We all feel like we are bringing something of importance to this city,” Humphrey said. “I think it’s coming at an interesting and unique time with Covid. We’re excited to launch this; it’s going to blow people’s hair back.”
For more on the Northgate facility, enjoy the following photo gallery from photographer Brian Liesse.
