Believe it or not, it’s only been four years since the Anaheim Ducks played in the Western Conference Finals. Since then, the franchise experienced a first-round playoff exit followed by two complete misses of the postseason. Now, the Ducks find themselves in the purgatory of a roster with aging, high-priced veterans mixed with a handful of prospects whose ultimate value has yet to be discovered. An added challenge for the Ducks will be the Seattle Expansion Draft.
General manager Bob Murray has a difficult task ahead of him in rebuilding. Those veterans are expensive, and he’ll have a tough time moving them due to a flat cap plus the six modified no-trade clauses on his payroll. It’s a combination that will limit how much cap space he can free up while adding picks at the trade deadline.
Will that entice Murray and the Ducks to expose a veteran to the Kraken in the Seattle Expansion Draft?
Assumptions
Ducks legend Ryan Getzlaf is scheduled to be a free agent after the upcoming season and technically would not need to be protected. However, it’s likely that the 35-year-old center will be re-signed by Anaheim and that could come during the upcoming season. For this exercise, we’ll assume that he extends with Anaheim and is protected.
Roster Wildcards
With no cap space, the Ducks roster is set by default. Along with Getzlaf, veteran forward David Backes is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Protected List
Forwards
If Murray feels he needs to shed a high salary, he could dangle a player like Adam Henrique in front of Seattle by unprotecting the veteran. The 30-year-old has four years left on his contract that carries a $5.8 million cap hit with it. This is a long shot as Henrique is coming off his best season in Anaheim since being traded from New Jersey in 2017. He potted 26 goals on 43 points and was a positive possession player (52% Corsi for).
It’s more likely, though, that the Ducks veteran forwards will be protected along with young players like Sam Steel and Troy Terry. The seventh forward will come down to one of a handful of other young players, depending on how they fare with Anaheim this year.
Max Jones is one of the players looking to play his way into the protection conversation. A former first-round pick, Jones has two pro seasons under his belt. He’s 22-years-old and stuck around for 59 games with the Ducks last season. Jones, a left wing, has played in 89 NHL games over the past two years in total and is scratching the surface. If he breaks through, he’ll find himself protected.
Anaheim has been high on 21-year-old Isac Lundestrom as well. The Swede has potential but needs to show he can score more consistently to earn protection. He spent most of last season with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls (43 games), scoring 21 points. Lundestrom is currently on loan in Sweden where he’s started with five goals and 11 points in his first 12 games, which is an encouraging sign.
The Ducks picked up Sonny Milano, 24, and Danton Heinen, 25, in separate deals at last season’s trade deadline. The pair each played in nine games with Anaheim, and are young with upside. Milano came to the Ducks from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and while he has yet to be a big scorer in the NHL, he’s two seasons removed from a 27-game AHL stint with Cleveland where he picked up 24 points in 27 games.
Expect one of these four to be the seventh protected forward, and for this exercise let’s assume it’s Jones due to his age and NHL experience. This could easily change by season’s end.
Projected to Be Protected From Seattle Expansion Draft
Ryan Getzlaf
Adam Henrique
Jakob Silfverberg
Rickard Rakell
Troy Terry
Sam Steel
Max Jones
Defense
Cam Fowler is the Ducks’ most expensive defenseman but is their best and is under contract through the 2026 season at $6.5 million a year. While that’s a big contract, Anaheim will not expose a 28-year-old defenseman who is productive and in his prime years.
The Ducks may be willing to expose Josh Manson and his $4.1 million contract. The 29-year-old had what looked like a breakout season in 2017-2018 where he picked up 37 points in 80 games, but that apparently was an anomaly. In the two campaigns since, he’s managed a combined total of 27 points and has revealed himself to be an average defenseman.
Manson becomes further expendable with the free agency addition of Kevin Shattenkirk this offseason. A couple of years older than Manson, Shattenkirk is cheaper at $3.9 million and is still a productive defenseman with a longer track record.
Projected to Be Protected From Seattle Expansion Draft
Cam Fowler
Hampus Lindholm
Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalie
John Gibson is the man for the Ducks and will be their number one goalie for the foreseeable future. The most interesting Ducks goalie prospect, Lukas Dostal, is not eligible for the Seattle Expansion Draft, leaving the Kraken with slim pickings from Anaheim’s goaltending options.
Murray does have to expose an eligible goalie for the Seattle Expansion Draft, though. Anthony Stolarz projects to be Gibson’s back-up but is scheduled to be a UFA after this season. The Ducks could re-sign Stolarz and expose him without fear of losing him.
Top Expansion Candidates for the Seattle Expansion Draft
Forwards
Sonny Milano
Danton Heinen
Isac Lundestrom
Defense
Josh Manson
Josh Mahura
Brendan Guhle
Anaheim Ducks players, their contract info, and career stats.
Thoughts
The Kraken have some good talent to choose from the Ducks in the Seattle Expansion Draft. Manson is not an offensive threat, but he was an alternate captain with Anaheim and can provide veteran leadership. His contract also comes in handy, as it will help the Kraken reach the cap floor.
If Ron Francis wants to go younger, Mahura is an interesting player. Mahura, 22, has yet to establish himself as a regular NHLer but was a big-time scorer from the blue line in junior and is coming off an AHL season in San Diego where he scored 21 points in 44 games. He’s less of a sure NHLer than Manson, but Mahura has potential.
Brendan Guhle, 23, is right alongside Mahura as a young, offensive defenseman. Guhle has yet to prove he belongs in the NHL. He’s had looks and is with his second organization after starting with the Buffalo Sabres. The productive AHL seasons are there, and if the Kraken feel they can harvest NHL-level skill, he is worth the pick.
Up front, if Lundestrom is left unprotected he could be an intriguing pick here as well. Again, it may depend on what he shows this coming season.
Side Deal Scenarios
Murray and the Ducks pulled off one of the more scrutinized side deals during the Vegas Expansion Draft. They famously sent defenseman Shea Theodore – who wasn’t eligible to be drafted – to the Golden Knights with the agreement that Vegas would take Clayton Stoner. Theodore, a former Seattle Thunderbird, has since turned out to be one of the top young defensemen in the league.
Did that experience burn Murray? He has no cap room and a couple of high contracts on his books, so he may feel he doesn’t have a choice but to try something like that again.
The NHL return to play date is still up in the air, and now the league has a conflict with the NHLPA over salaries.
Due to the pandemic limiting income for the league owners, the NHL approached the players’ union looking to change the agreement struck in the CBA this past summer. That agreement contained an even 50-50 split in hockey-generated revenue. Now, the owners are asking the players for help to allow the NHL to get more cash in the coffers before it can return to play.
Two ideas were presented but neither option was received with open arms. One was to defer salaries this year and increase escrow. The second was to defer salary and institute a rising escrow over the last three years of the CBA.
So far, these offers have not been received well and will add one more layer in planning for the NHL return to play plans, which the league still hopes will come on January 1st. Needless to say, stay tuned.
Bottom line, more discussion ahead for both the NHLPA internally (whether or not they're ultimately willing to tweak salary deferral and if so, what do they get in return?); and more NHL/NHLPA discussion. The clock is ticking.
The Florida Panthers made history this week by hiring Brett Peterson as their new assistant general manager. He’s believed to be the first Black AGM in the NHL and represents another small but important step for a league that has historically struggled to provide an inclusive environment.
Peterson was a defenseman at Boston College and later became a player agent, representing the likes of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.
There are also rumblings out there that Joel Ward is expected to be hired as an assistant coach for the Henderson Silver Knights, the new AHL affiliate for Vegas. Ward just officially retired from his playing career in April, so it’s a quick jump behind the bench for the well-respected player.
Report: Joel Ward expected to be named assistant coach of the Henderson Silver Knights https://t.co/pf1hGdvZL5
News of the hirings of Peterson and Ward came a few days after the Miami Marlins also broke a barrier by hiring Kim Ng as their general manager, making her the first woman to hold that role in Major League Baseball history. That led to speculation about who the first woman to lead a team in the NHL might be, and the Seattle Kraken have two women on staff who could be in the running in Alexandra Mandryky and Cammi Granato.
No Passport, No Pass for Braden Holtby
Braden Holtby signed a two-year deal with Vancouver at the opening of NHL Free Agency, a deal that the Canucks clearly structured in a way that will allow them to expose him to Seattle in next year’s Expansion Draft.
So, the potential Kraken goalie now needs to get across the U.S./Canada border to get to his new home in British Columbia. This shouldn’t have been an issue, except a slight hiccup was unshelled (get it?) when it was time for Holtby to make the trip.
Apparently, the Holtby family includes two tortoises named Honey and Maple. Those tortoises require export papers filed with the U.S. and import papers filed with Canada. The Holtbys completed one of those steps, but not the other, leaving Braden and the tortoises stranded at the border.
Braden’s wife, Brandi, sent out a call for help on Twitter.
No, we didn’t know we needed an export permit (we did do the import permit for the Canadian side) so now Braden is stuck at the border with two tortoises 🙈
After several days of worry and speculation, the Holtby tortoise drama is over as Brandi Holtby announced that the family has been reunited.
Welcome to Canada, Honey and Maple! 🇨🇦 Huge shout out to @USFWS for working so hard for us! Thank you for everyone’s concern.. NOW you may laugh at the image of Braden being stuck at the border with a tortoise under each arm. 🐢👨🏽🌾🐢
There continue to be COVID-related cancellations in the hockey world. This week the minor-pro ECHL announced that its entire North Division has decided to not play until the 2021-2022 season. The decision will displace over 150 players from the Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and Worcester Railers.
All these players are now free agents and will have to scramble to try to find a team to play for this coming season.
The remaining 13 ECHL clubs are set to start a preseason schedule on December 4th, and the regular season is targeted for a December 11th start date. The North Division expects to be back in action next season.
Sharks Officially in the Water
Starting a new NCAA Division I hockey program is no easy task. It’s even tougher to do during a global pandemic with little time to find players. But that’s exactly what the Long Island University Sharks set out to do this year.
Becoming a reality in April, the team began looking for players and managed to recruit nine transfers to help fill their roster. LIU hired a 29-year-old coach in Brett Riley and quickly prepared for its first NCAA campaign.
At Holy Cross on Thursday, the Sharks opened their season and program in their stunning new uniforms.
LIU squeaked out a 3-2 overtime win on a breakaway goal from Christian Rajic, giving the fledgling team a perfect all-time win percentage of 1.000, at least until it plays its second game on Sunday.
Go Sharks, Go!
Also, in case you feel like re-watching the best parts of last night (and trust us, we know that feel), highlights are 👇https://t.co/ewDIekvmVX
Sure, the Kraken could get somebody like Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, or Jonathan Quick from the Kings in the Seattle Expansion Draft, but that seems unlikely.
It’s been a tough couple of years for Los Angeles Kings fans, who are still not that far removed from witnessing their club lift hockey’s greatest prize twice in three seasons between 2012 and 2014.
It must be difficult to see their team plummet from the cream of the crop all the way down to cellar dwellers in such a short time, although perhaps there is some overlap between Kings fans and Lakers/Dodgers fans, which would diminish the sour taste of not winning a championship for a few years.
What’s happened with the Kings is not unlike what has happened in places like, say, Chicago, where the central characters have remained on long, lucrative contracts, and as they age, the organization is attempting to rebuild around that same group through drafting and developing.
STATE OF THE TEAM
The old guard – Anze Kopitar, Brown, Carter, Drew Doughty, and Quick – have all reached their 30s, and in varying stages of the twilights of their respective careers find themselves stuck in the mud of a rebuild. Veteran feelings aside, L.A. seems to very much be on the right track to becoming a difficult Pacific Division foe for the Seattle Kraken within a few years.
Prospect experts indicate that Los Angeles had one of the deepest pools in the NHLbefore trading for Tyler Madden and drafting an elite talent in Quinton Byfield with the second overall selection in October’s NHL Entry Draft. This is obviously great news for Kings fans but confirms that this is a franchise that will certainly be a thorn in Seattle’s side for years to come.
Making things worse for Seattle, the Kraken will not have much to choose from off the coveted Kings’ prospect list, as the vast majority of their youth movement will not meet the exposure eligibility requirement of two professional seasons. So, if you think the Kraken will have a chance at guys like Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Gabe Vilardi, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, or Samuel Fagemo, you would be incorrect.
ASSUMPTIONS
The Kings are one team that we at Sound Of Hockey predict will protect eight total skaters, rather than seven forwards and three defensemen, in the Seattle Expansion Draft. This is because we think they will want to protect an additional defenseman, pushing Seattle to choose one of their interchangeable forwards, of whom they have several.
We are assuming that L.A. will not be good again next season. Byfield has a solid chance of playing right away and being impactful, but coming out of junior hockey, it is unlikely he will be able to move the needle enough to get the Kings back to being competitive. Additions of guys such as Olli Maatta and Lias Andersson will also fall short of putting L.A. back into contention, and the team’s deep well of youngsters is not quite ready to be tapped and labeled the new core of the team.
We also believe at least some of the veterans of the past Stanley Cup runs will be exposed in favor of maintaining the future. Doughty — the youngest of the old core at 30 years old — is the only one of the group with a no-movement clause, so he is guaranteed to be protected. Otherwise, one can imagine a world in which all the remaining players of yore could be there for the taking.
But does Seattle want one of those veterans? We doubt it (unless Kopitar somehow becomes available, which feels like a long shot).
OFFSEASON WILDCARDS
There’s still time for things to change for this roster before puck drop in … well … January … ish? But with the free agent market all but stalled, unless L.A. for some reason pulls off a whopper of a trade, it feels like the front office is prepared to stink for another year.
PROTECTED LIST
FORWARDS
It crossed our minds at Sound Of Hockey that the Kings could expose Kopitar to Seattle in the Expansion Draft, being that he will be 34 when the Kraken start playing, and his contract runs all the way until 2024 at a $10M annual cap hit… But we thought better of it. Unless he has a terrible season, Kopitar will be protected. He is still their best player.
Anze Kopitar (Lock … ish)
Adrian Kempe (Lock)
Alex Iafallo (Lock)
Blake Lizotte
DEFENSE
One question mark here didn’t exist for L.A. two months ago. The Kings took Olli Maatta’s salary off the hands of the cap-strapped Blackhawks at the beginning of October in a move that cleared $3 million from Chicago’s books through 2021-22.
Sean Walker had previously been slated as the last guy protected on L.A.’s blueline, but does Maatta’s addition to the lineup change this? While both players are 26 years old, Maatta has way more service time than Walker with 427 career games, 124 points, and two Stanley Cups.
The two had similar stats this past season, and while Walker has a better contract ($1.4 million lower cap hit for two years longer than Maatta), we will give the protection edge to Maatta, based on a stronger long-term resume.
Drew Doughty (NMC – Lock)
Kale Clague (Lock)
Matt Roy (Lock)
Olli Maatta
GOALIE
Quick, turning 35 in January, is flat out too old to protect and has lost whatever the goalie version of “a step” would be. Jack Campbell was traded away to Toronto during the season. That leaves only one in L.A.’s crease that shall be protected.
Cal Peterson
TOP KINGS TARGETS FOR SEATTLE EXPANSION DRAFT
FORWARDS
Austin Wagner
Lias Andersson
Martin Frk
Carl Grundstrom
Matt Luff
Trevor Moore
Andersson is a very interesting case and another one of those assets that wasn’t something for the Kings to worry about in expansion two months ago. He had a tough go in the Rangers organization, eventually asking for a trade, leaving the team, and returning to Sweden.
New York did officially deal him to L.A. on draft day, giving Andersson a fresh start on the opposite coast. He so far has not lived up to his No. 7 overall selection, but the kid has oodles of talent and is still just 21 years old. Seattle could do much worse than landing a young player with this much upside this early in his career.
Wagner, 23, is the other most intriguing choice here. With probably less upside than Andersson, Wagner has a ton of speed and has proven himself a useful NHL player, though mostly in a checking role. In 127 career games played, Wagner has 18 goals and 14 assists.
DEFENSE
Olli Maatta
Sean Walker
We talked previously about the decision to be made between Maatta and Walker, and that’s assuming that Los Angeles does take the route of protecting eight total skaters in favor of holding onto four of their defensemen. Should the Kings go with the seven/three/one protection list, then Seattle would be able to choose from Maatta and Walker if one of those is more appealing than an Andersson or Wagner up front.
GOALIE
Jonathan Quick
… But we don’t think this will happen.
SIDE DEAL SCENARIOS
Brown and Carter are signed through 2021-22 and Quick is signed through 2022-23, all at $5M+ cap hits. With the Kraken needing to hit the cap floor, one could see the Kraken taking one of those players if Los Angeles can do enough to sweeten any such deal. Taking any of those players would not be done with the intent of building the Kraken roster around them, but rather to get the Kings to throw in useful assets and get a year or two of service from an aging but respected veteran.
Check out our previous articles looking at likely Seattle Expansion Draft scenarios for the Red Wings, Senators, and Sharks.
This is a super fun podcast episode with Derek Ryan of the Calgary Flames and a native of Spokane, Washington! Derek has had a fascinating journey to get to the NHL, and his story will leave you feeling inspired to keep grinding to achieve your dreams.
This podcast interview with Derek Ryan is one you won’t want to miss.
Also on this episode, plenty of discussion about some of the latest content at SoundOfHockey.com, including John’s idea about a low-price ticket lottery and Andy’s Reverse Retro Jersey Awards. The guys shed some more light on those topics and rip on the Detroit Red Wings for their very poor entry into the Reverse Retro pool.
Segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
This is a fun episode that features Spokane, Washington’s own Derek Ryan! The Calgary Flames center has had a fascinating journey to get to the NHL, and his story will leave you feeling inspired to keep grinding to achieve your dreams.
Also on this episode, plenty of discussion about some of the latest content at SoundOfHockey.com, including John’s idea about a low-price ticket lottery and Andy’s Reverse Retro Jersey Awards. The guys shed some more light on those topics and rip on the Detroit Red Wings for their very poor entry into the Reverse Retro pool.
Segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The San Jose Sharks are coming off their worst season in 15 years. It was only the second time in 22 years that they failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yet this is still a club that’s just one season removed from playing in the Conference Finals. It is really anyone’s guess as to how the Sharks will fare in the upcoming 2020-21 season.
Are they a team in need of a rebuild, or do they have the potential for a few deep playoff runs in their immediate future? This upcoming campaign should be a big indicator of which direction this salary-cap-strapped team is heading, and the answer should influence its approach to the NHL Expansion Draft next summer.
This offseason the Sharks acquired Devan Dubnyk (G) and Ryan Donato (F) in separate trades with the Minnesota Wild. They also added depth forward Matt Nieto and brought back Sharks legend and former Seattle Thunderbird, Patrick Marleau (F), both on one-year deals via free agency.
Assumptions
The Sharks do not have any pending UFAs that will impact the Expansion Draft after the 2021 season. Both Erik Karlsson (D) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (D) have no-move clauses (NMC), and we will assume they will not waive those clauses.
Roster Wildcards
The roster is fairly set, so any wildcards will be driven by trades or UFA signings after this article is published.
Protected List
Forwards
The Sharks forward core of Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, and Tomas Hertl are pretty much locks to be protected. We would add 24-year-old, Kevin LeBanc, and 22-year-old prospect, Jonathan Dahlen, to the protected list. Dahlen has yet to play in the NHL but seems to be knocking on the door.
The seventh protected forward spot will come down to Bonney Lake’s own Dylan Gambrell, former Thunderbird, Alexander True, or either Maxim Letunov or newly acquired Ryan Donato.
Here are the cases to be made for protecting each of those players:
Gambrell has the most offensive upside.
True is the youngest of the four and appeared to belong in the NHL when he was called up at the end of last year.
Letunov had two quality development years in the AHL.
Donato has the most NHL experience with 130 games.
Who gets protected will really come down to how these players progress during the 2020-21 season. At this point, we are going to project that Donato is protected based on the fact that he is the only one to have shown that he can contribute in the NHL as an everyday player.
Projected Protected
Logan Couture (Lock)
Timo Meier (Lock)
Thomas Hertl (Lock)
Evander Kane (Lock)
Kevin LeBanc
Jonathan Dahlen
Ryan Donato
Defense
As stated above, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have no-move clauses and will take two of the three protected defense slots. At first glance, you might assume Brent Burns would be the third protected defenseman for the Sharks. After all, Burns has been an offensive juggernaut for the Sharks over the last six seasons. He had 128 points in 152 games over the last two seasons. However, he will be 36 next summer and will have four more years left on his contract that has a cap hit of $8M a year.
Those are all important things to consider if there ends up being another up-and-coming defenseman that would be exposed with the protection of Burns. Assuming that there is no major drop-off in production from the hockey-playing caveman, then Burns should be the third protected defenseman in the Expansion Draft.
Projected Protected
Erik Karlsson (NMC – Lock)
Marc-Edouard Vlasic (NMC – Lock)
Brent Burns
Goalie
Both Dubnyk and Martin Jones are looking for rebound years after somewhat disastrous 2019-20 performances. At this time, we do not see any reason why the Sharks would protect Jones, who has underperformed since signing his six-year deal in 2017. Dubnyk is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season, so there is no real benefit to San Jose for protecting him either. The only other goalie candidate to protect is a 22-year-old in their AHL franchise, Josef Korenar.
Projected Protected
Josef Korenar
Top Expansion Candidates for Seattle Kraken
Forwards
Dylan Gambrell
Alexander True
Maxim Letunov
Defense
Radim Simek
Goalie
Martin Jones
Either Gambrell or True would be a storybook scenario given their Pacific Northwest ties, but before the story is written, the Kraken will need to make sure they are everyday NHLers in the league. Both appear to be destined for the top level, and this next season will be a huge indicator on their broader outlook.
Letunov is in the same boat but might spend one more year in the AHL before getting his opportunity. Simek is a serviceable defenseman, should the Kraken determine that they can fill out their forward roster with selections from other teams. If San Jose ends up exposing Burns, and he has a normal season by his standards, the Kraken will have a hard time not picking him.
Side Deal Scenarios
The Sharks are up against the salary cap and have a few big contracts that they might want to shed. The Kraken’s biggest asset is cap space, which could make for a pretty good match. Of the players without a NMC, Martin Jones has the biggest potential to be part of a side deal with Seattle, but it still seems like Jones would need to have a bit of a bounce back year for Seattle to consider picking him. His $5.7M cap hit would be on the high side for a potential back-up goalie, but it might help the Kraken hit the cap floor requirement per the Expansion Draft rules.
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
Has life felt less colorful lately? The NHL has you covered. In a moment the league claims you all have been waiting for, it released the Reverse Retro Jerseys by Adidas collection Monday morning. All 31 existing teams revealed reimagined jersey designs that highlighted a minor color in their scheme, a throwback to an old logo, or both.
Some were great. Some left a lot to be desired. There are many rankings for you to mull over but we’re going to go a different route here. We are handing out Sound Of Hockey Awards for the new looks. These awards went through an extensive review process and the results have been certified by, well, nobody.
Here are your first ever Sound Of Hockey Reverse Retro Awards:
The Best Reverse Retro Jerseys Award
Nominees: Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators
What the Wild did was brilliant and simple. They took their current logo – which is a bear… or a cougar… or a lion… or… something… in case you didn’t know – and placed it in the old style of a North Stars jersey. Green and gold is a combo we don’t have enough of in the NHL, and Minnesota brought it back. This look is so good that it wouldn’t be the worst thing if the Wild made this their regular look. Somewhere, Neal Broten is smiling.
**Editor’s Note: Sound Of Hockey’s Darren Brown had nothing to do with the selection of this award, and does NOT want to hear about this from readers or listeners of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.**
The “I Don’t Think You Understood The Concept” Award
Nominees: Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders
And the winner is…
The New York Islanders
Adidas: [pitches a million different creative ideas]
Lou: all of this is way too flashy for my taste
Adidas: [copy pastes regular Islanders jerseys] what about this one?
These new jerseys are, um, the same? The blue may be darker, but this is essentially no different than the current Islanders’ jersey. For a team that was criticized in the playoffs for not playing an exciting style of hockey, these jerseys are very much on brand. Why not orange? Why not bring back that goofy fisherman? New York had a chance to go bold and instead they dumped and chased.
The Best “Nod To History” Award
Nominees: Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets
By far the toughest to choose of all the categories of Reverse Retro Jerseys awards. The Hurricanes brought back the Whalers logos only with a grey color rather than green and it looks great. In Los Angeles, the Kings combined the purple and gold – which they should use as their regular jerseys – but with the Gretzky-era logo for a clean, new look.
But, the Avalanche brought back the Quebec Nordiques…whatever that logo is. **Editor’s Note: It’s an igloo, Andy.**Apparently there’s an ‘N’ in there, but it doesn’t matter. **Editor’s Note: It’s a lowercase ‘n’, and it’s actually quite obvious.**Adding that thing, along with the fleur de lis along the bottom, they’ve recreated the old Quebec look, only in Colorado colors. It’s unique, slick, and will sell better than tickets at the old Colisée de Québec. Even Eric Lindros would put these beauties on.
The Best Use Of Reverse Colors Award
Nominees: St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Las Vegas Golden Knights
With a two-toned Coyote head, a robust purple color, and sneaking of the moon sliver into the desert landscape at the bottom, the Coyotes have a winner. The purple jumps out at you and somehow works well with the tan. The only thing that would have made this better is if they went with the full Kachina Coyote instead of just the head. These are so slick that they almost make you want to take part in an illegal prospect workout.
The “Are Those Your Practice Jerseys?” Award
Nominees: Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings
Is Steve Yzerman a minimalist? The Red Wings Reverse Retro jerseys feature the legendary winged wheel logo on white, and not much else. The logo and numbers are the only places you’ll find red. Gone are any red stripes or piping, and only one dull, grey stripe was added. If you slap a Little Caesar’s patch on it, you’ve got a slick practice jersey. The Red Wings were a bad hockey team last year, but that doesn’t mean they have to look terrible too.
The Best Use Of Green Award
Nominees: Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils
We love the color green. Green needs to be in the NHL more. The Devils get it and they reversed their jerseys making dark green the main color. The red and white stripes on the sleeves are a great companion, and these jerseys look sweet. Another team that should perhaps consider making these their regular, everyday jersey.
Well, if you looked up “Reverse Retro Jerseys” in the dictionary, you’d probably see this.
Wild Wing is back, only in a less colorful fashion than we’ve seen him before. Anaheim has busted out Wild Wing in the past, only with a teal backdrop. This time around, the Ducks have reversed – following directions – the color, and now it’s a white backdrop with a teal bottom stripe. Some people love Wild Wing, despite how busy of a logo it is, but with the white in the background, this looks like an unfinished painting from one of Walt Disney’s most junior animators.
The “Oh, For Shame!” Award
Nominees… The Chicago Blackhawks
And the Winner Is…
The Chicago Blackhawks
You may recall that over the summer, the Washington R-Words finally dropped their incredibly racist nickname to temporarily become the Washington Football Team. Well, in the wake of that decision, the microscope of public perception shifted briefly to the Blackhawks, who opted to stand behind their name, claiming the “name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public.”
Ok, fine.
BUT… don’t we find it a bit curious that in the first set of releases for Chicago’s Reverse Retro jersey entry… there doesn’t seem to be a picture of the front of the jersey? Watch the video in the below tweet. There’s some obviously intentional covering of the logo happening here.
Further solidifying the point, the official NHL Twitter account made a thread of every team’s release early on Monday morning. 30 of the tweets featured clear images of the front of each respective team’s new jersey. Then they landed on Chicago (Carolina included for comparison).
Clearly, somebody is a bit concerned about the public’s reaction to the team releasing yet another jersey with the controversial logo on the front. Thus, the Blackhawks have been handed the “Oh, For Shame!” Award.
The “You Copied Us So We’ll Copy You” Award
Nominees: The Montreal Canadiens
And the winner is…
The Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens' adidas #ReverseRetro jersey is inspired by the color that marked the team's first sweater in 1909.
The design is a take on the one worn from 1974 to 2007 – a period during which the club won six Stanley Cups.
These are nice, and Montreal obviously understood the concept. They replaced the red in their home jerseys with blue and it works. Those of us in the Northwest know it works since the Spokane Chiefs have worn the same jerseys as a third sweater for years now. Yes, Spokane copies Montreal’s colors and jersey design, but the Chiefs took to wearing blue alternates long before Reverse Retro was an idea.
The Montreal Canadiens new Reverse-Retro jerseys look identical to these Spokane Chiefs alternates. (Larry Brunt/Chiefs photo)
This is allowable since Spokane borrowed from Montreal first. They do look nice in action, though.
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.
