Category Archives: Seattle Kraken

2021 NHL Expansion Draft, 4 Amigos, Dominic Tiano, Seattle Kraken , 2 Comments

Dom’s Seattle Kraken Mock Expansion Draft

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Dominic Tiano (and friends) is back with a fun project to simulate what the NHL’s newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken, could do on July 21st when the league has its next expansion draft. We’d like to acknowledge and thank CapFriendly and their Expansion Draft Simulator for making this post possible. If you haven’t used it, please check it out here Seattle Expansion Draft Simulator – CapFriendly – NHL Salary Caps -KL

There are or will be a number of mock drafts related to the Seattle Kraken as they prepare to join the National Hockey League for the 2021-2022 season. This is my approach.

Trade deadline has come and gone and with the exception of the current 31 teams locking up either their restricted free agents or extending their unrestricted free agents (or not) rosters are pretty much locked up as we head towards the playoffs and a very busy offseason.

With the expansion draft set to take place on July 21, 2021, there is a little wrinkle for unrestricted free agents (UFA’s). Since free agent frenzy doesn’t begin until July 28, a current team could come to an agreement with a potential UFA and not sign until after the expansion draft, therefore they wouldn’t have to use a protection spot to keep them under their control. For the purpose of this exercise, we are assuming UFA’s will not be signed until after the expansion draft.

But Seattle does hold an exclusive negotiating period where they can sign a UFA prior to the expansion draft, however that player would count as the pick from the team he was under contract with when he signed with Seattle.

Restricted free agents must also be qualified or they become unrestricted. In our scenario, we are assuming all RFA’s are qualified (and if they aren’t, would we really select them in the expansion draft?) therefore, they will need protection from being selected.

Teams have the option of protecting 7 forwards, 3 defensemen and 1 goaltender OR 8 skaters and 1 goaltender. Teams must also make available 2 forwards and 1 defenseman that has played in 27 games during the 2020-21 season or a total of 56 games combined during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. They must also make available one goaltender who is under contract for the 2021-22 season or a goaltender who is an RFA and has received his qualifying offer.

Seattle must select a minimum of 14 forwards, 9 defensemen and 3 goaltenders and their combined cap hits must equal 60% to 100% of this season’s cap which is $81.5 million ($48.5 million minimum). Seattle must also select a minimum of 20 players that are under contract for the 2021-2022 season, regardless of position.

Making the protected decisions for the 30 teams (remember, the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt) are four people I call intelligent hockey people. They made protected lists up for 7 or 8 teams each and then yours truly will be making Seattle’s picks.

From the list supplied to me by the four “General Managers” I have selected 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and 4 goaltenders with a combined cap hit of $61,067,255 leaving Seattle just shy of $20.5 million to sign the restricted free agents I have chosen for them (or enter the free agent market). The picks also meet the minimum requirement of selecting at least 20 players that are under contract for the 2021-2022 season.

Here’s my thought process when selecting: I wanted to build from the net out with at least one goaltender that can be sent to the minors without having to clear waivers (Joey Daccord) and then build as strong a defense as possible from the available players. Once those selections were made, I picked my forward group from the remaining teams. I wanted them young with some veteran leadership sprinkled in. My thought was that if I could be strong in net with the best possible d-core I could select, that I could always trade for help needed up front.

So, here are my selections for the Seattle Kraken (as we get closer to the draft, I will do another mock draft based on signing extensions and trades that might happen):

Goaltenders

Braden Holtby (Vancouver) $4,300,000

Vitek Vanecek (Washington) $716,667

Anton Khudobin (Dallas) $3,333,333

Joey Daccord (Ottawa) $750,000

Left Defense

Michael Matheson (Pittsburgh) $4,875,000

Devon Toews (Colorado) $4,100,000

Riley Stillman (Chicago) $733,333

Vince Dunn (St Louis) $1,875,000

Caleb Jones (Edmonton) $850,000

Jake Bean (Carolina) $863,333

Josh Mahura (Anaheim) $745,000

Right Defense

Matt Dumba (Minnesota) $6,000,000

Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay) $2,950,000

Markus Nutivaara (Florida) $2,700,000

Left Wing

Oskar Lindblom (Philadelphia) $3,000,000

Richard Panik (Detroit) $2,750,000

Nick Ritchie (Boston) $1,498,925

Brayden Burke (Arizona) $925,000

Dillon Dube (Calgary) $778,333

Center

Adam Lowry (Winnipeg) $2,916,666

Kieffer Bellows (New York Islanders) $894,166

Alex True (San Jose) $763,333

Jake Evans (Montreal) $750,000

Colin Blackwell (New York Rangers) $725,000

Right Wing

Kyle Okposo (Buffalo) $6,000,000

Luke Kunin (Nashville) $2,300,000

Cliff Pu (Columbus) $745,000

Joey Anderson (Toronto) $750,000

Martin Frk (Los Angeles) $725,000

Nathan Bastian (New Jersey) $714,166

2021 NHL Expansion Draft, 4 Amigos, Boston Bruins, Dominic Tiano, Seattle Kraken , , , , , Leave a comment

Dominic Tiano: What Does the Expansion Draft Mean for the Bruins?

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It’s been a while, but Dominic Tiano is back with a timely piece on the next expansion draft as it applies to the newest NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken and how that eventuality will impact the Boston Bruins. Settle in and read what Dom has to say on the matter- KL

As the NHL and the NHLPA move closer and closer to reaching an agreement on the 2020-21 season (from this moment forward we will refer to it as the 2021 season), NHL General Mangers will certainly move forward looking to clear cap space, while others will look to add to their roster in the form of free agent signings and bailing out those teams that need to move out dollars.

But every move they make will be done with one eye kept on the expansion draft as the Seattle Kraken are set to join the NHL for the 2021-22 season.

Thirty of the thirty-one current NHL teams (Vegas is exempt) have the option of protecting 7 forwards, 3 defencemen and 1 goaltender or 8 skaters and 1 goaltender. Bruins GM Don Sweeney will no doubt be looking to add whether it’s prior to the season beginning or a trade deadline.

We take a look here at where the Bruins stand, some of the rules and how the Bruins roster sits.

UNSIGNED DRAFTED PROSPECTS ARE EXEMPT This Is pretty straight forward. Prospects that have yet to sign an NHL entry level contract are exempt from the draft. For the Bruins, that means Linus Arnesson, Jack Becker, John Beecher, Roman Bychkov, Riley Duran, Curtis Hall, Trevor Kuntar, Mason Langenbrunner, Mason Lohrei, Matias Mantykivi, Dustyn McFaul, Quinn Olson, and Jake Schmaltz are untouchable.

FIRST- AND SECOND-YEAR PLAYERS ARE EXEMPT For players just completing their first or second year of professional hockey (this includes the American Hockey League – which is the only other professional league in this situation) it’s the same situation – they are exempt from the draft. For the Bruins this includes Matt Filipe, Oskar Steen, Pavel Shen, Jack Studnicka, Jakub Lauko, Robert Lantosi, Jack Ahcan, Urho Vaakanainen, Victor Berglund, Nick Wolff, Jeremy Swayman and Kyle Keyser.

PLAYERS WITH NO MOVEMENT CLAUSES MUST BE PROTECTED Unless a player waives his no movement clause, he must be protected by his squad. For the Bruins that means Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle will be protected. It must be noted that players that are about to become unrestricted free agents with no movement clauses do not have to be protected. The Bruins have no player under those circumstances at the moment. But let’s say Zdeno Chara signs a one-year deal with the Bruins, likely with a no movement clause, the Bruins would not be required to protect him.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Technically, in a non-COVID 19 year, a player is still under contract when the expansion draft takes place. Should a team leave a pending unrestricted free agent unprotected from the expansion draft, the Kraken would have a 3-day window of exclusivity to sign the player. Should the Kraken sign such a player, that pick will count as the player selected from the team. For the Bruins, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak, Sean Kuraly, Par Lindholm, Gregg McKegg, Kevan Miller and Steven Kampfer fall into this category.

WHAT THE BRUINS MUST MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE KRAKEN

GOALTENDING

The Bruins must make available one goaltender who is under contract for 2021-22 or, if they choose to expose a restricted free agent, that goaltender must receive his qualifying offer. And they can only protect 1 goaltender. As mentioned earlier, Swayman and Keyser are exempt so they are out of the picture. Rask and Halak are pending unrestricted free agents. If they choose to protect Rask and re-sign him, they would need to make a qualifying offer to Dan Vladar and Callum Booth, but both would be left for the Kraken to choose from. However, the Bruins could protect Vladar and gamble that Rask would not sign with Seattle and try to sign him once free agency opens up.

DEFENCEMEN

The Bruins must make available to Seattle one defenceman who has played in at least 40 games in the 2021 season or, 70 games combined in the 2019-20 and the 2021 season and is under contract for the 2021-22 season. Currently, the Bruins only have 3 defencemen that meet those requirements: Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk. Others that are close to reaching the minimum requirement (games required in brackets) are: Connor Clifton (31), Jeremy Lauzon (40), John Moore (40), Kevan Miller (40), Jakub Zboril (40) and Steven Kampfer (40). It must be noted that Seattle does not have to pick a player who meets minimum requirements, but can choose any player left unprotected. It must also be noted that just being on the active roster does not equal a game played. The player must actually play in the game. In a season that is expected to have 52 to 56 games, with many back-to-backs and the chance of injuries or, heaven forbid, a positive COVID-19 test, are the Bruins willing to risk the chance at any of those players playing in 40 games?

FORWARDS

The Bruins must make available to Seattle two forwards who has played in at least 40 games in the 2021 season or, 70 games combined in the 2019-20 and the 2021 season and is under contract for 2021-22. With Bergeron, Marchand and Coyle protected because of no movement clauses, the Bruins appear to be in excellent shape here as David Krejci, Chris Wagner, Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith and Jake DeBrusk meet the minimum requirements. Ondrej Kase (4), Anders Bjork (2), Nick Ritchie (14), Greg McKegg (14) and Par Lindholm (24) are close. The remaining forwards will require 40 games to be played to meet minimum exposure requirements and they include: Karson Kuhlman, Anton Blidh, Trent Frederic and Zach Senyshyn. As with the defencemen, Seattle does not have to pick a player that meets minimum requirements and can choose any player exposed.

Now that all of that is out of the way, you would have to figure that, with a reduced schedule, there are going to be changes made to the 40/70 rule right? That is going to require some negotiations between the NHL, the NHLPA and the Seattle Kraken. But if you’re Seattle, how open are you going to be to change considering you paid $650 million in franchise fees and were promised the same opportunity as Vegas? Is it even negotiable since it is written into the expansion agreement between the league and the Kraken?

As I said in the opening, I don’t believe Don Sweeney is finished adding at some point in the offseason or during the season. But with the roster as it stands today, what options are there for the Bruins in the expansion draft? I believe the Bruins will protect 7 forwards, 3 defencemen and 1 goaltender. This is my stab at it.

GOALTENDING

Protect: Dan Vladar

Expose: Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak and Callum Booth

I never in a million years would have suggested protecting Vladar over Rask. But considering the season Vladar had a year ago in the AHL and his more than impressive start in Europe this season, you would think he’d be intriguing to both the Kraken and the Bruins. It’s a huge gamble doing this with hopes on being able to re-sign Rask once free agency comes. It’s a gamble I’d be willing to take. To meet minimum exposure requirements all Sweeney would have to do is give Booth his qualifying offer as an RFA.

DEFENCEMEN

Protect: Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk

Expose: John Moore, Kevan Miller, Connor Clifton, Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril and Steven Kampfer

Only Kampfer and Miller don’t meet the contractual status to meet the minimum requirements for exposure and all of them have a long way to go to meet the games played requirements.  

FORWARDS

Protect: Patrice Bergeron (NMC), Brad Marchand (NMC), Charlie Coyle (NMC), David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic and Craig Smith.

Expose: David Krejci, Ondrej Kase, Anders Bjork, Nick Ritchie, Sean Kuraly, Par Lindholm, Cameron Hughes, Karson Kuhlman, Anton Blidh, Zach Senyshyn, Paul Carey, Peter Cehlarik and Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson

I take the same path here with Krejci as I do with Rask. Again, a huge gamble, but we know how much Krejci likes it in Boston and I have no fear that he would go finish his career in Seattle.

On this exposure list Wagner and Bjork are the only two on my unprotected list that meet the minimum contractual requirements. Wagner also meets the minimum games required and Bjork would have to play just two games and Kase 4 to meet them. It appears the exposure requirements will be met easily by the Bruins.

Once Sweeney makes a move on the roster, most of this still stands, but the names will be different.