Expansion Kraken coy about its team-building strategy
Wild returns to ice, clobbers Coyotes
Just because the NHL can’t release the Kraken until October doesn’t mean Seattle wasn’t in the mix at the trade deadline.
General manager Ron Francis can’t finalize any transactions until ownership makes its final expansion payment to the league, but there is precedent for making a handshake deal or two. That’s what George McPhee did at the deadline four years ago with Pittsburgh, setting the table for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to be the face of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise.
If Francis made an arrangement with another team, he’s not saying, though Seattle kept close tabs on all the moves — and the rest of the league certainly had the Kraken in mind with the expansion draft coming up in July.
“You always have the capability of having those discussions and reaching those agreements if both sides agree to it,” Francis said Tuesday, a day after the deadline. “We’re like everybody else on that trade deadline day: We’re watching it, we’re analyzing things. When trades happen, we’re updating our list and seeing how that affects (how) we were thinking on certain teams.”
Francis said nothing at the deadline surprised him, and little directly affected Seattle because so few players signed beyond this season were traded. Maybe scratch off the available list defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (traded from Washington to New Jersey) and forward Scott Laughton (re-signed with Philadelphia), but there was nothing earth-shattering.
Maybe that’s because execs learned some lessons from the 2017 expansion draft for Vegas. St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong said teams are less likely to let Francis be the “puppet master” manipulating the league like McPhee did.
Wednesday
WILD 5, COYOTES 2: In St. Paul, Minn.,Mats Zuccarello scored twice and Nick Bonino had a goal and two assists to lead Minnesota past Arizona.
It was the Wild’s first game since the death Sunday of Daunte Wright, a Black man shot by police during a traffic stop.
AVALANCHE 4, BLUES 3: In St. Louis, Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher each had a goal and an assist and Colorado won its fourth straight.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Brandon Saad also scored, and Liam O’Brien had two assists as the Avalanche improved to 17-1-2 since March 10.
JETS 3, SENATORS 2: In Ottawa, Mathieu Perreault and Trevor Lewis scored third-period goals to rally Winnipeg past Ottawa.
Mark Scheifele also scored for Winnipeg, which earned its fourth win in five games.
FLAMES 4, CANADIENS 1: In Montreal, Mark Giordano had a goal and an assist, Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 shots and Calgary beat Montreal.
Noah Hanafin, Josh Leivo and Sean Monahan also scored, and Chris Tanev had two assists. GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, KINGS 2:
In Los Angeles, Max Pacioretty and Tomas Nosek each had a goal and two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves as Vegas beat Los Angeles.
Fleury got his 485th win, breaking a tie with Ed Belfour for fourth place in NHL history.