One fan favorite left off protected list
Hits leader Tanev biggest name exposed for expansion draft
After weeks and weeks of speculation and intrigue, we finally have learned which Penguins the Seattle Kraken potentially could put their tentacles on.
The NHL on Sunday unveiled the protected lists for the Penguins and the rest of its eligible teams in advance of Wednesday’s expansion draft. The 11-player protected list for the Penguins included no surprises but omitted one fan favorite.
The Penguins and their firstyear general manager, Ron Hextall, also left Seattle without an obvious choice for selection, hoping to minimize the damage.
The Penguins, as expected, protected seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie instead of protecting eight skaters of any position plus one goalie.
Up front, they secured centers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Teddy Blueger and Jeff Carter, plus wingers Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Kasperi Kapanen.
Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin and Mike Matheson were the three defensemen on the list. Tristan Jarry was the lone goalie, leaving Casey DeSmith exposed.
The Kraken, who will begin play in 2021-22 as the league’s 32nd team, will select one player the Penguins did not protect. Seattle’s options include forwards Brandon Tanev, Jason Zucker and Zach Aston-Reese and defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Cody Ceci, the latter of whom is a pending free agent.
The 30 players selected by Seattle, one from each team with the exception of the Vegas Golden Knights, will be revealed 8 p.m. Wednesday. Vegas, which entered the NHL via expansion in 2017, will not have to surrender a player.
Among the Penguins left off the list, Tanev was likely the toughest call, especially after Saturday when the team traded away the rights to Jared McCann.
Tanev, who turns 30 in December, is a tone-setter who led the Penguins in hits this past season. He has been a ferocious forechecker on their top checking line and a core penaltykiller in his two years here. Off the ice, his boundless energy and playful banter quickly made him a popular player in the dressing room.
But will the Kraken, whose general manager is former Penguins center Ron Francis, want to take on the winger’s contract? With four years remaining and an annual salary cap hit of $3.5 million, that’s a lot of loot for an aging role player.
If the Kraken aren’t interested in Tanev, who wouldn’t make much sense if they want to take a patient approach to building, a few other options pop out.
One is Zucker, who has not met expectations after former general manager Jim Rutherford paid a premium to land him in the 2019-20 season. Prior to arriving in Pittsburgh, he had four seasons with 20-plus goals in Minnesota.
His pedigree, upbeat attitude and admirable work in the community could appeal to a Kraken team looking to establish the right culture. But with Zucker’s cap hit of $5.5 million on the books for two more years and several other scoring wingers left unprotected by other teams, the Kraken could pass on him, too.
Ceci and Pettersson are two blue-liners who could be on Seattle’s radar.
Ceci is an unrestricted free agent, and the Penguins have interest in resigning him after he was solid on their second pair in his first year in Pittsburgh.
Why would Seattle select a free agent? For one, they now can discuss contract terms with unprotected free agents such as Ceci in the hopes of hammering out a deal before Wednesday. Seattle also has the ability to trade his rights to another team. In 2017, Vegas dealt four free agents for future assets.
Pettersson, meanwhile, is unspectacular but solid all around and at 25 might still have more room to grow as a player. But he is under contract for $4 million a season with four years left to go. That’s a pretty penny for a third-pair left-hander.
The Penguins hope to create more cap space in order to make meaningful changes to their goaltending situation and supporting cast. That factored into them sending McCann to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a prospect and a future pick. Seattle selecting Zucker or Pettersson would aid in that endeavor.
The Kraken could instead choose from a few cheaper alternatives.
Aston-Reese, a restricted free agent, is one to watch. The 26-year-old has battled injuries and scored just 27 goals in his first four NHL seasons while settling into the bottom six. But public advanced stats paint the winger in a very positive light. Seattle, which has invested heavily in analytics, could see value there.
Another option is DeSmith, one of the NHL’s best bargains between the pipes. He posted a .912 save percentage in 2021 while making just $1.25 million.
Other notable available Penguins are forwards Freddy Gaudreau, Sam Lafferty, Anthony Angello and Evan Rodrigues; defensemen Mark Friedman, Juuso Riikola, Chad Ruhwedel and Jesper Lindgren; and goaltender Maxime Lagace.
John Marino, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Drew O’Connor, all young pros who suited up for the Penguins last season, were exempt, meaning they did not need to be protected. Ditto for prospects such as Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare.
The Penguins prioritized the center position with Malkin out indefinitely following knee surgery, protecting Blueger and Carter. Even though Carter is 36, they did not want to risk losing him. He is a big righthander who can score big goals, slot into a few different lineup spots and play in both phases of special teams.
Matheson was another noteworthy name on the list. The Penguins could have left him unprotected in the hopes of shedding his big contract. But they kept him around after the reclamation project had a nice first season in Pittsburgh.
And then there’s Jarry, whose meltdown was the main reason the Penguins lost to the New York Islanders in the playoffs. Some speculated that Jarry would be dangled in front of the Kraken. That it didn’t happen is not an endorsement that he will be the No. 1 goalie going forward. They would like to upgrade.
First things first, they must wait to learn which Penguin the Kraken will seize.