Kraken have expansion draft options
Ron Francis is on the clock. The Seattle Kraken’s general manager gets to pick 30 players in the expansion draft to build out the roster for the NHL’s 32nd franchise. Those selections will be unveiled Wednesday night.
Francis has some big decisions to make on how many bigmoney stars and their sizable contracts to take on, what risks to take on younger, lessproven players and which side deals are worth it to stockpile assets as the Vegas Golden Knights did at their expansion draft in 2017.
In four years as Carolina’s GM, Francis did not make a lot of big splashes and preferred a more conservative approach to rebuilding the Hurricanes. Only after his departure did they develop into the kind of perennial playoff contender he envisioned.
Building Seattle from scratch is a different kind of challenge and could alter the way Francis manages the situation. In a matter of days, the Kraken will have the bulk of their team for their inaugural season — all from the choices the Hall of Fame player makes at the center of the hockey universe.
Big stars: Montreal goaltender Carey Price. St. Louis wing Vladimir Tarasenko. Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano.
There’s a Stanley Cup title, an Olympic gold medal and a whole lot of NHL hardware on their resumes and little doubt they’d help the Kraken win a lot of games in their first season. But Price is signed for a salary cap hit of $10.5 million for the next five years, Tarasenko $7.5 million for two and Giordano $6.75 million for one more.
Price alone would take up nearly 13% of the $81.5 million cap, and he’s the only player counting $10 million or more to win a playoff round since the limit went into place in 200506. Take all three and that’s almost a third of the available space.
Of course Price could be the face of the franchise like MarcAndre Fleury was for the Golden Knights, and he has roots in the area. The combination of his abilities on the ice and potential to be Seattle’s most marketable star should make Francis think long and hard about the possibility.
Side deals: George McPhee fleeced some colleagues around the league as Vegas’ first GM four years ago, adding prospects and draft picks in a handful of trades around the expansion draft. Francis is hampered by that history and the desire by many not to repeat it, but there’s still some potential for deals.
Backtoback champion Tampa Bay is desperate to clear cap space and could sweeten the deal for the Kraken to take Spokane, Wash., native Tyler Johnson — who’s signed for three more seasons at $5 million annually. Maybe it’s a draft pick or another pricey player who could give Seattle a boost and the Lightning some cap relief. Surprises: The Canadiens exposing Price instead of backup Jake Allen fresh off their run to the Finals is the early leader for stunner of the offseason. Columbus also exposed forward Max Domi less than 10 months after trading for him, and Carolina left 20goal scorer Nino Niederreiter unprotected — perhaps hoping Seattle doesn’t want him at $5.25 million.
There were other mini surprises around the league, like Washington protecting littleused Trevor van Riemsdyk over secondpairing defensemen Justin Schultz and Brendan Dillon, and St. Louis letting the Kraken choose between Tarasenko and rumor mill staple Vince Dunn.