Expansion draft: Who could stay or go away
The NHL released every team’s protected lists on Sunday for the upcoming expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken and there were no surprise names among the group of players protected by the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks opted to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie. They sheltered from Seattle forwards Rudolfs Balcers, Logan Couture, Jonathan Dahlen, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier, defenseman Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and MarcEdouard Vlasic, and newly acquired goalie Adin Hill.
The players left exposed by the Sharks include forwards Ryan
Donato, Dylan Gambrell, Jayden Halbgewachs, Matt Nieto, Alexander True, defensemen Christian Jaros, Nicolas Meloche, Jacob Middleton, Radim Simek, and goalie Martin Jones.
Teams aiming to shelter more than three defensemen also had the option of protecting eight skaters — regardless of position — and one goalie. But the Sharks had more than five forwards that they wanted to keep, for now, along with Burns. Karlsson and Vlasic have no-movement clauses in their contracts and had to be protected for the expansion draft.
The Sharks and 29 other NHL teams had to send in their protected list for next week’s expansion draft by Saturday.
Several teams had difficult decisions to make in terms of who to protect.
Among the notable players exposed to Seattle include Montreal’s Carey Price, St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko and Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog. Price’s contract carries a $10.5 million cap hit for the next five seasons, perhaps too much for the Kraken to take on, Tarasenko is looking for a trade out of St. Louis and Landeskog is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Only the Vegas Golden Knights were exempt from having to expose players to the Kraken, who will select one player from each team. The Golden Knights came into the league in 2017.
The Kraken’s expansion draft selections will be revealed Wednesday.
Here’s our prognosis for what player the Kraken might select from the Sharks’ roster.
MOST LIKELY TO GO: >> Forwards — Ryan Donato, Dylan Gambrell. ANALYSIS: >> Donato fell out of favor with the Sharks’ coaching staff toward the end of the season, but he remains a smart, skilled forward who could still be of
aid to a team’s power play. Gambrell is a two-way centerman who became an effective penalty killer this season for the Sharks. He’s also from Bonney Lake, Washington, just south of Seattle.
HAS A CHANCE TO GO: >> Forward — Matt Nieto. Defenseman — Radim Simek. ANALYSIS: >> Nieto’s the most proven player among the forwards who have a chance to be selected, having played in 500 career regular-season games and 55 playoff games. Speed is also not an issue for Nieto. What may be problematic is Nieto’s contract, which runs through the 2022-2023 season, and that extra year could give Seattle GM Ron Francis some pause. Simek has proven he can be effective when he’s healthy, but he’s missed time with injuries the last three years and trading him might not be easy. His contract also carries a $2.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons. VERY LITTLE CHANCE TO GO: >> Forwards — Alex True, Jayden Halbgewachs, Kurtis Gabriel, Maxim Letunov, Patrick Marleau, Marcus Sorensen. Defensemen — Jacob Middleton, Nicolas Meloche, Christian Jaros, Greg Pateryn. ANALYSIS: >> True, Halbgewachs, Middleton and Meloche have proven to be effective AHL players but have yet to fully establish themselves at the NHL level. Marleau, Gabriel, Letunov, and Sorensen are all pending unrestricted free agents. Seattle has more valuable options to choose from on the Sharks’ roster. NO CHANCE TO GO: >> Goalie — Martin Jones. ANALYSIS: >> Jones’ contract, with three years remaining at a cap hit of $5.75 million per season, is way too prohibitive for the Kraken to take on at this juncture.