By: Mike & Scott
We are now in the end game as the Seattle Kraken are only a few days away from picking their team in the upcoming expansion draft on Wednesday evening. Yesterday, each team in the National Hockey League had to submit their list of players by 5pm east coast time that they wanted to protect and keep from being drafted by the Kraken. Each team had a choice of two different formats. One format that can be used is the 7-3-1 format. This means teams could protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and one goaltender. The second format teams could use is the 8-1 format which means teams can protect any eight skaters and one goaltender. This format allows teams to protect extra defenseman if they decide to do that. This morning the protection lists have been revealed and here they are:
Anaheim Ducks
Protected
Nicolas Deslauriers (F)
Max Jones (F)
Isac Lundestrom (F)
Rickard Rakell (F)
Jakob Silfverberg (F)
Sam Steel (F)
Troy Terry (F)
Cam Fowler (D)
Hampus Lindholm (D)
Josh Manson (D)
John Gibson (G)
Notably available: Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique, Kevin Shattenkirk,
Arizona Coyotes
Protected
Lawson Crouse (F)
Christian Dvorak (F)
Conor Garland (F)
Clayton Keller (F)
Phil Kessel (F)
Johan Larsson (F)
Nick Schmaltz (F)
Kyle Capobianco (D)
Jakob Chychrun (D)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D)
Darcy Kuemper (G)
Notably available: Derrick Brassard, Alex Goligoski, Anti Raanta
Boston Bruins
Protected
Patrice Bergeron (F)
Charlie Coyle (F)
Jake DeBrusk (F)
Trent Frederic (F)
Brad Marchand (F)
David Pastrnak (F)
Craig Smith (F)
Brandon Carlo (D)
Matt Grzelcyk (D)
Charlie McAvoy (D)
Dan Vladar (G)
Notably available: Taylor Hall, Odrej Kase, David Krejci, Curtis Lazar, Nick Ritchie, Jeremy Lauzon, Jaroslav Halak, Tukka Rask
Buffalo Sabres
Protected
Rasmus Asplund (F)
Anders Bjork (F)
Jack Eichel (F)
Casey Mittelstadt (F)
Victor Olofsson (F)
Sam Reinhart (F)
Tage Thompson (F)
Rasmus Dahlin (D)
Henri Jokiharju (D)
Rasmus Ristolainen (D)
Linus Ullmark (G)
Notably available: Cody Eakin, Jeff Skinner, Colin Miller
Calgary Flames
Protected
Mikael Backlund (F)
Dillon Dube (F)
Johnny Gaudreau (F)
Elias Lindholm (F)
Andrew Mangiapane (F)
Sean Monahan (F)
Matthew Tkachuk (F)
Rasmus Andersson (D)
Noah Hanifin (D)
Christopher Tanev (D)
Jacob Markstrom (G)
Notably available: Milan Lucic, Mark Giordano
Carolina Hurricanes
Protected
Sebastian Aho (F)
Jesper Fast (F)
Warren Foegele (F)
Jordan Staal (F)
Andrei Svechnikov (F)
Teuvo Teravainen (F)
Vincent Trocheck (F)
Brett Pesce (D)
Brady Skjei (D)
Jaccob Slavin (D)
Alex Nedeljkovic (G)
Notably available: Brock McGinn, Nino Niederreiter, Jake Gardiner, Dougie Hamilton, Petr Mrazek, James Reimer
Chicago Blackhawks
Protected
Henrik Borgstrom (F)
Alex DeBrincat (F)
Brandon Hagel (F)
David Kampf (F)
Patrick Kane (F)
Dylan Strome (F)
Jonathan Toews (F)
Caleb Jones (D)
Connor Murphy (D)
Riley Stillman (D)
Kevin Lankinen (G)
Notably available: Brett Connolly, Calvin DeHaan, Nikita Zadorov, Malcom Subban
Colorado Avalanche
Protected
Andre Burakovsky (F)
Tyson Jost (F)
Nazem Kadri (F)
Nathan MacKinnon (F)
Valeri Nichushkin (F)
Logan O’Connor (F)
Mikko Rantanen (F)
Samuel Girard (D)
Cale Makar (D)
Devon Toews (D)
Philipp Grubauer (G)
Notably available: JT Compher, Joonas Donskoi, Gabriel Landeskog, Brandon Saad, Erik Johnson
Columbus Blue Jackets
Protected
Cam Atkinson (F)
Oliver Bjorkstrand (F)
Boone Jenner (F)
Patrik Laine (F)
Gustav Nyquist (F)
Eric Robinson (F)
Jack Roslovic (F)
Vladislav Gavrikov (D)
Seth Jones (D)
Zach Werenski (D)
Joonas Korpisalo (G)
Notably available: Max Domi
Dallas Stars
Protected
Jamie Benn (F)
Radek Faksa (F)
Denis Gurianov (F)
Roope Hintz (F)
Joe Pavelski (F)
Alexander Radulov (F)
Tyler Seguin (F)
Miro Heiskanen (D)
John Klingberg (D)
Esa Lindell (D)
Anton Khudobin (G)
Notably available: Ben Bishop, Jamie Oleksiak, Sami Vatanen
Detroit Red Wings
Protected
Tyler Bertuzzi (F)
Adam Erne (F)
Robby Fabbri (F)
Dylan Larkin (F)
Michael Rasmussen (F)
Givani Smith (F)
Jakub Vrana (F)
Filip Hronek (D)
Nick Leddy (D)
Gustav Lindstrom (D)
Thomas Greiss (G)
Notably available: Vladislav Namestnikov, Danny DeKeyser Marc Staal
Edmonton Oilers
Protected
Josh Archibald (F)
Leon Draisaitl (F)
Zack Kassian (F)
Connor McDavid (F)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (F)
Jesse Puljujarvi (F)
Kailer Yamamoto (F)
Ethan Bear (D)
Duncan Keith (D)
Darnell Nurse (D)
Stuart Skinner (G)
Notably available: James Neal, Tyson Barrie, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Mikko Koskinen, Mike Smith
Florida Panthers
Protected
Aleksander Barkov (F)
Sam Bennett (F)
Anthony Duclair (F)
Patric Hornqvist (F)
Jonathan Huberdeau (F)
Mason Marchment (F)
Carter Verhaeghe (F)
Aaron Ekblad (D)
Gustav Forsling (D)
MacKenzie Weegar (D)
Sergei Bobrovsky (G)
Notably available: Frank Vatrano, Radko Gudas, Chris Driedger
Los Angeles Kings
Protected
Lias Andersson (F)
Viktor Arvidsson (F)
Dustin Brown (F)
Alex Iafallo (F)
Adrian Kempe (F)
Anze Kopitar (F)
Trevor Moore (F)
Drew Doughty (D)
Matt Roy (D)
Sean Walker (D)
Calvin Petersen (G)
Notably available: Andreas Athanasiou, Brendan Lemieux, Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild
Protected
Joel Eriksson Ek (F)
Kevin Fiala (F)
Marcus Foligno (F)
Jordan Greenway (F)
Ryan Hartman (F)
Nico Sturm (F)
Mats Zuccarello (F)
Jonas Brodin (D)
Matt Dumba (D)
Jared Spurgeon (D)
Cam Talbot (G)
Notably available: Marcus Johannson, Viktor Rask, Carson Soucy, Kaapo Kahkonen
Montreal Canadiens
Protected
Josh Anderson (F)
Joel Armia (F)
Jake Evans (F)
Brendan Gallagher (F)
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (F)
Artturi Lehkonen (F)
Tyler Toffoli (F)
Ben Chiarot (D)
Joel Edmundson (D)
Jeff Petry (D)
Jake Allen (G)
Notably available: Paul Byron, Tomas Tatar, Shea Weber, Carey Price
Nashville Predators
Protected
Filip Forsberg (F)
Tanner Jeannot (F)
Luke Kunin (F)
Alexandre Carrier (D)
Mattias Ekholm (D)
Dante Fabbro (D)
Roman Josi (D)
Philippe Myers (D)
Juuse Saros (G)
Notably available: Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen
New Jersey Devils
Protected
Jesper Bratt (F)
Nico Hischier (F)
Janne Kuokkanen (F)
Michael McLeod (F)
Yegor Sharangovich (F)
Miles Wood (F)
Pavel Zacha (F)
Ryan Graves (D)
Damon Severson (D)
Jonas Siegenthaler (D)
Mackenzie Blackwood (G)
Notably available: Andreas Johnsson, Will Butcher, PK Subban
New York Islanders
Protected
Mathew Barzal (F)
Anthony Beauvillier (F)
Cal Clutterbuck (F)
Anders Lee (F)
Matt Martin (F)
Brock Nelson (F)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (F)
Scott Mayfield (D)
Adam Pelech (D)
Ryan Pulock (D)
Semyon Varlamov (G)
Notably available: Josh Bailey, Kiefer Bellows, Casey Cizikas, Michael Dal Colle, Jordan Eberle, Joshua Ho-Sang,
New York Rangers
Protected
Pavel Buchnevich (F)
Filip Chytil (F)
Chris Kreider (F)
Artemi Panarin (F)
Kevin Rooney (F)
Ryan Strome (F)
Mika Zibanejad (F)
Libor Hajek (D)
Ryan Lindgren (D)
Jacob Trouba (D)
Alexandar Georgiev (G)
Notably available: Colin Blackwell, Barclay Goodrow, Tony DeAngelo
Ottawa Senators
Protected
Drake Batherson (F)
Connor Brown (F)
Logan Brown (F)
Nick Paul (F)
Brady Tkachuk (F)
Austin Watson (F)
Colin White (F)
Thomas Chabot (D)
Victor Mete (D)
Nikita Zaitsev (D)
Filip Gustavsson (G)
Notably available: Artem Anisimov, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Murray
Philadelphia Flyers
Protected
Nicolas Aube-Kubel (F)
Sean Couturier (F)
Claude Giroux (F)
Kevin Hayes (F)
Travis Konecny (F)
Scott Laughton (F)
Oskar Lindblom (F)
Ryan Ellis (D)
Ivan Provorov (D)
Travis Sanheim (D)
Carter Hart (G)
Notably available: James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg
Pittsburgh Penguins
Protected
Teddy Blueger (F)
Jeff Carter (F)
Sidney Crosby (F)
Jake Guentzel (F)
Kasperi Kapanen (F)
Evgeni Malkin (F)
Bryan Rust (F)
Brian Dumoulin (D)
Kris Letang (D)
Mike Matheson (D)
Tristan Jarry (G)
Notably available: Zach Aston-Reese, Jason Zucker, Chad Ruhwedel
San Jose Sharks
Protected
Rudolfs Balcers (F)
Logan Couture (F)
Jonathan Dahlen (F)
Tomas Hertl (F)
Evander Kane (F)
Kevin Labanc (F)
Timo Meier (F)
Brent Burns (D)
Erik Karlsson (D)
Marc-Edouard Vlasic (D)
Adin Hill (G)
Notably available: Ryan Donato, Patrick Marleau
St. Louis Blues
Protected
Ivan Barbashev (F)
Jordan Kyrou (F)
Ryan O’Reilly (F)
David Perron (F)
Brayden Schenn (F)
Oskar Sundqvist (F)
Robert Thomas (F)
Justin Faulk (D)
Torey Krug (D)
Colton Parayko (D)
Jordan Binnington (G)
Notably available: Sammy Blais, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko
Tampa Bay Lightning
Protected
Anthony Cirelli (F)
Nikita Kucherov (F)
Brayden Point (F)
Steven Stamkos (F)
Erik Cernak (D)
Victor Hedman (D)
Ryan McDonagh (D)
Mikhail Sergachev (D)
Andrei Vasilevskiy (G)
Notably available: Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat
Toronto Maple Leafs
Protected
Mitchell Marner (F)
Auston Matthews (F)
William Nylander (F)
John Tavares (F)
TJ Brodie (D)
Justin Holl (D)
Jake Muzzin (D)
Morgan Rielly (D)
Jack Campbell (G)
Notably available: Alexander Kerfoot, Jared McCann, Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks
Protected
Brock Boeser (F)
Jason Dickinson (F)
Bo Horvat (F)
J.T. Miller (F)
Tyler Motte (F)
Tanner Pearson (F)
Elias Pettersson (F)
Olli Juolevi (D)
Tyler Myers (D)
Nate Schmidt (D)
Thatcher Demko (G)
Notably available: Alexander Edler, Braden Holtby, Loui Eriksson
Washington Capitals
Protected
Nicklas Backstrom (F)
Lars Eller (F)
Evgeny Kuznetsov (F)
Anthony Mantha (F)
T.J. Oshie (F)
Daniel Sprong (F)
Tom Wilson (F)
John Carlson (D)
Dmitry Orlov (D)
Trevor van Riemsdyk (D)
Ilya Samsonov (G)
Notably available: Vitek Vanacek, Justin Schultz, Brendan Dillon, Nick Jensen
Winnipeg Jets
Protected
Kyle Connor (F)
Andrew Copp (F)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (F)
Nikolaj Ehlers (F)
Adam Lowry (F)
Mark Scheifele (F)
Blake Wheeler (F)
Josh Morrissey (D)
Neal Pionk (D)
Logan Stanley (D)
Connor Hellebuyck (G)
Notably available: Paul Stastny, Dylan Dimelo, Jordie Benn
Mike & Scott’s thoughts
Mike- This is going to be intriguing to say the least. However, I just want to start with the fact that if you think Alex Ovechkin is going to get selected by Seattle, that’s just not happening. Sorry.
Now for the draft itself I can definitely see some wheeling and dealing take place. We know that Carey Price is on the board, and the League has made it known that if the the Kraken were to draft him the Canadiens can’t trade for him back with Seattle retaining salary as that would be circumventing the salary cap. Price is hands down the best goalie available and I wouldn’t be surprised if General Manager Ron Francis took a long hard look at selecting Price. I still think Braden Holtby is the main goalie selection for the Kraken.
On defense it would be hard to see the Kraken pass up on Mark Giordano of the Flames, Justin Schultz or Brenden Dillon of the Capitals, and Jamie Oleksiak of the Stars. On offense I don’t see Francis selecting Vladimir Tarasenko, but I could see Gabriel Landeskog being taken.
Thing I’m going to be looking at after this draft takes place is who will be the ones that really stay in Seattle. Plus who will step up with the new opportunities being provided to them. There’s going to be some twists we didn’t see coming, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle takes someone from one team we wouldn’t expect them to. I mean we dealt with it with Vegas when they took Nate Schmidt instead of Philipp Grubauer. It’s going to be interesting to say the least.
Scott- After looking at the complete list, there are definitely plenty of big names available for the Seattle Kraken to choose from. There are big names out there like Carey Price, Vladimir Tarasenko, PK Subban, & etc. Just to note, names like Taylor Hall , Alex Ovechkin, and Gabriel Landeskog are unlikely to be chosen. Those players will either re-sign with their current teams or in Landeskog’s case go to a new team in free agency. I’m still in shock someone of Carey Price’s caliber is available for this expansion draft. In a way it’s not surprising as he does have a very big contract remaining with the Canadiens and with the salary cap being flat for a while, Montreal probably wants more financial flexibility. If I’m Ron Francis (Seattle Kraken GM), I definitely would take Carey Price who becomes the instant face of that franchise and is someone that provides significant and amazing leadership to a team that is just beginninig. Plus, Price can still play at a high level as he helped backstop the Habs to the Stanley Cup final amongst his many accomplishments. Something that really dumbfounded me on the protection lists was the New York Islanders protecting Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin over guys like Josh Bailey and Jordan Eberle. I just don’t understand what GM Lou Lamoriello is thinking there in protecting those two players over proven scorers. Players like Clutterbuck and Martin can easily be replaced. This Seattle team could be a pretty good team quickly. However, I don’t think I’m ready to say they’ll be as good as the Vegas Golden Knights making a run to the Stanley Cup final unless they acquire even more talent throughout the rest of the offseason. They definitely will be good and fun to watch. We will have to wait and see what the Kraken does but I’m definitely excited ton see what they do. The expansion draft on Wednesday night is a must watch for hockey fans and stay tuned to what happens!
