The Seattle Kraken selected a player from 30 NHL teams on Wednesday in the expansion draft, completing the list as the 32nd.North Dakota team in the NHL. The theme behind selecting a roster that was young and under the cap was physicality on ice and character off ice.
Similar to the Golden Knights’ 2017 draft when Vegas selected 14 forwards, 13 defenders and three goalkeepers, the Kraken selected 15 forwards, 12 defenders and three goalkeepers.
The similarities continued in that both teams chose 20 players who were under contract for the following season. The Kraken chose seven restricted free agents and the Golden Knights chose six. The biggest difference is that Kraken’s maximum cap for the 20 players was more than $ 14 million less than that of the Golden Knights. This leaves the Kraken with around $ 30 million in capitalization space, and a lot of moves are likely to take place over the next month.
Seattle Kraken 2023 NHL roster
Some of the top names selected by the Kraken in the 2023 NHL Expansion Draft include former Islanders winger Jordan Eberle, goalie Chris Driedger, former Calgary captain Mark Giordano, former Penguins captain Brandon Taney , defender Adam Larsson and Yanni Gourde, two-time Stanley Cup Champion.
| No. | Player | Pos | Written from | CAP HIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy lauzon | D | Boston Bruins | $ 850 thousand |
| 2 | Will borgen | D | Buffalo Sabers | RFA |
| 3 | Dennis Cholowski | D | Detroit Red Wings | $ 894 thousand |
| 4 | Chris driedger | GRAM | Florida panthers | UFA |
| 5 | Cale Fleury | D | Montreal Canadiens | RFA |
| 6 | Joey Ok | GRAM | Ottawa Senators | $ 750 thousand |
| 7 | Yanni Gourde | C / LW | Tampa Bay Lightning | $ 5.17 Million |
| 8 | Jared McCann | LW / C | toronto maple leaves | $ 2.94 Million |
| 9 | Morgan geekie | RW / C | Carolina Hurricanes | RFA |
| 10 | Gavin bayreuther | D | Columbus Blue Jackets | UFA |
| eleven | Nathan Bastian | RW | New Jersey Devils | $ 825 thousand |
| 12 | Jordan eberle | RW | New York Islanders | $ 5.5 million |
| 13 | Colin blackwell | C | New York Rangers | $ 725 thousand |
| 14 | Carsen twarynski | LW | Philadelphia flyers | RFA |
| fifteen | Brandon tanev | LW | Pittsburgh Penguins | $ 3.5 million |
| sixteen | Vitek Vanecek | GRAM | Washington Capitals | $ 717 thousand |
| 17 | Tyler pitlick | C | Arizona Coyotes | $ 1.75 million |
| 18 | John quenneville | C | Chicago Blackhawks | $ 750 thousand |
| 19 | Joonas donskoi | RW | Colorado avalanche | $ 3.9 million |
| twenty | Jamie oleksiak | D | Dallas stars | UFA |
| twenty-one | Carson soucy | D | Savage Minnesota | $ 2.75 million |
| 22 | Jarnkrok Street | RW | Nashville Predators | $ 2 million |
| 23 | Vince dunn | D | St. Louis Blues | RFA |
| 24 | Mason Appleton | C | Winnipeg Jets | $ 900 thousand |
| 25 | Haydn fleury | D | Anaheim ducks | $ 1.3 million |
| 26 | Mark Giordano | D | Calgary Flames | $ 6.75 Million |
| 27 | Adam Larsson | D | Edmonton Oilers | RFA |
| 28 | Kurtis MacDermid | D | Los Angeles Kings | $ 875 thousand |
| 29 | Alexander True | C | Sharks of San José | RFA |
| 30 | Kole lind | RW | Vancouver Canucks | RFA |
Giordano, a 37-year veteran, was the league’s best defender in 2019. He was not originally a copywriter and enjoyed the idea of being selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft.
Seattle bypassed several veterans like Vladimir Tarasenko, Carey Price, Ryan Johansen, Jakub Voracek, Jason Zuker and Adam Henrique, favoring younger and cheaper players.
For now, one of the Kraken’s best players is goalie Chris Driedger, a 27-year-old who opened his eyes with the Panthers last season. He posted a soft save percentage of .927, fifth-best in the entire league. The Kraken signed Driedger to a three-year deal and will have Vitek Vanecek and Joey Daccord as their backups.
Another apparent force in this draft is on the blue line, where Giordano will be joined by Vince Dunn, a former St. Louis Blues. The Kraken had several group options from the Lightning, including Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, and Ondrej Palat, but opted for Gourde.
Perhaps the most confusing pick was Gavin Bayreuther’s pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bayreuther played only nine games less season, while Max Domi (24 points in 54 games) and Dean Kukan (35 games) were also available for the national team.
The most likable picks on the Kraken were the Fleury brothers, Cale and Haydn. Cale had just one goal and did not assist in 41 games last season, while Haydn had four points in 47 games with Carolina and Anaheim.
The Kraken’s inaugural season is scheduled to begin Oct. 12 against the Vegas Golden Knights, and the NHL odds look bright. For those who would like to attend Kraken’s home opening at the Climate Pledge Arena, set your schedule for October 23 against the Vancouver Canucks.
