The Seattle Kraken will take the biggest step toward becoming the NHL’s 32nd Franchise Draft when they draft their roster. This will be the second expansion draft since the early 2000s, with Vegas drafting their team four years ago. A couple of days ago, we had a piece of how the Seattle draft will be more vibrant. However, we will focus on the rules and what Seattle’s roster will look like in this piece.
We will start with how the roster will be constructed. The additional 30 clubs besides Vegas submitted players that are protected from the Kraken. One option is seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie. The second option is eight defensive players. Any other player than the protected players are available for the Kraken to select. The last rule, which is the most important, is regarding the salary cap. Seattle must be within 60-100 percent of the salary cap setting, which is at $81.5 million.
In an interview with The Athletic last week, Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke spoke on the freedom given to general manager Ron Francis with regards to the cap,
“If that strategy involves us going to cap in Year 1, he has the authority to do it.”
Tod Leiweke Seattle Kraken CEO
Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft
Seattle has already started building the roster ahead of tonight’s expansion draft. If you do not want potential spoilers for tonight’s draft, I caution you ahead of time.
Seattle had to send their roster to the National Hockey League ahead of tonight’s event. However, one key thing to keep in mind is that though insiders have got the information of the picks. The table below has the expected picks for tonight, but they are not yet official until they are announced in the primetime special on ESPN 2.
| Anaheim Ducks | D Haydn Fleury |
| Arizona Coyotes | F Tyler Pitlick |
| Boston Bruins | D Jeremy Lauzon |
| Buffalo Sabres | D William Borgen |
| Calgary Flames | D Mark Giordano |
| Carolina Hurricanes | F Morgan Geekie |
| Chicago Blackhawks | F John Quenneville |
| Colorado Avalanche | F Joonas Donskoi |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | D Gavin Bayreuther |
| Dallas Stars | D Jamie Oleksiak |
| Detroit Red Wings | D Dennis Cholowski |
| Edmonton Oilers | D Adam Larsson |
| Florida Panthers | G Chris Driedger |
| Los Angeles Kings | D Kurtis MacDermid |
| Minnesota Wild | D Carson Soucy |
| Montreal Canadians | D Cale Fleury |
| Nashville Predators | F Calle Järnkrok |
| New Jersey Devils | F Nathan Bastian |
| New York Islanders | F Jordan Eberle |
| New York Rangers | F Colin Blackwell |
| Ottawa Senators | G Joey Daccord |
| Philadelphia Flyers | F Carsen Twarynski |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | F Brandon Tanev |
| San Jose Sharks | F Alexander True |
| St. Louis Blues | D Vince Dunn |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | F Yanni Gourde |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | F Jared McCann |
| Vancouver Canucks | F Kole Lind |
| Washington Capitals | G Vitek Vanecek |
| Winnipeg Jets | F Mason Appleton |
Additional Chances For The Kraken To Better The Roster
Beyond tonight’s draft, the Kraken will have a chance to add prospects to the roster over the weekend with the NHL Entry Draft. Additionally, the Kraken will have an opportunity to add to the team during free agency when it opens on July 28th. All of these events are leading up to the opening puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena in October.
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