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The kraken expansion draft mock is a website that allows users to see the schedule, format, rules and players available for the upcoming Kraken expansion.
Beginning with the 2021-22 season, the NHL will grow to 32 clubs with the addition of the Seattle Kraken to the Pacific Division. This creates a natural regional rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks, bringing hockey back to the city where the Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 1917.
While management and coaching positions are still being filled — and work on Climate Pledge Arena is still on schedule for a mid-October opening — the roster of players is still being finalized. The expansion draft is the next stage in the process.
If you’re not up to speed on the Seattle franchise, we’ve got you covered with information on how it came to be, broadcast details on the expansion draft, rules and restrictions for the Kraken and other NHL teams, and insights into the types of players who could join the team in its inaugural season.
What are the Seattle Kraken’s origins?
Wyshynski: After more than two decades of unsuccessful efforts to bring an NHL franchise to Seattle, momentum began to speed up in 2012, with the main component being the construction of a new arena.
The Phoenix Coyotes were on the verge of moving to Seattle in summer 2013 until the Glendale City Council in Arizona authorized a new arena contract. Three ownership groups considered making bids for an NHL expansion club in 2015, but none did, since the league only selected Las Vegas as the lone expansion franchise.
The NHL then stated in 2017 that it was evaluating a proposal from Seattle that included a $650 million expansion fee, which was $150 million more than Vegas had paid. Instead of building a new arena, an ownership group led by majority owner David Bonderman and minority owners Jerry Bruckheimer and David Wright collaborated with Oak View Group on a proposal for a privately financed renovation of Key Arena, the former home of the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics, to accommodate an NHL team.
The NHL’s Board of Governors overwhelmingly authorized Seattle as the league’s 32nd club in December 2018, putting them in the Pacific Division for the 2021-22 season. Former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis was appointed in 2019 to head the hockey operations department, which rapidly garnered notoriety for its diverse hiring methods and analytics-driven approach.
The Kraken was selected from a pool of Steelheads, Sockeyes, and Metropolitans as the team’s moniker in summer 2020. Former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol was named the Kraken’s inaugural head coach in June 2021.
When will the expansion draft be held, and where will it be held?
The expansion draft will take place in Seattle on July 21 at 5 p.m. PDT/8 p.m. EDT, and will be televised on ESPN2. On Saturday, teams must submit their protected lists, which will be revealed on Sunday.
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Have the rules changed after the expansion draft of the Vegas Golden Knights?
Wyshynski: The Kraken will draft under the same rules that the Vegas Golden Knights did last year. They must meet the same positional and salary cap roster criteria, while the other 30 expansion clubs must adhere to the same protection restrictions, which may result in the Kraken receiving the eighth-best forward, fourth-best defender, or second-best goalkeeper.
This contains a clause that may assist the Kraken in acquiring a major player looking for a max deal. The NHLPA secured a “no loss of status or rights” clause for the Vegas expansion draft, which allows players who are claimed in the expansion draft or acquired in a trade before to the expansion draft’s completion to sign an eight-year max deal with the Golden Knights before free agency. The Kraken in this expansion draft has the same provision, with slightly different dates owing to the late conclusion of the 2021 season.
Why is Vegas not included in the expansion draft?
Kaplan: As part of their initial franchise agreement with the NHL in 2016, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley agreed not to give away a player in the expansion draft. The only drawback for Vegas is the high cost of living. Foley will not get a portion of Seattle’s $650 million expansion fee, which translates to $21.67 million for the other 30 clubs.
This was common practice in the NHL during the frantic 1990s, when the league added nine clubs in a decade. The Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, for example, didn’t choose players from the Atlanta Thrashers (who joined in 1999) or Nashville Predators (1998) in their joint expansion draft in 2000 since they were the two new kids on the block still figuring things out.
The Vegas Golden Knights selected Marc-Andre Fleury, Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, and Jason Garrison in the 2017 expansion draft, from left to right. Getty Images/NHLI/Jeff Vinnick
What are the regulations for clubs who want to keep their athletes safe?
Wyshynski: The expansion draft’s 30 clubs may either protect seven forwards, three defenders, and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. All first- and second-year NHL players, as well as all unsigned draft selections, are exempt from the expansion draft and will not count towards a team’s protection total.
Players exposed in the expansion draft must meet certain minimal criteria. At least two forwards and one defenseman must be exposed who are under contract for the 2021-22 season and have played at least 40 games last season or 70 games in the previous two seasons; and one goalie must be exposed who is under contract for the 2021-22 season or will be a restricted free agent this offseason — as long as that pending RFA goalie has received his qualifying offer this summer.
One thing to keep in mind with these requirements: Players with “possible career-ending injuries” who have missed more than 60 consecutive games — or who have a verified career-threatening ailment — cannot be utilized to fulfill a team’s player exposure requirement unless the NHL agrees.
What role do no-trade and no-movement provisions play?
Kaplan: A player’s no-trade clause may put him in jeopardy. If a player has a no-movement provision in his contract, he must be shielded until he chooses to waive it in order to be exposed. This has previously been shown by at least one player: Milan Lucic is a veteran forward with the Calgary Flames.
The 32-year-old, who has two years left on his seven-year deal, said he likes it in Calgary and wants to stay, but he decided to waive his no-movement clause so the Flames can focus on safeguarding other players.
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The deadline for clubs to ask players to renounce their no-movement rights in order to be exposed in the expansion draft was Tuesday (like Lucic). The deadline for players to make a choice is July 16.
Having too many no-movement clauses during the Golden Knights expansion draft placed certain clubs in a difficult position. Because of their NMCs, the Blue Jackets were obliged to protect Sergei Bobrovsky, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, and Scott Hartnell. That meant Josh Anderson, Ryan Murray, and Joonas Korpisalo had to be exposed, and GM Jarmo Kekalainen didn’t want to lose any of them.
As a result, Kekalainen struck a contract with Vegas general manager George McPhee. The Golden Knights agreed to take William Karlsson in exchange for a first-round selection, a second-round pick, and the cost of David Clarkson’s contract. Karlsson shone in Vegas, going from a six-goal scorer to a 43-goal scorer due to a more prominent position. Since then, the Blue Jackets have not issued any no-movement clauses.
Is it necessary for the Kraken to take a specific percentage of each position?
Wyshynski: Except for Vegas, Seattle will choose one player from each club, with the condition that they pick at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies. It must choose at least 20 players under contract for the 2021-22 regular season, with “an aggregate expansion draft value of between 60% and 100%” of the $81.5 million salary cap maximum.
Until summer 2022, the Kraken are unable to purchase players chosen in the expansion draft.
What are the regulations for signing a free agent before the draft in Seattle?
Kaplan: The Kraken have an exclusive negotiation window with any pending free players not covered by the other 30 clubs from Sunday until July 21. If one of these players is signed by Seattle, it counts as a pick from that club. If Seattle signs that player before the start of free agency on July 28, the Kraken will be able to offer an eight-year contract. After that, Seattle will be able to offer just seven-year contracts this summer.
What sort of players can supporters of the Kraken expect to see on the squad after the draft?
Wyshynski: The Golden Knights chose seven centers, six left wings, two right wings, 13 defenders, and three goaltenders under the same draft rules. Given that every club was potentially giving away their No. 4 defender, the disparity shouldn’t be surprising. In fact, all six defensemen on their opening night roster in 2017-18, as well as their starting goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, were chosen in the expansion draft. Given how many interesting alternatives will be available, it would be surprising if the Kraken did not select an experienced netminder.
The Kraken’s choice of players will be influenced by three factors: who is available in the player pool, the roster’s necessary criteria, and the front office’s mindset. Because Seattle has made a point of emphasizing its commitment to data analysis, anticipate many “analytics darlings” to join the team via the draft.
Head coach Dave Hakstol told ESPN that the Kraken would select players that are similar to how GM Ron Francis competed as a player. “Players who can think the game are highly valued by him. Players who are astute. The game’s tempo is very important. The competition, however, is the most essential factor “Hakstol said.
The Kraken will have the No. 2 overall selection in the entrance draft — and potentially more if they strike agreements with other teams to avoid taking specific players in the expansion draft. Getty Images/NHLI/Mike Stobe
Are there any NHL players from the area?
T.J. Oshie (born in neighboring Mt. Vernon) of the Washington Capitals and Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the two most well-known Washington-born players in the NHL (born in Spokane).
Oshie had long been rumored to be the franchise’s first Kraken, but the 34-year-old prefers to remain in Washington, D.C.
During his end-of-season media availability, Oshie remarked, “I signed an eight-year contract here because this is where I wanted to spend the remainder of my career and retire here.” Washington has a deal with the winger that runs until 2024-25. In May, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan put some of the rumors to rest by declaring Oshie “a significant part of our organization.”
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“Losing him in the expansion draft would be detrimental to our club and organization,” MacLellan added. “I’m not sure whether we’ve made any final decisions on that, but we’d want to have him around.”
Johnson, who was placed on waivers twice last season, is expected to be exposed by the Lightning. However, no other club has shown interest in assisting Tampa Bay in offloading Johnson’s $5 million contract, and it’s uncertain if the Kraken would as well.
In the WHL, Seattle has two local major junior clubs. Mathew Barzal, Ethan Bear, Brenden Dillon, Keegan Kolesar, Shea Theodore, Patrick Marleau, and Nate Thompson are just a few of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ NHL alumni. Radko Gudas, Carter Hart, Jujhar Khaira, and Ryan Murray used to play for the Everett Silvertips.
Is there anything the other clubs can take away from the 2017 expansion draft?
Yes, they discovered that the NHL has loaded the deck against them since an expansion ownership group paid hundreds of millions of dollars to join the league. Wyshynski: As a result, they’ve worked hard to get their rosters in shape before of the draft. They’ve established contact with GM Francis far advance of the submission of expansion lists in order to facilitate deals.
“It may not ensure that we do anything with them,” Nashville Predators GM David Poile recently said, “but… if I could negotiate a deal that I liked with him, I would definitely prefer that.”
If there’s one thing these clubs have learned, it’s not to overreact to possible player losses. Defenseman Shea Theodore, wingers Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch, and three first-round choices were among the treasures obtained by Vegas after agreeing not to choose certain unprotected players from clubs.
In their debut season, how good will the Kraken be?
Kaplan: The Golden Knights started their inaugural season with 500-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, then went on to win it, redefining expectations for expansion teams across sports. Prior to Vegas, no expansion club in the four major U.S. sports leagues had ever had a winning season in their first season.
The bookmakers have learnt their lesson. Seattle is favored at 100-1, the same as five other clubs and ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings.
Management at Kraken has been wary of putting a time limit on success. Francis told me two years ago, soon after he was hired: “If you listen to Vegas’ remarks going up to the expansion draft, you’ll see that their strategy was to select and grow well while being patient. George [McPhee] and Kelly [McCrimmon] performed an outstanding job, in my opinion. They enjoyed a fantastic debut season, and the team has been in excellent shape since then. So, ideally, we’ll be able to select some excellent players in the expansion draft, as well as some good players in the amateur draft, and devote the necessary resources to developing those players.”
Sounds like someone who is attempting to over-deliver rather than over-promise.
The seattle kraken players is a professional American football team. They are based in Seattle, Washington and compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL).
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