Today is the day of the 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion draft. There are lots of big names and talented veterans available to General Manager Ron Francis, as well as underrated role players who have the chance to breakout with an increased role.
With the help of Cap Friendly’s terrific expansion draft simulator, I put together my own Seattle Kraken roster. Below are my 30 selections, including one player from every team except exempt Vegas.
(Note: I picked Adam Larsson from Edmonton, Jamie Oleksiak from Dallas, and goaltender Chris Driedger from Florida, who all are confirmed free agent players signed by Seattle.)
Forwards (15)
Jakub Voráček (Philadelphia)
Yanni Gourde (Tampa Bay)
Joonas Donskoi (Colorado)
Alexander Kerfoot (Toronto)
Andreas Johnsson (New Jersey)
Calle Jarnkrok (Nashville)
Vladislav Namestnikov (Detroit)
Christian Fischer (Arizona)
Zach MacEwen (Vancouver)
Blake Lizotte (Los Angeles)
Julien Gauthier (New York Rangers)
Andrew Oglevie (Buffalo)
Kieffer Bellows (New York Islanders)
Ryan Donato (San Jose)
Adam Gaudette (Chicago)
Defensemen (10)
Mark Giordano (Calgary)
Marcus Pettersson (Pittsburgh)
Dylan DeMelo (Winnipeg)
Haydn Fleury (Anaheim)
Jeremy Lauzon (Boston)
Gabriel Carlsson (Columbus)
Jamie Oleksiak (Dallas)
Adam Larsson (Edmonton)
Jake Bean (Carolina)
Vince Dunn (St. Louis)
Goaltenders (5)
Carey Price (Montreal)
Joey Daccord (Ottawa)
Kaapo Kähkönen (Minnesota)
Vítek Vaněček (Washington)
Chris Driedger (Florida)
Current Salary
Approximately $70 million as it stands now, pending the signing of the RFAs. I would expect a few players flipped for future draft picks to cut some costs, and leave my team with plenty of 2021-22 salary cap wiggle room.
Quick thoughts
This team, at least on paper, is really solid on defense and in goal. Goal-scoring may be a problem, but I like the possible combination of Gourde and Voráček up front. My Seattle squad does have decent depth up front, and quite a few younger forwards with upside.
My Seattle roster certainly has a logjam in net, with four potential starters headlined by Price. I think the best-case scenario is that one of the these guys gets flipped to a team needing a goaltender (likely Vaněček), leaving a Driedger/ Kähkönen combination to start the season until Price is healthy. I think this team could compete for a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, and has enough depth to acquire some additional help for the future.
Will this team be a repeat of the 2017-18 Vegas Golden Knights? I have my doubts.
