Here’s a first look at the Kraken’s projected roster for inaugural season!

Not only are we getting closer to the start date of the 2021 season, we are also inching closer to the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken which will take place this summer. 

With all of this in mind, Matt Larkin of The Hockey News has his first crack at a 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion mock draft. He has based his predictions on the possibility of Kraken GM Ron Francis taking inspiration from the Vegas Golden Knights and how they handled their expansion draft back in 2017: “Francis will (a) target plenty of 2022 UFAs who can be flipped as rentals; (b) avoid signing many if any 2021 UFAs, and (c) seek trades for bad contracts in exchange for draft and/or prospect capital.”

Before revealing his projected roster for Seattle, Larkin reminded us the rules of the draft and how they affect each pick: 

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft will be under the same rules for Seattle as the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Seattle will select one player from each team excluding the Golden Knights for a total of 30 (min. 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies) not including additional players who may be acquired as the result of violations of the Expansion Draft rules.

Seattle must choose a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2021-22 regular season and those with an aggregate Expansion Draft value that is between 60-100 percent of the prior season’s upper limit for the salary cap. Seattle cannot buy out players chosen in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following its first season.

Current NHL teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie, under the following conditions.

* All players with no movement clauses at the time of the draft, and who decline to waive those clauses, must be protected and will be counted toward their team’s applicable protection limits.

* All first- and second-year NHL players, and all unsigned draft choices, will be exempt from selection (and will not be counted toward protection limits.

In addition, all NHL teams must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the draft (games likely pro-rated for a shortened season):

* One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.

* Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.

* One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team’s protected list.

* Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games (or who otherwise have been confirmed to have a career-threatening injury) may not be used to satisfy a team’s player exposure requirements unless approval is received from the NHL. Such players also may be deemed exempt from selection.

Finally, here is the projected roster he has come up with : 

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Kevin Shattenkirk, D
ARIZONA COYOTES: Tyler Pitlick, RW
BOSTON BRUINS: Ondrej Kase, RW
BUFFALO SABRES: Colin Miller, D
CALGARY FLAMES: Sam Bennett, LW
CAROLINA HURRICANES: Vincent Trocheck, C
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Connor Murphy, D
COLORADO AVALANCHE: Tyson Jost, C
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Gabriel Carlsson, D
DALLAS STARS: Anton Khudobin, G
DETROIT RED WINGS: Troy Stecher, D
EDMONTON OILERS: Zack Kassian, RW
FLORIDA PANTHERS: Radko Gudas, D
LOS ANGELES KINGS: Martin Frk, RW
MINNESOTA WILD: Carson Soucy, D
MONTREAL CANADIENS: Artturi Lehkonen, LW
NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Calle Jarnkrok, LW
NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Miles Wood, LW
NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Nick Leddy, D
NEW YORK RANGERS: Brendan Lemieux, LW
OTTAWA SENATORS: Chris Tierney, C
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Shayne Gostisbehere, D
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Zach Aston-Reese, LW
SAN JOSE SHARKS: Dylan Gambrell, C
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Tyler Johnson, C
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Justin Holl, D
VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Braden Holtby, G
WASHINGTON CAPITALS: T.J. Oshie, RW
WINNIPEG JETS: Sami Niku, D

TEAM AT A GLANCE

Forwards (16)

Zach Aston-Reese
Sam Bennett
Martin Frk
Dylan Gambrell
Calle Jarnkrok
Tyler Johnson
Tyson Jost
Ondrej Kase
Zack Kassian
Artturi Lehkonen
Brendan Lemieux
T.J. Oshie
Tyler Pitlick
Chris Tierney
Vincent Trocheck
Miles Wood

Defensemen (11)

Gabriel Carlsson
Shayne Gostisbehere
Radko Gudas
Justin Holl
Nick Leddy
Colin Miller
Connor Murphy
Sami Niku
Kevin Shattenkirk
Carson Soucy
Troy Stecher

Goaltenders (3)

Braden Holtby
Anton Khudobin
Ville Husso

Total cap spending: $81.5 million

POTENTIAL TRADE ACQUISITIONS ON EXPANSION-DRAFT DAY

Milan Lucic, Flames, P.K. Subban, Devils.

What do you think?