DFO Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Mock Draft

It’s almost Expansion Draft time!

30 NHL teams submitted their protected lists over the weekend and we’ll find out on Wednesday who will join the Seattle Kraken on their inaugural roster.

In the meantime, Zach Laing, Cam Lewis, and David Quadrelli went through the available players and put together their version of the Kraken…

Draft Strategy 

Zach Laing

Seattle stocks up with some dynamic offensive talents in Vladimir Tarasenko, Jordan Eberle, Nino Niederreiter and Yanni Gourde, and a solid, but not spectacular defence. They take some risks with three UFA’s (Bunting, Landeskog and Carrick), but in this scenario but Seattle convinces them to stay.

They have ~$13-million in cap space to work with all and could even flip a veteran defenceman like Mark Giordano. Seattle gets Carey Price in net, and three other goaltenders that they explore trades for.

Cam Lewis

There are a lot of quality defenders available so that’s where I focused. I feel as though Seattle can build themselves a strong blueline with a handful of veterans while also adding a bunch of young guys with upside. I also leaned towards adding cost-controlled defenders who could be traded this summer for draft pick capital.

Another thing I considered was adding exciting players who can become the face of the franchise. I know many think Carey Price should be this guy, but I went with one of his former teammates to fill the role instead.

David Quadrelli 

Like Cam, I’m thinking defense first here. Ron Francis is somewhat known for his belief that you don’t need a star goaltender if you’ve got good enough defense in front of them.

You won’t see the big-ticket of Carey Price on my team, because his regular season last year was truly worse than most people seem to remember.

Anaheim Ducks

Zach Laing – Haydn Fleury

A still young defenceman, Fleury has shown well early in his career but hasn’t found the steadiest minutes. He’ll look to do so in Seattle.

Cam Lewis – Derek Grant

I had a difficult time not selecting Fleury here but there are going to be a lot of defenders available to choose, so I rolled with a quality bottom-six centre in Derek Grant. He’s a veteran who can handle heavy defensive zone starts and kill penalties, something ideal to have on a young team.

David Quadrelli –  Haydn Fleury

It’s tough to give further reasons than the ones Zach outlined. Fleury is still young and could benefit from an increased role.

Arizona Coyotes

Zach Laing – Michael Bunting

Seattle takes a risk on a Bunting, a pending UFA. The player was exciting scoring 10 goals and 13 points in 21 games this year and Seattle looks to convince him to stay.

Cam Lewis – Michael Bunting

Same logic for me here. Bunting is young and has produced well in the AHL. He’s worth taking a gamble on and Arizona doesn’t have much to offer.

David Quadrelli – Michael Bunting

Well, we all agree on this one!

Boston Bruins 

Zach Laing – Jakub Zboril

There’s a few defencemen Seattle could get here but I like Zboril, who is under team control and an RFA after this season.

Cam Lewis – Connor Clifton

It’s a toss-up between Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon for me. I ultimately landed on Clifton, the righty, because the rest of my board leans heavily to left-handed defenders.

David Quadrelli – Connor Clifton

Zboril, Lauzon, and Clifton are all good options, but Clifton’s contract ($1 million for the next two seasons) makes him the player Seattle needs to target.

Buffalo Sabres

Zach Laing – William Borgen

There’s not a lot of appetizing options here. Borgen, however, might be the best of some bad options. He’s a coinflip to make the NHL but provides some organizational depth.

Cam Lewis – William Borgen

Boy, there isn’t much here from Buffalo. Colin Miller, who was taken by Vegas a few years ago, was an option, but I suspect Seattle will go younger and cheaper with William Borgen instead.

David Quadrelli – William Borgen

Out of all the players available from Buffalo, Borgen has the best chance at turning himself into something useful, it’s as simple as that.

Calgary Flames

Zach Laing – Mark Giordano

One of the easiest picks in the draft for Seattle is Giordano. He can captain the young team and will be a great role model in the community.

Cam Lewis – Mark Giordano

No-brainer here. Giordano is an excellent leader to add to a new team. He’s one year from free agency and could be flipped for a nice return at the trade deadline if Seattle isn’t a playoff team.

David Quadrelli – If you’re building a team from scratch, you want Mark Giordano on your team.

Carolina Hurricanes

Zach Laing – Nino Niederreiter

A surprise exclusion from Carolina’s protected list, Niederreiter can score in the Kraken’s top-six.

Cam Lewis – Jake Bean

The former No. 13 overall pick has tons of upside but hasn’t been able to crack a deep Carolina blueline. Niederreiter in an interesting option but he’s only one year from free agency with a heavy cap hit.

David Quadrelli – Nino Niederreiter

Niederreiter can still play, and he will be a useful piece for the Kraken’s top six.

Chicago Blackhawks

Zach Laing – Adam Gaudette

While he’s a bit of a gamble, Gaudette will look to grow as a bottom-six player.

Cam Lewis – Nikita Zadorov

A physical, defensive defender, Zadorov further adds to the depth on Seattle’s blueline. He’s one of those names who the team could select and flip to another team who can’t find a good defender in free agency.

David Quadrelli – Adam Gaudette

Gaudette won the Hobey Baker Award back when he was with Northeastern University and showed real scoring promise when he was briefly bumped up in the Canucks’ top six forward group. He needs to round out the defensive side of his game, but there is real scoring potential there.

Colorado Avalanche 

Zach Laing – Gabriel Landeskog

This is a very interesting selection for Seattle, who immediately go into negotiations with Landeskog on a long-term deal. Upset with what happened in Colorado, Seattle will try to sell him on building a contender quickly.

Cam Lewis – J.T. Compher

Similar logic here as with Grant in Anaheim, adding Compher helps give Seattle a strong foundation in their bottom-six with another veteran who can play difficult minutes.

David Quadrelli – J.T. Compher

Compher helps Seattle have some friendly competition for bottom-six roles, and can play in any situation.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Zach Laing – Max Domi

Once a highly-touted prospect, Domi’s offensive game is his strong suit but lacks the other way. He centres a top line with the defensively responsible Landeskog flanking him.

Cam Lewis – Max Domi

You might as well take a flyer on Domi here as Columbus doesn’t have much else to offer.

David Quadrelli – Kevin Stenlund

Stenlund put up ten points in 32 games last season, and can be a solid two-way fourth liner. Domi is an expensive piece with a high chance of continuing to not live up to his contract, so I avoided selecting him.

Dallas Stars

Zach Laing – Julius Honka

Honka makes a ton of sense here. He needs a fresh start in the NHL and gets it in Seattle. He showed well in the NHL before he returned to Finland in 2019-20.

Cam Lewis – Adam Mescherin

This might be a strange pick, but we already have a lot of young blueliners, so I went with Mascherin instead of Honka. Mascherin has produced at a nice clip in the AHL and could be worth the flyer.

David Quadrelli – Julius Honka

Taking a flyer on Honka is a great option for Seattle because there is still a chance he flourishes into a top four defenceman.

Detroit Red Wings 

Zach Laing – Troy Stecher

Seattle gets a solid two-way defenceman who can step in and eat some minutes on the backend.

Cam Lewis – Troy Stecher

Easy choice here. Solid, cheap defenceman.

David Quadrelli – Troy Stecher

Most in Vancouver will rush to tell you how solid Troy Stecher is. He played in a bottom-pairing role every season in Vancouver, but was often called upon to play top four minutes when someone went down with injury. He is a solid two-way defenceman with a ton of heart and roots in the Pacific Northwest.

Edmonton Oilers

Zach Laing – Tyler Benson

While still an unknown commodity in the NHL, Benson has scored 141 points in 156 AHL games in his first three seasons of pro hockey. Foot speed is a concern, but the offensive skill is there.

Cam Lewis – Dominik Kahun

While Benson is an interesting prospect, Kahun has produced at the NHL level. He’s a solid, versatile forward who can play just about anywhere in the lineup.

David Quadrelli – Tyler Benson

Former Vancouver Giant Tyler Benson has that scoring touch, and just needs to round out his game to take that next step. If you’re Seattle, I say you take a flyer on him.

Florida Panthers 

Zach Laing – Frank Vatrano

Seattle is happy to take Vatrano, who slides into the team’s bottom-six as a scoring winger with a great shot.

Cam Lewis – Chris Driedger

He might not be a big name like Marc-Andre Fleury was for Vegas, but Driedger had a huge season for Florida in 2021 and deserves a chance at being a starter somewhere.

David Quadrelli – Chris Driedger

He’s a good goalie, full stop. He had a far better regular season than Carey Price, he’s younger, and will come in at a fraction of the cost.

L.A. Kings 

Zach Laing – Blake Lizotte

He found a way to earn a bottom-six role in L.A. and has done so quite admirably. He controls play very well when on the ice.

Cam Lewis – Andreas Athanasiou

A skilled winger who can put the puck in the back of the net would be a nice addition for Seattle. I’ve taken a few defensive forwards so far so it’s worth adding some skill on the wings.

David Quadrelli – Andreas Athanasiou

A skilled winger who can flat-out score.

Minnesota Wild

Zach Laing – Kappo Kähkönen

Seattle has their first of a few goalies. I have the Kraken taking three other goalies with a few, including Kähkönen, becoming trade bait.

Cam Lewis – Kappo Kähkönen

Agreed with Zach here. Kähkönen has upside and could be flipped elsewhere for some draft capital.

David Quadrelli – Carson Soucy

Soucy is a big defenceman who can play third-pairing minutes effectively, and at 26 years old, is still relatively young.

Montreal Canadiens

Zach Laing – Carey Price

The biggest piece of the puzzle, Seattle takes a franchise goaltender much like Vegas did with Fleury. There’s tons of risk here but he immediately becomes the face of the franchise and a great one at that.

Cam Lewis – Brett Kulak

Price would be an exciting addition, but his contract is simply too big to take on. I went with Brett Kulak, an under-the-radar defender. We have a lot of defencemen in the mix here and a few of them will be traded for draft picks.

David Quadrelli – Brett Kulak

Driedger and a 1B goaltender such as Braden Holtby is a fine tandem for a team who’s defence corps is poised to be as solid as Seattle’s. The theatrics of adding Carey Price simply don’t outweigh that contract.

Nashville Predators

Zach Laing – Calle Järnkrok

A cheap defensive forward, Järnkrok is finding his offensive game and fills a depth winger role.

Cam Lewis – Calle Järnkrok

Another easy pick here. Järnkrok is a solid forward and is inexpensive for what he brings.

David Quadrelli – Calle Järnkrok

Simple pick. Solid middle six winger.

New Jersey Devils 

Zach Laing – Connor Carrick

I toyed with a few ideas here, but settled on Carrick. He looked real good as a prospect in Toronto, but has lost his game a bit with the Devils. Carrick looks to rebound with a fresh start.

Cam Lewis – P.K. Subban

I took Zach’s logic with Price, the value of adding a star who can sell jerseys, and rolled with Subban. He isn’t as good as he used to be but he’s a great personality and will immediately become a fan favourite. The plus here is he’s only signed for one more year.

David Quadrelli – Will Butcher

Butcher is still relatively young and has potential to grow out of a bottom-pairing role.

New York Islanders

Zach Laing – Jordan Eberle

I’m surprised the Islanders left Eberle exposed. Seattle swiftly picks him up.

Cam Lewis – Jordan Eberle

Same here. A quality, veteran who can score goals.

David Quadrelli – Jordan Eberle

No-brainer.

New York Rangers

Zach Laing – Julien Gauthier

Another young winger, Gauthier still has a shot as a depth winger.

Cam Lewis – Julien Gauthier

The Rangers don’t have much to offer so I’m taking a flyer on Gauthier.

David Quadrelli – Colin Blackwell

Blackwell is cheap, and scored at an extremely respectable pace last season. 12 goals and 10 assists through 47 games is impressive for someone making near the league minimum.

Ottawa Senators

Zach Laing – Joey Daccord

I flip-flopped between him, Chris Tierney and Ryan Dzingel. Whoever Seattle takes becomes tradeable for draft picks.

Cam Lewis – Joey Daccord

Ottawa doesn’t have much to offer and we need another goalie, so 23-year-old Daccord makes sense. There’s upside here.

David Quadrelli – Joey Daccord

It’s rumoured Seattle could take up to five goalies and flip them for picks, so that could be something they do with the young Joey Daccord.

Philadelphia Flyers

Zach Laing – Justin Braun

Seattle would love to take James van Riemsdyk and Jakub Voracek, but can’t afford them in my mock. Braun can play top-four minutes and can be moved at the deadline.

Cam Lewis – Robert Hagg

I considered JVR here, but that $7 million cap hit is too much given some of the other forwards I’m adding. Instead, I went with another young defender in Robert Hagg. He could be a useful trade asset.

David Quadrelli – James van Riemsdyk

Because they didn’t overpay for Carey Price or the injured Vladimir Tarasenko, Seattle is able to add JVR to their first line wing position in my mock.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Zach Laing – Marcus Pettersson

Seattle grabs a solid top-four defenceman who is still young at just 24 years old. He has four years left so he’ll be around for a few years.

Cam Lewis – Marcus Pettersson

Another fairly easy choice here. Pettersson is a nice addition to the top-four on the blueline.

David Quadrelli – Marcus Pettersson

One of the easier choices of the draft.

San Jose Sharks

Zach Laing – Matt Nieto

Not a lot of great options, but Nieto provides some bottom-six depth.

Cam Lewis – This is an ugly list from San Jose. I went with Dylan Gambrell, a young, cheap forward who can play a depth role.

David Quadrelli – Matt Nieto

Matt Nieto, I guess?

St. Louis Blues

Zach Laing – Vladimir Tarasenko

I can’t believe St. Louis couldn’t trade Tarasenko. There has to be more to this story, but Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has said Tarasenko has a clean bill of health. He adds a huge offensive element to Seattle.

Cam Lewis – Vladimir Tarasenko

It’s between Tarasenko and Vince Dunn but you have to take the risk on the star forward. Seattle needs to add exciting players right away to sell jerseys and Tarasenko will do just that.

David Quadrelli – Vince Dunn

Tarasenko has one good shoulder and a risky contract to take on. St. Louis has been actively shopping him and are hoping that Seattle gets distracted from Vince Dunn, who they certainly don’t want to lose. Dunn has great underlying numbers and is a great 4/5 option with room to grow, too.

Tampa Bay Lightning 

Zach Laing – Yanni Gourde

Seattle is ecstatic to land Gourde, a very underrated C and Tampa is happy with clearing over five million in cap space.

Cam Lewis – Yanni Gourde

No-brainer here. Gourde is a very good two-way player and will give Seattle a very good centre to build around.

David Quadrelli – Yanni Gourde

Thought about Palat, but Gourde is the right pick here.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Zach Laing  – Jared McCann

Seattle takes McCann, who Toronto just acquired days ago. He’s a strong 3C for Seattle.

Cam Lewis  – Jared McCann

Same logic here but I go with Kerfoot, who’s a stronger centre than McCann is.

David Quadrelli – Jared McCann

McCann is solid, and might even be able to play in Seattle’s top six.

Vancouver Canucks 

Zach Laing – Kole Lind

Another young depth winger in Lind who gets a chance to break into the NHL.

Cam Lewis – Kole Lind

Lind appears ready for a chance to break into the NHL. He can do so on Seattle.

David Quadrelli – Braden Holtby

Lind requires waivers to go down to the AHL and isn’t quite NHL ready yet, so unless Seattle knows something we don’t know, it’s probably best for them to avoid him. Instead, they take Holtby, who they’ve already been publicly interested in. He’s able to serve as the 1B/ backup to Driedger, and even has a chance to bounce back and take over the starter’s role.

Washington Capitals

Zach Laing – Vitek Vanecek

Seattle gets another young goalie who they can keep, or move for some good assets.

Cam Lewis – Nick Jensen

There are a handful of interesting options here, but I went with Jensen because he’s a quality defender on a nice contract and he shoots right-handed, which we need with so many lefties in the mix.

David Quadrelli – Vitek Vanecek

Seattle wants to load up on goalies, and Vanecek is a good one. He can be flipped for assets or stick around and play behind Driedger if Seattle finds a suitor for Holtby or Driedger.

Winnipeg Jets 

Zach Laing – Sami Niku

Seattle could go with a veteran in Paul Stastny, or a young forward in Mason Appleton, but Niku is still a good prospect looking to break into the league.

Cam Lewis – Dylan DeMelo

I’m shocked to see a quality shutdown guy on such a good deal available. DeMelo is an easy choice for me.

David Quadrelli – Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Demelo is the no-brainer pick for me, but I think Seattle takes Mason Appleton.