NHL Expansion Draft Prediction

With the NHL season all but over, NHL teams will have to make preparations for the Expansion Draft just a few weeks away. The Seattle Kraken will have to select one payer from every team with the exception of the Vegas Golden Knights. Of these thirty players, fourteen have to be forwards, nine defensemen, and three have to be goalies. The 30 NHL teams can either protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie (7-3-1), or they can protect eight skaters total and one goalie (8-1). Teams are also required to protect all players with No-Movement Clauses (NMC) in their contracts and have to expose two forwards, one defensemen, and one goalie that have one year left on their current contract for selection (the skaters must also have played at least half of the 2020-21 season or a season’s worth of games between the the last two seasons). In addition, players who are still on their entry level contract are not eligible for selection. With the rules set, I see the Seattle Kraken building their team through youth and the future rather than drafting mostly veterans.

Anaheim Ducks

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Lundesröm, Steel, Heinen, Jones, Terry, Silfverberg, Rakall

Defensemen

Manson, Fowler, Lindholm

Goalie

Gibson

Seattle Kraken Select:

Adam Henrique, Center

Arizona Coyotes

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Schmaltz, Dvorak, Garland, Crouse, Fischer, Kessel (NMC), Keller

Defensemen

Chychrun, Hjalmarsson, Ekman-Larsson (NMC)

Goalie

Kuemper

Seattle Kraken Select:

Michael Bunting, Winger

Boston Bruins

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Krejci, Coyle (NMC), Bergeron (NMC), Marchand (NMC), Ritchie, DeBrusk, Pastrnak

Defensemen

Carlo, McAvoy, Grzelcyk

Goalie

Rask

Seattle Kraken Select:

Craig Smith, Forward

Buffalo Sabres

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Girgensons, Skinner (NMC), Eichel, Olofsson, Thompson

Defensemen

Jokiharju, Ristolainen, Dahlin

Goalie

Ullmark

Seattle Kraken Select:

Anders Bjork, Winger

Calgary Flames

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Backlund, Monahan, Tkachuk, Lucic (NMC), Gaudreau, Lindholm, Dubé

Defensemen

Giordano, Hanifin, Andersson

Goalie

Markström (NMC)

Seattle Kraken Select:

Andrew Mangiapane, Winger

Carolina Hurricanes

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Trocheck, Aho, Svechnikov, Staal (NMC), Niederreiter, Foegele, Teräväinen

Defensemen

Pesce, Slavin, Skjei

Goalie

Nedeljkovic

Seattle Kraken Select:

Jake Gardiner, Defenseman

Chicago Blackhawks

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Strome, Toews (NMC), Kämpf, DeBrincat, Hagel, Nylander, Kane (NMC)

Defensemen

Keith (NMC), Murphy, Zadorov

Goalie

Lankinen

Seattle Kraken Select:

Adam Gaudette, Center

Colorado Avalanche

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Jost, MacKinnon, Nichushkin, Landeskog, Burakovsky, Donskoi, Rantanen

Defensemen

Johnson (NMC), Girard, Makar

Goalie

Grubauer

Seattle Kraken Select:

J.T. Compher, Forward

Columbus Blue Jackets

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Dubinsky, Domi, Robinson, Laine, Bjorkstrand, Roslovic, Atkinson

Defensemen

Jones, Werenski, Gavrikov

Goalie

Korpisalo

Seattle Kraken Select:

Mikhail Grigorenko, Forward

Dallas Stars

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Dickinson, Seguin (NMC), Roope, Benn (NMC), Gurianov, Radulov (NMC), Pavelski

Defensemen

Heiskanen, Lindell, Klingberg

Goalie

Bishop (NMC)

Seattle Kraken Select:

Andrej Sekera, Defenseman

Detroit Red Wings

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Larkin, Erne, Bertuzzi, Rasmussen, Vrána, Svechnikov, Fabbri

Defensemen

Cholowski, Hronek, Stecher

Goalie

Bernier

Seattle Kraken Select:

Gustav Lindström, Defenseman

Edmonton Oilers

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Shore, Kahun, Pujujärvi, Yamamoto

Defensemen

Larsson, Nurse, Klefbom

Goalie

Koskinen

Seattle Kraken Select:

Alex Chiasson, Winger

Florida Panthers

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Verhaeghe, Wennberg, Barkov, Huberdeau (NMC), Duclair, Vatrano, Hörnqvist

Defensemen

Yandle (NMC), Ekblad, Weegar

Goalie

Bobrovsky (NMC)

Seattle Kraken Select:

Chris Driedger, Goalie

L.A. Kings

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Kopitar, Athanasiou, Kempe, Iafallo, Grundström, Brown, Moore

Defensemen

Doughty (NMC), Walker, Roy

Goalie

Peterson

Seattle Kraken Select:

Austin Wagner, Winger

Minnesota Wild

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Rask, Eriksson Ek, Foligno, Parise (NMC), Greenway, Zuccarello (NMC), Fiala

Defensemen

Suter (NMC), Brodin (NMC), Spurgeon (NMC)

Goalie

Talbot

Seattle Kraken Select:

Matt Dumba, Defenseman

Montreal Canadiens

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Kotkaniemi, Danault, Lehkonen, Drouin, Gallagher (NMC), Toffoli, Anderson

Defensemen

Petry (NMC), Weber, Edmundson

Goalie

Price (NMC)

Seattle Kraken Select:

Jake Evans, Forward

Nashville Predators

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Granlund, Johansen, Trenin, Järnkrok, Forsberg, Cousins, Arvidsson

Defensemen

Josi (NMC), Ellis, Ekholm

Goalie

Saros

Seattle Kraken Select:

Dante Fabbro, Defenseman

New Jersey Devils

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

McLeod, Kuokkanen, Sharangovich, Zacha, Hischier, Wood, Bratt

Defensemen

Butcher, Severson, Carrick

Goalie

Blackwood

Seattle Kraken Select:

Nathan Bastian, Forward

New York Islanders

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Pageau, Barzal, Nelson, Beauviller, Lee, Eberle, Bailey

Defensemen

Pelech, Leddy, Pulock

Goalie

Varlamov

Seattle Kraken Select:

Scott Mayfield, Defenseman

New York Rangers

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Chytil, Zibanejad (NMC), Strome, Kreider (NMC), Panarin (NMC), Buchnevich, Gauthier

Defensemen

Hájek, Trouba (NMC), Lindgren

Goalie

Georgiev

Seattle Kraken Select:

Kevin Rooney, Forward

Ottawa Senators

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Batherson, Paul, Tkachuk, Brown, Watson, Dadonov, White

Defensemen

Chabot, Zaitsev, Mete

Goalie

Gustavsson

Seattle Kraken Select:

Chris Tierney, Center

Philadelphia Flyers

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Couturier, Hayes (NMC), Giroux (NMC), Lindblom, van Riemsdyk, Konecny, Voracek

Defensemen

Provorov, Sanheim, Myers

Goalie

Hart

Seattle Kraken Select:

Shayne Gostisbehere, Defenseman

Pittsburgh Penguins

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Blueger, Malkin (NMC), Crosby (NMC), Guentzel, McCann, Rust, Kapanen

Defensemen

Letang (NMC), Matheson, Dumoulin

Goalie

Jarry

Seattle Kraken Select:

Sam Lafferty, Forward

San Jose Sharks

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards***

Hertl, Couture, Donato, Meier, Kane, Balcers, Labanc

Defensemen

Karlsson (NMC), Vlasic (NMC), Burns

Goalie

Korenar

Seattle Kraken Select:

Radim Simek, Defenseman

***San Jose does not meet the expansion draft requirement for exposed forwards signed through next season

St. Louis Blues

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Schenn, Barbashev, O’Reilly, Sanford, Schwartz, Perron, Tarasenko

Defensemen

Faulk, Krug, Dunn

Goalie

Binnington

Seattle Kraken Select:

Mike Hoffman, Winger

Tampa Bay Lightning

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Stamkos (NMC), Cirelli, Point, Gourde, Kilorn, Palat, Kucherov (NMC)

Defensemen

Sergachev, Hedman (NMC), McDonagh

Goalie

Vasilevskiy

Seattle Kraken Select:

Erik Cernak, Defenseman

Toronto Maple Leafs

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Tavares (NMC), Spezza, Kerfoot, Mathews, Hyman, Marner, Nylander

Defensemen

Rielly, Holl, Muzzin

Goalie

Campbell

Seattle Kraken Select:

Alex Galchenyuk, Forward

Vancouver Canucks

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Pettersson, Horvat, Motte, Miller, Pearson, Sutter, Boeser

Defensemen

Schmidt, Hamonic, Myers

Goalie

Demko

Seattle Kraken Select:

Braden Holtby, Goalie

Washington Capitals

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Bäckström (NMC), Kuznetsov, Hagelin, Ovechkin, Wilson, Oshie, Mantha

Defensemen

Orlov, Schultz, Carlson

Goalie

Vanecek

Seattle Kraken Select:

Ilya Samsonov, Goalie

Winnipeg Jets

Protection List (7-3-1):

Forwards

Wheeler (NMC), Copp, Scheifele, Dubois, Stastny, Connor, Ehlers

Defensemen

Forbort, Morrissey, Pionk

Goalie

Hellebuyck

Seattle Kraken Select:

Mason Appleton, Forward