The Seattle Kraken have drafted their team.
The NHL’s newest franchise made their 30 selections in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on Wednesday. There were no side trades announced during the televised event.
The Kraken are set to begin play in the 2021-22 NHL season as members of the Pacific Division. The Arizona Coyotes are moving to the Central Division with the Kraken’s arrival.
Here’s a look at the Kraken’s jerseys:
😍😍😍😍
These @SeattleKraken jerseys are BEAUTIFUL. #SeattleDraft pic.twitter.com/jP1O3nC3cu
— NHL (@NHL) July 22, 2021
The Kraken did not end up selecting Montreal Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price in the Expansion Draft. The veteran goaltender was left unprotected by the Habs after leading his team to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay. His $10.5M cap hit proved too hefty for the Kraken.
The Kraken definitely placed emphasis on the salary cap when drafting their roster. Aside from not drafting Price, Seattle also stayed from several big-name players with large contracts such as New Jersey Devils defenseman PK Subban and St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko.
Seattle will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the NHL’s last expansion franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas entered the league in 2017 and made it to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. The Golden Knights drafted core pieces like Marc-Andre Fleury and William Karlsson and acquired other players like Alex Tuch and Shea Theodore in trades.
The Kraken were required to select at least 14 forwards, nine defenseman and three goaltenders for their team.
Here’s a look at Seattle Kraken’s full expansion draft roster:
Forwards
Tyler Pitlick (Arizona Coyotes)
Jeremy Lauzon (Boston Bruins)
Morgan Geekie (Carolina Hurricanes)
John Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks)
Joonas Donskoi (Colorado Avalanche)
Dennis Cholowski (Detroit Red Wings)
Calle Jarnkrok (Nashville Predators)
Nathan Bastian (New Jersey Devils)
Jordan Eberle (New York Islanders)
Colin Blackwell (New York Rangers)
Carsen Twarynski (Philadelphia Flyers)
Brandon Tanev (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Alexander True (San Jose Sharks)
Yanni Gourde (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Jared McCann (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Kole Lind (Vancouver Canucks)
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets)
Defensemen
Haydn Fleury (Anaheim Ducks)
William Borgen (Buffalo Sabres)
Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
Gavin Bayreuther (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Jamie Oleksiak (Dallas Stars)
Adam Larsson (Edmonton Oilers)
Kurtis MacDermid (Los Angeles Kings)
Carson Soucy (Minnesota Wild)
Cale Fleury (Montreal Canadiens)
Vince Dunn (St. Louis Blues)
Goalies
Chris Driedger (Florida Panthers)
Joey Daccord (Ottawa Senators)
Vitek Vanecek (Washington Capitals)
