The Seattle Kraken’s three best non-selections in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft
By Nick Herrera
2. Matt Duchene
The Nashville Predators had perhaps the strangest protection list of any team. They decided to protect only three forwards and five total defensemen. This left both Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene exposed. Had Seattle drafted either of those two centers, then it could have been seen as the Kraken doing a favor to Nashville as both of these forwards make earn $8 million dollars respectively.
Duchene however, is the bigger bullet that Seattle appears to have dodged. The 30-year-old is signed until after the 2025-2026 season, which would have him signed to the age of 35. While Duchene is skilled and has some very dynamic highlight clips out there, he has only surpassed 60 points in a season on three occasions and hit the 30 goal mark just twice in his career.
The leaked Kraken roster looks like it will have trouble scoring goals, at least on paper, but an investment like Duchene is not the bang for the buck move that will enable Seattle to be flexible in future moves as it continues to build its organizational philosophy.