Grading the Seattle Kraken’s 2021 NHL Expansion Draft

It is time to attempt to give the Seattle Kraken a grade for their work at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

Wednesday was a historic night for both the NHL and the Seattle Kraken, who constructed their first-ever roster in franchise history, and now it is time to assess the job done by General Manager Ron Francis.

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Of course, with the trade freeze ending at 1:00 P.M. ET today and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and Free Agency still to come, the roster we saw put together in front of our very eyes on Wednesday night could look very different come opening night in October.

Somewhat surprisingly, Seattle didn’t pull the trigger on any side deals during the Expansion Draft and they will have a boatload of cap space to weaponize, so one can only imagine that more moves will be in the pipeline shortly.

However, we can only judge what is put in front of us so, as a result, we are going to delve right in and dissect all the moves made by the Kraken on Wednesday night as they built their roster ahead of their inaugural season in 2021-22.

Grading the Seattle Kraken’s 2021 NHL Expansion Draft Results

Firstly, we all kind of knew what was coming on Wednesday given that the majority of Seattle’s picks had been leaked, and their selection of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski was the only big surprise, with Detroit GM Steve Yzerman known for keeping a tight seal on things.

Other than that, there were no other shocks as Francis and the Kraken opted to stay away from big-game hunting by not selecting the likes of Colorado Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog, St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko or Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price.

They did, however, take Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano, who was in Seattle for the event, and it does seem likely that the 37-year-old could wear the C on his chest for the Kraken in their inaugural season.

Francis made it clear that he wanted to build a solid foundation given that he dished out a five-year, $23 million contract to the human wrecking ball that is Jamie Oleksiak, while also signing UFA defenseman Adam Larsson to a four-year, $16 million contract.

After also selecting St. Louis Blues puck-mover Vince Dunce and more big-bodied defensemen in Carson Soucy and Kurtis MacDermid, the Kraken will have a deep blueline unit that will be incredibly tough to play against in their own zone, and they could well end up leading the NHL in hits given their personnel.

Chuck in young players with high ceilings like Jeremy Lauzon, Will Borgen, Cale Fleury and the aforementioned Cholowski, then Seattle not only has proven veterans on the backend who can help them be competitive immediately, but also a slew of potential unpolished diamonds that can either earn a place in the lineup or be used as trade bait.

It was clear throughout the Expansion Draft that Francis and the rest of his front office team were committed to establishing a certain identity and culture for the Kraken, picking players that will play a hard-nosed and gritty brand of hockey while being committed to winning and sustained excellence, reflecting the attitude of the city they call home.

You could see that blueprint coming to fruition when it came to the forwards Francis selected, including tough bottom-six forwards in the ilk of Brandon Tanev, Jared McCann, Colin Blackwell and Yanni Gourde, who was a home run of a pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gourde – who will miss the start of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery – is made for a top-six role with Seattle and he will become the heart and soul of this team, while the picks of McCann, Blackwell and Tanev were also smart decisions given that they can play in all situations, manage the puck, provide offense and play responsible defense.

Francis did add a legit top-six scorer and playmaker in New York Islanders forward Jordan Eberle, who recorded 33 points (16 G, 17 A) in 55 games for the Isles in 2020-21, while Calle Jarnkrok and Joonas Donskoi are do-it all forwards that should contribute in big ways in all three zones.

In terms of goaltenders, the Kraken will be spending less than a combined $5 million on Chris Driedger and Vitek Vanecek, with the former signing a three-year, $10,500,000 contract with Seattle.

Driedger established himself as a capable No. 1 starter in the NHL with the Florida Panthers in 2020-21, going 14-6-3 with a .927 Save Percentage, a 2.07 Goals Against Average and three shutouts, while Vanecek is also a decent starter in the NHL and the Kraken should get superb value from their tandem between the pipes.

Other selections such as goaltender Joey Daccord, forwards Nathan Bastian, Morgan Geekie, Carsen Twarynski, John Quenneville, Alexander True and Kole Lind will either provide organizational depth or assets than can be used in trades.

Throughout this whole process, the shadow of what the Vegas Golden Knights accomplished in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and then went on to achieve in their regular season loomed large over the Seattle Kraken, but it was crystal clear that Francis and his team had a blueprint they wanted to stick to, and this roster is still an unfinished work of art given that the offseason is still in its early stages.

As already mentioned, the Seattle Kraken are going to commit to playing a certain way under Head Coach Dave Hakstol, and they are going to pride themselves on being incredibly tough to play against on a night-to-night basis while being a fundamentally sound hockey team.

They boast an array of human wrecking balls on the backend in addition to puck-movers such as Mark Giordano, Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson, while they have a number of checking-forwards that will be a nightmare for the opponents’ top lines.

Aside from Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde, there isn’t much star power in the top six for the Kraken, and you would have to think that will be an area they will look to address in both the Draft and in Free Agency.

They are, however, getting tremendous value from their goaltending tandem of Driedger and Vanecek, who should be able to carry the load between them behind what will be a deep and effective blueline unit.

And, again, this is only the start for Francis and the Seattle Kraken as they now get ready for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, where they have the No. 2 overall pick, and Free Agency where they will look to weaponize around $28 million in cap space.

So, the roster that was selected on Wednesday night will almost certainly look a little different come Opening Night but, for now at least, we give the Kraken a B for the job they did in the Expansion Draft, constructing a roster that boasts a lot of depth, some potential hidden gems and players that clearly fit into the culture they are trying to cultivate in Seattle.

We will now see what they do throughout the remainder of the offseason.