A sign-and-trade would allow Carolina to get some compensation back rather than losing Hamilton as a free agent and also allow the signing team to give Hamilton the eighth contract year that currently only the Canes could.
It’s been reported that the Hurricanes might not be willing to pay what the market might dictate for Hamilton, though Hamilton might prefer to stay all things being equal.
The Los Angeles Kings could be very active this off-season, according to Darren Dreger:
With expansion draft looming, there’s more trade discussion developing around the NHL. The LA Kings could be a big player this offseason. The Kings are hoping to acquire two top 6 forwards through trade or free agency.
Along with the New York Rangers, there are plenty of eyes on the Kings when it comes to the Jack Eichel trade watch. Unlike the Rangers, the Kings are very deep in center prospects which the Sabres might covet in a potential Eichel trade.
The Seattle Kraken will get a chance to build their roster through the expansion draft on July 21.
They will get to select 30 players from each of the 30 NHL franchises that predate the Vegas expansion in 2017. Each of those teams will get to protect either 7 forwards, 3 defensemen and 1 goalie or 8 total skaters and 1 goalie. Generally, first and second-year pros are exempt and do not need to be protected.
Of the 30 players Seattle will select, 20 need to have contracts for 2021-22, at a combined cap-hit of between 60 and 100% of the salary cap. They must select a minimum of 14 forwards, 9 defenseman and 3 goalies. The full list of rules can be found here.
A wildcard for the expansion draft is how teams approach their unrestricted free agents. Teams can choose to leave them unprotected, assuming that Seattle will move on to pick a player they control through next season, and negotiate with them after the expansion draft is over. In most cases, that is what I assumed teams would do with their UFAs.
It is expected that there will be both: – Pre-draft trades to manipulate teams’ expansion lists. – Post-draft trades where Seattle distributes some of their excess players throughout the league. Both are included in this mock draft.
Enough with the introduction, NHL Trade Rumors 2021 Mock Expansion Draft:
Nashville Predators Exempt: Eeli Tolvanen Protected F: Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, Luke Kunin D: Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Dante Fabbro G: Juuse Saros
Kraken select: LW Tanner Jeannot
The Kraken pass up on the big contracts of Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene to pick the 23-year year old Jeannot who had an impressive 15-game stint with the Preds this season.
TRADE: To Calgary Flames: LW Zach Aston-Reese To Pittsburgh Penguins:C Mathias Emilio Pettersen, CGY 2021 3rd round pick
The Penguins have a number of potential options for the Kraken: Zach Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Tanev and Casey DeSmith. Trading one of them may seem counterintuitive as it assures they will be without two of them for next season. However, Aston-Reese is due for a raise this summer and moving him to get the talented young Pettersen increases their flexibility. The Flames have space to protect another forward and the reliable Aston-Reese is a worthy target.
Pittsburgh Penguins Exempt: John Marino, Pierre-Olivier Joseph Protected F: Sidney Crosby (NMC), Evgeni Malkin (NMC), Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Zucker, Jared McCann D: Kris Letang (NMC), Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Petterson G: Tristan Jarry
Kraken select: C Teddy Blueger
Calgary Flames Exempt: Juuso Valimaki Protected F: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Dillon Dube, Zach-Aston Reese D: Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson G: Jakub Markstrom
Milan Lucic has confirmed he’s agreed to waive his no-move clause for the expansion draft, giving them another slot to pursue and eventually protect Zach Aston-Reese. Many believe the Flames will have a big roster turnover this season, if it happens before the expansion draft, it might change what Seattle is looking at drastically.
Kraken select: C Byron Froese The Kraken also receive TOR’s 2022 3rd round pick for selecting Froese over Marc Giordano.
Ottawa Senators Exempt: Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Artem Zub, Erik Brannstrom Protected F: Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, Nick Paul, Colin White, Chris Tierney, Logan Brown D: Thomas Chabot, Victor Mete, Nikita Zaitsev G: Filip Gustavsson
Kraken select: G Joey Daccord
One of the few goalies available with some upside who won’t require waivers in 2021-22, Daccord as a third goalie option is more intriguing than Matt Murray at $6.25 million AAV or Evgenii Dadonov at $5 million.
Buffalo Sabres Exempt: Dylan Cozens, Ukko-Pekka Luukonen, Mattias Samuelsson Protected F: Jeff Skinner (NMC), Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Victor Olofsson, Anders Bjork, Casey Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson D: Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Henri Jokiharju G: Linus Ullmark
Kraken select: RD Will Borgen
Like Calgary, it’s expected that Buffalo will make some moves this off-season, but the question is when. Will Borgen represents a young depth option on defense for the Kraken.
Dallas Stars Exempt: Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson, Joel Kiviranta, Ty Dellandrea Protected F: Tyler Seguin (NMC), Jamie Benn (NMC), Alexander Radulov (NMC), Joe Pavelski, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Radek Faska D: Miro Heiskanen, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell G: Ben Bishop
Kraken select: C/LW Jason Dickinson
The Stars will presumably wait until after the expansion draft to re-sign Jamie Oleksiak, which many will expect they will.
Carolina Hurricanes Exempt: Martin Necas Protected F: Jordan Staal (NMC), Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck, Andrei Svechnikov, Warren Foegele D: Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Jake Bean G: Alex Nedeljkovic
Kraken select: LD Brady Skjei
The Hurricanes won’t like to lose Skjei, but it’s a necessary evil to keep the promising Jake Bean. They would put the $5.25 million in cap space to use, however.
Florida Panthers Exempt: Spencer Knight, Owen Tippett, Aleksei Heponiemi, Matt Kiersted Protected F: Jonathan Huberdeau (NMC), Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe, Frank Vatrano D: Keith Yandle (NMC), Aaron Ekblad, Mackenzie Weegar G: Sergei Bobrovsky
Kraken select: G Chris Driedger after negotiating a 3 year deal with a $4 million AAV.
Florida will happily negotiate a deal with Driedger, who they would lose as a free agent anyways, to prevent them from losing another player.
Los Angeles Kings Exempt: Quinton Byfield, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Gabriel Vilardi Protected F: Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Trevor Moore, Andreas Athanasiou, Carl Grundstrom D: Drew Doughty (NMC), Matt Roy, Sean Walker G: Cal Petersen
Kraken select: C/LW Lias Andersson
TRADE: To San Jose: LD Vince Dunn To St. Louis Blues: SJ 2022 2nd round pick
The writing is on the wall with the Blues and Vince Dunn. Dunn has been in trade rumors this season and the Blues cannot protect him. They’ll take a second round pick from the Sharks, who can protect him.
St. Louis Blues Protected F: Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, David Perron, Oskar Sundqvist D: Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, Justin Falk G: Jordan Binnington
Kraken select: LW Samuel Blais
San Jose Sharks Exempt: Mario Ferraro, Alexander Barbanov, Artemi Kniazev Protected F: Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc, Ryan Donato, Jonathan Dahlen D: Erik Karlsson (NMC), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (NMC), Vince Dunn G: Josef Korenar
Kraken select: RW Rudolph Balcers after signing a 1 year, $800,000 deal
The pickings are fairly slim with the Sharks, assuming the Kraken aren’t interested in picking up Brent Burns’ $8 million cap hit until he’s 40 years old. A couple of RFAs in Balcers and Dylan Gambrell could be of interest to the Kraken. They could let the Sharks pick which one goes in exchange for signing the player before the draft to help Seattle with the requirement to pick at least 20 players signed for 2021-22.
Toronto Maple Leafs Exempt: Rasmus Sandin, Ilya Mikheyev, Nick Robertson Protected: F: John Tavares (NMC), Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander D: Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Justin Holl, T.J. Brodie G: Jack Campbell
Kraken select: LD/RD Travis Dermott
The Kraken take Dermott, who has 208 NHL games at the age of 24 but has been surpassed by others on the Leafs’ depth chart.
Anaheim Ducks Exempt: Trevor Zegras, Max Comtois, Jamie Drysdale Protected F: Jakub Silfverberg, Richard Rakell, Danton Heinen, Isac Lundestrom, Max Jones, Sam Steel, Troy Terry D: Cam Fowler, Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm G: John Gibson
Kraken select: LD Haydn Fleury
Washington Capitals Protected F: Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom (NMC), Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Anthony Mantha, Lars Eller, Conor Sheary D: John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Brenden Dillon G: Ilya Samsonov
Kraken select: G Vitek Vanecek
Like in the Vegas expansion draft, when the Golden Knights had a choice between Phillipp Grubauer and Nate Schmidt, Washington offers plenty of options for the Seattle expansion franchise. The Kraken take 25 year old goalie Vitek Vanecek, who is signed through next season with a $716,667 cap hit, and has one more RFA season following that. RHD Justin Schultz makes Seattle think, but T.J. Oshie and his $5.75 million cap his through 2024-25 is too large a commitment.
Winnipeg Jets Exempt: Ville Heinola Protected F: Blake Wheeler (NMC), Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp D: Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Dylan DeMelo G: Connor Hellebuyck
Kraken select: RW Mason Appleton
TRADE To N.Y. Rangers: LD Nikita Zadorov To Chicago: LD Tarmo Reunanen, 2022 3rd round pick
With Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller exempt and Tony DeAngelo exiled, the Rangers have only two defensemen worthy of protecting and can use this position to pounce on a defenseman that can’t be protected by his current club. Chicago can only protect three of Zadorov, Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy and Calvin De Haan. The Rangers like the rugged element Zadorov adds to their lineup.
New York Rangers: Exempt: Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Igor Shesterkin, K’Andre Miller, Adam Fox Protected F: Artemi Panarin (NMC), Mika Zibanejad (NMC), Chris Kreider (NMC), Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden D: Jacob Trouba (NMC), Ryan Lindgren, Nikita Zadorov G: Alexandar Georgiev
Kraken select: RW Colin Blackwell
Chicago Blackhawks Exempt: Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, Dominik Kubalik, Ian Mitchell, Phillipp Kurashev, Nicolas Beaudin, Pius Suter Protected F: Patrick Kane (NMC), Jonathan Toews (NMC), Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Alex Nylander, Brandon Hagel, Henrik Borgstrom D: Duncan Keith (NMC), Connor Murphy, Calvin De Haan G: Kevin Lankinen
Kraken select: LD Riley Stillman
Tampa Bay Lightning Protected F: Nikita Kucherov (NMC), Steven Stamkos (NMC), Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn D: Victor Hedman (NMC), Mikhail Sergachev, Ryan McDonagh G: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Kraken select: C Tyler Johnson The Kraken receive Tampa Bay’s 2022 1st round pick for taking Tyler Johnson over Cal Foote and Erik Cernak.
New York Islanders Exempt: Ilya Sorokin, Noah Dobson, Oliver Wahlstrom Protected: F: Mat Barzal, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle, Anthony Beauvillier, J-G Pageau, Michael Dal Colle D: Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield G: Semyon Varlamov
The Kraken select: Nick Leddy
Leddy and Josh Bailey are inviting for the Kraken, but they opt for the blueline help.
Montreal Canadiens Exempt: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ryan Poehling Protected F: Brendan Gallagher (NMC), Josh Anderson, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Toffoli, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Jake Evans D: Jeff Petry (NMC), Shea Weber, Joel Edmundson G: Carey Price (NMC)
Kraken select: LD Ben Chiarot
Colorado Avalanche Exempt: Bowen Byram Protected F: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky D: Cale Makar, Sam Girard, Devon Toews, Ryan Graves G: Pavel Francouz
Ryan Clark of the Athletic has suggested that Eric Johnson will waive his no-trade clause so the team can protect other defensemen.
Kraken select: RW Joonas Donskoi
Vancouver Canucks Exempt: Quinn Hughes, Nils Hoglander Protected F: Elias Petterson, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Motte, Kole Lind D: Tyler Myers, Nate Schmidt, Olli Juolevi G: Thatcher Demko
Kraken select: C Jay Beagle The Kraken receive VAN’s 2021 3rd round pick for taking on the contract of Jay Beagle.
Detroit Red Wings Exempt: Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno Protected F: Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne, Michael Rasmussen, Robby Fabbri, Evgeny Svechnikov D: Filip Hronek, Troy Stecher, Dennis Cholowski G: Thomas Greiss
Kraken select: RD Gustav Lindstrom
Boston Bruins Exempt: Jeremy Swayman, Jack Studnicka Protected F: Patrice Bergeron (NMC), Brad Marchand (NMC), Charlie Coyle (NMC), David Pastrnak, Nick Ritchie, Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic D: Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo G: Daniel Vladar
Kraken select: LD Jeremy Lauzon
Craig Smith is tempting for the Kraken as well, but they opt for the young blueliner instead.
New Jersey Devils Exempt: Jack Hughes, Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist Protected F: Nico Hischier, Miles Wood, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, Yegor Sharangovich, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod D: P.K. Subban, Damon Severson, Jonas Siegenthaler G: Mackenzie Blackwood
Kraken select: RW Nathan Bastian
Columbus Blue Jackets Exempt: Elvis Merzlikins, Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom, Mikko Lehtonen, Liam Foudy Protected F: Cam Atkinson, Gustav Nyquist, Max Domi, Patrik Laine, Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jack Roslovic D: Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Vladislav Gavrikov G: Joonas Korpisalo
Kraken select: RD Dean Kukan
Philadelphia Flyers: Exempt: Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost Protected F: Claude Giroux (NMC), Kevin Hayes (NMC), Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick D: Ivan Provorov, Philippe Myers, Travis Sanheim G: Carter Hart
Kraken select: RW Jakub Voracek The Kraken also receive PHI’s 2021 2nd round pick for taking Voracek.
The Flyers may be in for a big shakeup this off-season, and shedding Voracek’s $8.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons will kick things off. The Kraken are happy to pick up someone with his star power, who also helps them select the minimum cap charge for 2021-22.
Arizona Coyotes Exempt: Barrett Hayton Protected F: Phil Kessel (NMC), Clayton Keller, Conor Garland, Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, Lawson Crouse, Johan Larsson D: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jacob Chychrun, Kyle Capobianco G: Darcy Kuemper
Kraken select: G Adin Hill
The Coyotes have a decision to make before the expansion draft: do they trade Darcy Kuemper or let Adin Hill be exposed to Seattle? They may very well trade Kuemper, but the problem with trading him before the expansion draft is the market will be limited to the teams that have the space to protect him.
Edmonton Oilers Exempt: Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod Protected F: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian, Josh Archibald, Dominik Kahun D: Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom, Ethan Bear G: Stuart Skinner
Kraken select: LW Tyler Benson
The Oilers will presumably wait until after the expansion draft to re-sign Adam Larsson, allowing them to protect Ethan Bear. Otherwise they could expose Oscar Klefbom, depending on his injury status.
TRADE To Vegas: RD Matt Dumba To Minnesota: LD Nicolas Hague, NJ 2021 2nd round pick
Minnesota Wild Exempt: Kirill Kaprizov Protected F: Zach Parise (NMC), Mats Zuccarello (NMC), Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman D: Jared Spurgeon (NMC), Ryan Suter (NMC), Jonas Brodin (NMC) G: Kaapo Kahkonen
Kraken select: G Cam Talbot
The Wild are in one team in real expansion draft danger. If they don’t trade Dumba prior to the expansion draft, they could elect to protect 4 forwards and 4 defensemen, but that would require them to leave Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno exposed. Parise and/or Zuccarello could waive their no-movement clauses to protect one or both of the young forwards, but it’s no slam dunk they do. Trading Dumba to Vegas allows them to protect 7 forwards while picking up a promising, expansion-exempt defenseman and a near first round pick. Vegas, who don’t have to worry about losing a player to the expansion draft and have Alec Martinez’ contract expiring, are never afraid of a big move.
In the end, the following 30 players are selected by Seattle, adding to just about $4.5 million over the minimum cap charge for 2021-22:
What is Seattle going to do with all these players? Well…
Post-draft trades:
To Boston: LD Haydn Fleury To Seattle: C/RW Jack Studnicka
Boston’s blueline was already lighter than they would like before losing Lauzon. In Fleury, they get a big, young blueliner under team control for three more years. Studnicka has been a bit disappointing for the Bruins so far, but Seattle can afford to be patient. They can send the young forward to the AHL without waivers if needed.
To Washington: G Adin Hill To Seattle: ARI 2021 3rd round pick
Seattle will be responsible for shuffling a few goalies throughout the league. After losing Vanecek, Washington would like an NHL-experienced option to work alongside Ilya Samsonov.
To N.Y. Rangers: RW Nathan Bastian To Seattle: RW Lauri Pajuniemi
The Rangers continue their quest to get bigger and tougher. The Kraken pick up a prospect that can potentially score some goals for them down the road.
To Minnesota: G Vitek Vanecek To Seattle: MIN 2021 2nd round pick
Minnesota is in a similar position to Washington, needing a goalie after losing one to Seattle. Even after trading their second round pick, they still have four picks in the first three rounds.
To Vancouver: LD Jeremy Lauzon To Seattle: RD Jett Woo
With cap space at a premium with Quinn Hughes and Elias Petterson to sign this summer, the Canucks value having an established NHL defenseman signed for 2021-22 at a cap hit of $850,000. Woo provides the Kraken with a promising defense prospect.
After the dust clears, Seattle’s depth chart looks like this:
And they have picked up an additional six draft picks:
Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Night Headlines that Seth Jones has informed the Blue Jackets that he will not be re-signing with the Blue Jackets.
This has been the fear in Columbus for a while; it was rumored to be one of the reasons Pierre-Luc Dubois wanted to be traded.
Jones has one more year left on his contract, and will be a UFA upon its expiration. One would have to think Columbus makes an effort to trade him before the season opens rather than lose him to free agency.
This is just one more big storyline to follow this summer. The Philadelphia Flyers will presumably be one of the many parties who are very interested in Jones’ services.
Elliotte Friedman (12:10) says that he fully expects Jeff Carter to return to the Penguins next season instead of retiring with a year left on his contract. He suggests the team and the player may have had that conversation prior to the Penguins making the trade with the Kings. He suggests the Penguins will look for help in net, probably a short-term veteran option. He notes they tried to trade for Marc-Andre Fleury last season and that GM Ron Hextall is familiar with Jonathan Quick.
Friedman (13:00) says that ownership does not want to trade Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang. He says that he’s heard that ownership put it in writing that their approval is required for their GM to trade either Crosby or Malkin. He believes ownership wants Crosby, Malkin and Letang to retire with the team. He also thinks the only way Mike Sullivan is fired is if the team is convinced they need a new voice behind the bench.
He also talks about the Florida Panthers (25:00). He says there are teams out there who were waiting to get a chance on Barkov as a free agent, but they are less optimistic about him hitting the market with Florida making positive strides this year. He suggests that Anthony Duclair has found a home in Florida, he will be a RFA this summer. He also wonders about the futures of Sergei Bobrovsky and Keith Yandle, who both have large contracts and the Panthers moved away from relying on either as the Tampa Bay series progressed. He thinks they might hold on to Yandle and do whatever they can to move Bobrovsky, though that would be incredibly difficult.
He spoke about the Edmonton Oilers (41:30). He thinks an extension for Adam Larsson will get done, but he doesn’t think Tyson Barrie will return. He says he wouldn’t be surprised if the Oilers took a run at Zach Hyman as a free agent. He doesn’t envision Edmonton giving up a first round pick for Darcy Kuemper, who has only one season left on his contract. He could see them in on Elvis Merzlikins, however.
He also says (45:45) is that one of his “theories” is that Merzlikins might get moved to Buffalo for Sam Reinhart. Columbus is looking for help at center and Reinhart played more center this season than in previous years.
Elliotte Friedman mentions that the Rangers are doing a lot of research in Gerard Gallant (the Rangers have interviewed Gallant) as they don’t know him as well as some of the other potential candidates for their vacant coaching job. They are familiar with their former coach John Tortorella, and GM Chris Drury knows his former coach Bob Hartley and his former teammate Patrick Roy. He suggests Tortorella isn’t a favorite. Friedman also mentions that the Rangers might be very interested in Rod Brind’Amour should his contract negotiations break apart.
Friedman said the he thinks the Buffalo Sabres recognize that Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen all need a change and he thinks they’ll try to make it work. He also went into all the candidates to take Eichel in a trade, including: Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Montreal. He also mentioned Colorado, Ottawa, St. Louis, Boston and Columbus with varying degrees of possibility. He says the Rangers are the team everyone is watching, but wonders if Buffalo would rather trade him elsewhere.
The New York Rangers have fired head coach David Quinn as well as assistants Jacques Martin, David Oliver and Greg Brown.
BREAKING: Rangers have dismissed David Quinn, Post has learned. Assistants other than Benoit Allaire also let go by Drury. Search will begin immediately.
The Rangers will be looking for a new coach at a time with seemingly a lot of capable candidates available, including Gerard Gallant, Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella, Mike Babcock and Claude Julien.
