Kraken Rumors

Seattle Kraken To Hire Jay Leach As Assistant Coach

July 5, 2021 at 8:06 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol is not wasting any time with filling out his staff. Less than two weeks since he was named the expansion team’s first ever head coach, Hakstol has reportedly decided on who will become Seattle’s first assistant coach. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports that Jay Leach has accepted the assistant position with the Kraken, leaving behind his post as head coach of the AHL’s Providence Bruins.

Although this will be Leach’s first experience at the NHL level, he is far from an outside-the-box hire. Leach, 41, is in fact considered one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the pro game and just recently was a finalist for the Arizona Coyotes’ head coach vacancy. The head coach for Providence for the past four seasons and an assistant with the AHL Bruins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins prior, Leach has learned under the likes of Mike Sullivan, Bruce Cassidy, and Kevin Dean. A former pro defensemen with 70 NHL games played over 12 seasons, Leach also brings that playing experience and a deft knowledge of the defensive aspects of the game to his coaching resume.

In his time leading Providence, Leach has helped to develop current Bruins such as Matt Grzelcyk, Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, Connor Clifton, Trent Frederic, Karson Kuhlman, Jack Studnicka, Jeremy Swayman and more, as well as other NHLers like Jordan Binnington, Anders Bjork, Danton Heinen, Ryan Donato, and Gemel Smith. With the upcoming Expansion Draft likely to yield a number of young, fringe NHLers among those exposed, Seattle could very well end up selecting more than a few players with high potential but room to grow. Having a coach experienced in winning with young players while improving those individuals could prove to be invaluable. Leach’s connection to Lauzon, Zboril, Clifton, and Kuhlman, all of whom are expected to exposed by the Bruins, makes it even more likely that Seattle selects a young player off the Boston roster.

As for the Bruins, this is their second major coaching loss in less than a week. Assistant coach Jay Pandolfo was announced as the new Associate Head Coach at Boston University on Friday and now Leach is gone just a few days later. Leach had been an ideal candidate to replace Pandolfo on Boston’s bench alongside mentors Cassidy and Dean, but the organization will have to look elsewhere. Even though former players-turned-staffers Trent Whitfield, Chris Kelly, and P.J. Axelsson are also internal candidates for one job or the other, the Bruins now seem very likely to go outside of the organization to address at least one of their two key vacancies.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

July 3, 2021 at 6:01 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 9 Comments

Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Predators Hoping To Make An Expansion Trade With Seattle

July 3, 2021 at 11:51 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 12 Comments

After a lot of side deals that were made with Vegas didn’t exactly work out for the other team, some have wondered if there will be less of those this time around. Some general managers have suggested their intentions is just to lose who they lose and be done but that isn’t the case for Nashville. In an appearance on ESPN 102.5 The Game (audio link) following the Viktor Arvidsson trade on Thursday, GM David Poile indicated his preference would be to get a side deal in place:

Ideally, if we could strike a deal to determine a certain player who we would lose, I’d like to do that.

They effectively had an opportunity to make an arrangement with the Kraken with Arvidsson who Poile acknowledged would have been left unprotected and selected by Seattle had it not been for the trade with Los Angeles. In the end, his preference was to get some assets in return for the veteran and they did just that by picking up second and third-round draft picks.

Nashville is in a situation where they will almost certainly want to protect four defensemen, limiting them to just being able to protect four forwards. With that in mind, they’re likely to leave high-priced veterans in Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. Making a move to clear one of those contracts off the books would certainly help free up some extra flexibility but with both signed long-term at $8MM apiece, a trade like that isn’t the most realistic.

Arvidsson’s departure now allows them to protect someone like Calle Jarnkrok which would then push Nick Cousins and Rocco Grimaldi to the forefront of likely exposed forwards with veterans Matt Benning and Mark Borowiecki the notable blueliners that would be available. On the surface, a side deal doesn’t appear to be needed as none of those are core players but evidently, Poile would like to have some more certainty surrounding who he’s going to lose. With the expansion draft being less than three weeks away, time is quickly ticking for him to make a deal to get that certainty in place.

Seattle Kraken Ownership Give Ron Francis Green Light To Spend To Cap

July 2, 2021 at 5:34 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 15 Comments

In a Q&A post with The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark today, Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said today that he’s encouraged general manager Ron Francis to spend to the salary cap, if possible, in order to build a contending roster out of the gate.

The statement from Leiweke comes amidst one of the most hectic and compact offseasons in recent history, especially considering the lack of a salary cap increase. The fact that Seattle will be able to take advantage of the full $81.5MM available to them already gives them a competitive advantage on a handful of teams for a variety of reasons. The majority of NHL teams are still dealing with either buyouts, overage penalties, or retained salary transactions that will lower their spending ceiling next season. For some teams, spending to the cap is currently impossible as they continue to suffer from COVID-related financial losses.

It also allows Seattle to add some assets to the franchise’s cupboards in exchange for helping other teams out of their cap trouble. They’ll likely be a trade partner for the cap-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning, who currently need to clear over $5MM in cap in order to be compliant in 2021-22. A name like Yanni Gourde or Tyler Johnson could easily find themselves playing in the Pacific Northwest next season. And with some top-end free agents still remaining, the full amount of usable cap space may better enable Seattle to make a run at some big names like Dougie Hamilton or David Krejci, if they so choose.

While it’s impossible to expect a 109-point run of terror in their first season, things are shaping up to make at least a playoff berth a realistic option for the Kraken in Year One. With the Pacific Division shaping up as a weak matchup, combined with their salary cap advantages, Seattle should be a great draw out of the gate.

Finding A Match For A Duncan Keith Trade

July 1, 2021 at 4:29 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Yesterday, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that the Blackhawks are working with defenseman Duncan Keith on a trade that would send him to either the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada. The move is speculated to be for family reasons which would explain the specific geographical region where he’d waive his no-move clause to go to. With that in mind, let’s look at the potential fit for each of those teams to take on the final two years of his deal ($5.538MM both years but just $3.6MM in total salary combined).

Vancouver – With Alex Edler set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month, there is a potential spot for Keith to step into if Edler doesn’t re-sign while it would shift Nate Schmidt back to his off-side. Although the Canucks don’t have the cap space to absorb Keith’s contract outright, they have some expiring contracts (Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel) that could be used as offsets to make the money work this year. He’d also be a mentor for top youngster Quinn Hughes.

However, bringing in Keith would also put another roadblock in place for two of their young left-shot blueliners in Olli Juolevi and Jack Rathbone. Juolevi was able to carve out a limited role last season but more is expected from the fifth overall pick in 2016. As for Rathbone, he didn’t look out of place in a late-season stint and could be in the mix for a full-time spot in training camp. Developing some cost-controlled assets will help offset the big money owed to Hughes and Elias Pettersson this summer and Brock Boeser next summer.

It’s potentially for those reasons that they don’t appear to be interested in acquiring Keith at the moment. There are ways to make the money work for 2021-22 but 2022-23 could be a lot trickier and if they want to let Juolevi and Rathbone see some more NHL action, adding Keith would make that more difficult.

Edmonton – The early indications are that Oscar Klefbom ($4.167MM) may not be ready to return at the start of next season so he could be heading for LTIR once again. Last fall, they used that money on Tyson Barrie but they could have to go in a different direction if Barrie prices himself out of what the Oilers can afford. Theoretically, Keith could fill that same role next year although if Klefbom can return later in the year, that would complicate things.

Behind Darnell Nurse, there are few proven options on the left side of Edmonton’s back end. Caleb Jones and William Lagesson have both had their ups and downs to this point in their young careers while Kris Russell is a third-pairing role player at best. Dmitry Kulikov and Slater Koekkoek will both become unrestricted free agents later this month as well. They have high hopes for Philip Broberg, the eighth pick back in 2019, but he probably isn’t ready to step into a top-four role either. Keith could presumably serve as the bridge player for Broberg.

Edmonton also has some pricey contracts that could be moved to offset money. Winger James Neal has two years left at $5.75MM, nearly the same as Keith while goaltender Mikko Koskinen has one year at $4.5MM remaining. Both are buyout candidates as a result and could be included to balance the cap. With the state of their back end, a veteran that can play on the left side of the second pairing could be a useful pickup and Keith could conceivably fill that role.

Calgary – At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be a great fit. The Flames have their top four defenders signed for next year at a cost of $20.75MM. While Keith on the third pairing would certainly improve their depth, paying more than $5MM for the privilege is something they can’t realistically afford.

However, expansion is looming and Calgary appears to be a team that will need to protect seven forwards which means one of their top four blueliners – likely Mark Giordano – will be left exposed to Seattle. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Kraken take on the final year of Giordano’s contract which would create an opening in the top four and $6.75MM in cap space. That could be an opening for Keith but otherwise, the Flames shouldn’t be the landing spot.

Seattle – For the Kraken to pick him in expansion, Keith would first have to waive his no-move clause. Considering his apparent desire to be in the Pacific Northwest, that shouldn’t be an issue. What will be trickier is finding the fit for a trade. Does Seattle want to take on that contract outright or are they going to want some sort of sweetener or salary offset? The latter can’t really happen until after the expansion draft when they’ll have players to trade which would take picking him off the table.

Those small logistics aside, Keith would certainly be an intriguing fit for an expansion team. There’s a chance he’d wind up in a bigger role than he should have (he turns 38 later this month) but he’s also someone that would potentially be their inaugural captain and help shepherd their roster through what will certainly be an interesting first couple of years. If they take a defenseman with their second-overall pick this month and put him on the NHL roster, Keith would work as a good mentor as well. Generally, players that old don’t make sense for a new team but there’s a fit here.

With such a narrow window of teams to work with (Winnipeg is too far East to qualify as part of Western Canada), Chicago and Keith’s camp will have their work cut out for them. Of the four, Edmonton may be the best fit before expansion while Calgary could become an option after that depending on what happens. And with their clean cap situation, Seattle could be in the mix at any time as well. There are options but likely not enough for the Blackhawks to bring in any sort of sizable return for the 16-year veteran.

Seattle Kraken Announce AHL Partnership For 2021-22

June 28, 2021 at 11:56 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 7 Comments

The Seattle Kraken will have an AHL team all to their own, but it won’t happen until 2022-23. That’s when the Palm Springs AHL franchise is set to start play, meaning the Kraken needed to find a partnership for the upcoming season. That agreement has now been announced with the Charlotte Checkers, the primary affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The Checkers will serve as the development stop for both Kraken and Panthers prospects next season.

Rick Olczyk, the Kraken assistant general manager, explained that his team will supply between eight and 12 players to the Checkers, including one goaltender. Those players will come from the initial expansion draft as well as free agent or trade acquisitions. Most of the players selected in the upcoming entry draft will not be eligible for AHL action, provided their respective leagues get underway as planned.

This was an obvious connection, given Kraken GM Ron Francis’ history with the Checkers during his time with the Carolina Hurricanes. For years, the Checkers were the AHL affiliate for Carolina, and Charlotte CEO Michael Kahn expressed his excitement about this new agreement:

We are excited to work with Ron Francis again as we help develop the inaugural group of Seattle Kraken prospects. We feel the partnership between ourselves, the Kraken and our primary affiliate, the Florida Panthers, will give the Checkers a strong pool of players for the upcoming season.

This is the same setup that the Vegas Golden Knights went through in their first year, before buying and relocating an AHL franchise to Henderson. Expansion teams do not have long enough depth charts to really fill out an AHL roster in the first year, meaning a development partnership like this is more than enough. Obviously, once Palm Springs is up and running it will be more beneficial to have their prospects and depth options closer to Seattle, but for now, those names will be playing on the other side of the country in Charlotte.

Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars

June 25, 2021 at 7:35 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

With head coaches flying off the market and one of the top available names being the guy they just let go, the Arizona Coyotes’ hunt for a head coach is in an interesting spot. From the get-go, the word was that the ’Yotes and GM Bill Armstrong could be looking for a fresh voice, perhaps even a first-time NHL coach, so they may be unfazed by the recent run on big names. Yet, insider Craig Morgan reports that one of their top candidates is in fact a seasoned veteran. Morgan writes that Dallas Stars assistant Todd Nelson is scheduled to have his third interview for the vacancy, by all accounts the most of any candidate. Nelson has been in the NHL (or AHL) since 2006, including a brief stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He has found great success in the minors, winning two Calder Cups, and never really got a fair shake as the bench boss in Edmonton, so in a way he would be somewhat of a first-time NHL head coach. He has picked up experience in Dallas over the past three years under Jim Montgomery and Rick Bowness and could be ready for another shot at the top job.

Morgan considers Nelson’s greatest competition to be Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and most recently an assistant for Canada’s gold medal World Championship entry. Tourigny briefly coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators over three years, but has mostly coached at the major junior level and has been the bench boss of Canada’s World Junior team the past two years. Tourigny has found immense success working with young players; he has been named OHL Coach of the Year (twice), QMJHL Coach of the Year, and the overall CHL Coach of the Year, not to mention medals at four World Juniors. Can he translate that ability to the pros and lead a Coyotes team that needs to take a step forward rather than continuing to tread water? That is the question that Armstrong must answer. According to Morgan, he has already decided that St. Louis Blues assistant Mike Van Ryn and AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach are not the men for the job.

The Chicago Blackhawks just gained some Expansion Draft flexibility. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Alexander Nylander has been declared exempt from the impending selection process. In order to be eligible for the draft, a player must have three pro service years. Nylander, who has been playing professionally in North America for five seasons, may seem like an impossibility to avoid that label, but somehow he does. Despite playing in 116 AHL games between 2016-17 and 2017-18, he played in only seven combined NHL games and his rookie contract underwent the entry-level slide each season, meaning service time did not accrue. He then played countable NHL season in each of the past two years. However, this season – in what was meant to be his third year of service – Nylander missed the entire campaign due to injury. This means that, again, his service time will not clock. After five years in and out of the NHL, Nylander will be considered a second-year pro and untouchable for the Seattle Kraken. As Powers notes, Nylander was expected to be protected by the Blackhawks next month. Now off the board, it will allow the team to protected another forward that they may not have expected. He suggests deadline addition Adam Gaudette or reliable fourth-liner David Kampf could be the pick, while young, high-upside assets Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom should now be locks.
The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has succeeded in keeping a pair of drafted prospects away from their NHL teams for a while longer. The team announced that they have re-signed Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov and Anaheim’s Artyom Galimov to multi-year extensions. At their age, this is not an NHL career death sentence for either player, but it is likely disheartening to their teams who would like to get them on North American ice as soon as possible. 20-year-old Voronkov, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, has signed a two-year deal with Ak Bars after setting career highs across the board in the KHL this season. The impressive youngster has already played two full seasons in the KHL and has been dominant for Russia on the World Junior stage as well. Voronkov’s name carries weight as a prospect and the Jackets undoubtedly hope that he will follow WJC teammate Yegor Chinakhov to Columbus as soon as his new contract expires. There is a bit more cause for pause when it comes to Galimov. The 21-year-old was an overage pick by the Ducks just last year and despite his age has signed a three-year extension with Ak Bars. Galimov is a grassroots product of Kazan and has loyalty to the club, as they do to him after two successful seasons to begin his KHL career. Galimov has actually outpaced Voronkov to this point, showing that he too is a serious NHL prospect. However, Galimov will be 25 years old before he could ever step onto Anaheim ice and will have that much more attachment to Ak Bars. His ability should keep him interested in the NHL and the Ducks in him, but it is not a guarantee.

Expansion Primer: Nashville Predators

June 24, 2021 at 8:52 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

The last time around, the Nashville Predators protected eight skaters in the Expansion Draft: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban,and Pekka Rinne. Look familiar? With seven of those eight players still on the team and at least five of them again locks for protection, the Predators are likely to take the same approach with Seattle as they did with Vegas.

Four years ago, the result was losing a high-priced veteran in James Neal. However, Neal was coming off consecutive strong seasons in Nashville and the Golden Knights did not hesitate to select the scoring forward. If the Predators want the Kraken to also take a pricey player, they may have to help it along. There are other more attractive and much more affordable options on the roster this time.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Viktor Arvidsson, Nick Cousins, Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, Rocco Grimaldi, Calle Jarnkrok, Tanner Jeannot, Ryan Johansen, Luke Kunin, Michael McCarron, Rem Pitlick, Anthony Richard, Colton Sissons, Yakov Trenin

Defense:
Frederic Allard, Matt Benning, Mark Borowiecki, Alexandre Carrier, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Dante Fabbro, Ben Harpur, Josh Healey, Roman Josi

Goalies:
Connor Ingram, Juuse Saros

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Mikael Granlund, D Erik Gudbranson, F Erik Haula, F Brad Richardson

Notable Exemptions

F Egor Afansyev, G Yaroslav Askarov, D Jeremy Davies, D David Farrance, F Patrick Harper, F Thomas Novak, F Mathieu Olivier, F Eeli Tolvanen, F Phil Tomasino

Key Decisions

The Predators have no shortage of difficult decisions to make, but it beats the position they were in earlier this season. Off to a horrific start to the 2020-21 season and looking ahead to the Expansion Draft, Nashville had almost everyone on the trade block so that they could protect what few core players and young assets they valued in expansion. Chief among them was Ekholm, whose contract expires at the end of next season. Rather than protect four defensemen – Ekholm, fellow top defenders Josi and Ellis, and young standout Fabbro – and expose a number of forwards, the team was entertaining trading Ekholm so that they could use a 7-3 protection scheme. However, as their season turned around and Ekholm trade talks grew quiet, that possibility slipped away. Whether they plan to re-sign Ekholm or not, the Predators are not giving away any of those four defensemen for free, locking them in to the eight-skater scheme once again.

With their defensive protections locked in, as well as in goal with new starter Saros taking over for free agent and potential retiree Rinne, all of the questions for Nashville are at forward – and there are plenty. The two sure things are Forsberg and Arvidsson. Forsberg is the undisputed best forward on the team and Arvidsson, despite a down year, still has too much value to give up for free and has a team-friendly contract. Beyond that pair, GM David Poile could go in any number of directions with his final two spots. The safe guess for at least one spot though is young winger Kunin. Acquired just last summer, Kunin is young and full of potential. A potential long-term top-six forward in Nashville, Kunin is unlikely to be exposed unless the Predators see something in him that causes them doubt in his upside.

So it could be down to just one forward slot, with at least five names in contention – the downside of the eight-skater protection scheme. The big names are Johansen and Duchene, the Predators’ $8MM centers. The problem is that names is all they are right now; neither has produced up to the expectations of their pedigree in several years. Nashville seems likely to expose both in hopes that Seattle likes one of them enough to take a massive amount of cap off their payroll, which they could better use elsewhere. If one of them was to be protected, it would likely be Johansen who has more history with the team and plays a more complete game, even when he isn’t producing.

With Johansen and Duchene likely crossed off the list, that leaves long-time middle-six forwards Grimaldi, Jarnkrok, and Sissons. Jarnkrok may seem like the obvious choice; he finished second among Nashville forwards in scoring this season while Sissons and Grimaldi were tenth and eleventh, respectively. Jarnkrok also led all forwards in plus/minus and was a key cog in the power play. Jarnkrok was also protected four years ago and is still on the same bargain, $2MM AAV contract he was then. Contracts could be the key here, though. Poile has had an extraordinary ability in his career to sign players to affordable, long-term contracts, such as Jarnkrok. However, Jarnkrok is entering the final season of his long-term deal, while Sissons still has four seasons left at $2.86MM per year. Nashville’s top penalty killing forward and top face-off man is also quietly a good complementary scorer as well, scoring at close to a 30-point 82-game pace over the past four seasons. If Sissons is exposed, the Kraken have plenty of reasons to select him. Would Poile risk letting another team, a Western Conference rival at that, benefit from his negotiating handiwork or will he instead protect Sissons and his affordable contract?

If Nashville was protecting seven forwards, a strong case could be made for 24-year-old Pitlick. One lone NHL game after leaving college in 2019 is the only reason Pitlick is eligible for the Expansion Draft and the team hopes it doesn’t come back to bite them. A star at the University of Minnesota who has been stellar in the AHL through two pro seasons and earned some NHL games this season, Pitlick looks like a future top-nine forward, but the Predators don’t have the luxury of protecting potential with only four forward slots.

Projected Protection List

F Viktor Arvidsson
F Filip Forsberg
F Luke Kunin
F Colton Sissons

D Mattias Ekholm
D Ryan Ellis
D Dante Fabbro
D Roman Josi

G Juuse Saros

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

Forwards (6): Nick Cousins, Matt Duchene, Rocco Grimaldi, Ryan Johansen, Calle Jarnkrok, Yakov Trenin

Defensemen (2): Matt Benning, Mark Borowiecki

When the Predators signed Benning and Borowiecki to two-year deals last summer, it was with expansion in mind. They knew the pair were serviceable blue liners who could meet exposure requirements with bottom-pair time but also were not flashy enough for Seattle to select. In fact, if the Kraken do take a defenseman it is likely to be Carrier or Allard instead. In net, Ingram is a solid prospect who had a tremendous 2019-20 season, but his poor performance this year and his lack of waiver exemption likely makes him a non-option for Seattle.

Again, the value for the Kraken in likely to come at forward with so many names exposed. Jarnkrok, if exposed, would be affordable top-six scoring right off the bat for the new team. However, the expiring contracts for he, Grimaldi, and Cousins hurt all of their stocks. Pitlick or Trenin would be interesting project picks for Seattle, younger players who have shown flashes of great ability.

However, all eyes will be on Johansen and Duchene – and Kraken GM Ron Francis knows it. Even if he likes one of the two prime centers and even acknowledging that Seattle needs to hit $48.9MM and an $8MM salary would help, Francis also knows that the Predators have plenty of incentive to see either leave. Seattle could ask for an additional player, prospect, or pick in order to take Johansen or Duchene and Nashville will almost certainly comply. Johansen, a Vancouver native who played his junior hockey in Portland, is familiar with the area and could be an immediate fan favorite, the team’s top line center, and a captain candidate, especially if he can return to form. If he also came with another attractive asset or two, it would be a popular move by the team.

Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

June 24, 2021 at 6:26 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

Seattle Kraken Hire Dave Hakstol As First Head Coach

June 24, 2021 at 10:13 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 15 Comments

The Seattle Kraken went through an exhaustive process searching for their first head coach and have finally reached a decision. GM Ron Francis has announced that Dave Hakstol will be the organization’s first bench boss. In a statement, Francis explained his decision:

It is certainly is a job that interested a lot of candidates. There is a lot to like about the job with our ownership group setting the franchise for success. Dave is a hard-working guy. I liked his confidence during the interview process.

Dave has a strong understanding of the technical aspect of the game-how he wants his team to play in all three zones [on the ice]. He’s up for the challenge.

In Seattle, Hakstol is getting a second crack at a head coaching job after his first stint with the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t go all that well. He reached the playoffs in two of the three years that he completed, but was knocked out of the first round both times. Overall, he recorded a 134-101-42 record in parts of four seasons, while winning just four of 12 postseason contests.

For the past two seasons, he has been serving as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hakstol was responsible for the defense corps under both Mike Babcock and Sheldon Keefe, but will now take another step up to the head coaching position. Of course, his experience in that role isn’t limited to the seasons in Philadelphia. For a decade before coming to the NHL, Hakstol served as head coach of the University of North Dakota hockey program, leading powerhouse teams year after year. Before he joined the collegiate ranks he was the head coach of the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, another prestigious program at the amateur level.

He and Francis also have a history together from the 2019 IIHF World Championship, when Hakstol served as an assistant coach. Jason Botterill, who has joined Francis’ management team in Seattle was also part of that the leadership of that iteration of Team Canada. They’ll now get together for the new challenge of trying to take an expansion team to competitive status in short order. The Kraken have just one player–21-year-old Luke Henman–under contract.

This hiring leaves just two vacancies left in the NHL, those in Arizona and Buffalo. Rick Tocchet, who has seemingly received multiple interviews all over the league, has been passed over in Seattle, New York, and Columbus. Other names that were interviewed by Seattle include David Quinn, Rocky Thompson, Joe Sacco, Kevin Dineen, and Tony Granato, but it is Hakstol that has won the job.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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