Vanecek, Twarynski, Bayreuther, Quenneville, MacDermid, ... hard to argue Francis didn't just throw away some picks rather than work out any significant side deals, which doesn't really make any sense if the strategy was to bootstrap as a bottom feeder and focus on building through the draft and developing in-house prospects. If that's the strategy, then picking players that other GMs would be interested in was the correct play.
PS: The "plan" seems muddled. The Kraken signed Grubauer as a foundation piece and Francis says he put together a strong defensive team. But they aren't very sound defensively. They hired a coach who's experience is more in developing young players, and the ED is designed to hand a roster of mid-6 and 2nd pairing D veterans in the prime of their careers to the expansion team. Even if one hits on nearly every draft pick, it can take several years to come together as a team.