Seattle Mock Expansion Draft: Built For Future

[Larry Fisher]

In the second of a three-part series conducting mock expansion drafts for Seattle, this team is built for the future with an under-25 core that could grow together complemented by a handful of expensive veterans to lead the way in the present: Seattle Mock Expansion Draft: Built For Future

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[Soundgarden]

Not a chance that Saros is exposed and an even smaller chance that Seattle doesn't pick him and chooses Turris. That's like choosing Lucic over Carter Hart.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Not a chance that Saros is exposed and an even smaller chance that Seattle doesn't pick him and chooses Turris. That's like choosing Lucic over Carter Hart.

Seattle needed to reach the cap floor while wanting to draft a young team for the future, so Turris and Crawford became attractive $6M vets. Plus no shortage of young cheap goalies with starter potential being exposed. Seattle had other options in goal and liked the chances of Turris bouncing back.

 

[majormajor]

Seattle needed to reach the cap floor while wanting to draft a young team for the future, so Turris and Crawford became attractive $6M vets. Plus no shortage of young cheap goalies with starter potential being exposed. Seattle had other options in goal and liked the chances of Turris bouncing back.

Hi Larry,

Again it would be good if you mentioned in the OP that this is a hypothetical draft for 2019, not 2021. That is going to spur some confusion.

Regarding Turris, I do think Seattle will be willing to take some overpaid players, they'll have the space. But they'll have better options for overpaid players than Turris and Bobby Ryan, especially players that don't have 5 years left like Turris - that length could really hurt in a couple years if they want to become players in FA like Vegas has. Moreover, there are overpaid veterans they can acquire that are actually good players. Perhaps in your example they'll take Turris in exchange for a 1st rounder.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Hi Larry,

Again it would be good if you mentioned in the OP that this is a hypothetical draft for 2019, not 2021. That is going to spur some confusion.

Regarding Turris, I do think Seattle will be willing to take some overpaid players, they'll have the space. But they'll have better options for overpaid players than Turris and Bobby Ryan, especially players that don't have 5 years left like Turris - that length could really hurt in a couple years if they want to become players in FA like Vegas has. Moreover, there are overpaid veterans they can acquire that are actually good players. Perhaps in your example they'll take Turris in exchange for a 1st rounder.

Well, if you read the article, it is clearly stated under “Setting Stage for Mock Series” prior to any selections. I guess some people just scroll straight down to their favourite team without reading the intro, thus the confusion.

True, Seattle may want a sweetener in order to select Turris, but I don’t think he’s fallen off a cliff. He looked really good at the worlds and perhaps just needs a change of scenery. He will only be 34 when this contract expires in five seasons, so I’m fairly confident he will still be a productive player for the duration and that this step back isn’t necessarily a sign of things to come. I think Turris could thrive in Seattle, perhaps as their first captain based on this roster. I would still strongly consider selecting him for this future team, even without a sweetener, but maybe that’s just me!

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I feel like making my official one in 2021 considering the circumstances of the teams and Seattle being a lot more accurate.

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

Without taking into account potential trades and basing it off the protected players, I'd go:

Anaheim: Josh Manson (RHD)
Arizona: Conor Garland (RW)
Boston: Matt Grzelcyk (LHD)
Buffalo: Tage Thompson (C/RW)
Calgary: Rasmus Anderson (RHD)
Carolina: Alex Nedeljkovic (G)
Chicago: Brendan Perlini (LW)
Colorado: Nikita Zadorov (LHD)
Columbus: Sonny Milano (LW)
Dallas: Adam Mascherin (LW)
Detroit: Joe Hicketts (LHD)
Edmonton: Ethan Bear (RHD)
Florida: Jayce Hawryluk (RW)
Los Angeles: Jack Campbell (G)
Minnesota: Jason Zucker (LW)
Montreal: Brett Kulak (LHD)
Nashville: Juuse Saros (G)
New Jersey: Miles Wood (LW)
New York I.: Josh Ho-Sang (RW)
New York R.: Tony DeAngelo (RHD)
Ottawa: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C)
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton (C)
Pittsburgh: Dominik Kahun (LW)
San Jose: Jonathan Dahlen (C)
St Louis: Ivan Barbashev (C)
Tampa: Yanni Gourde (LW)
Toronto: Travis Dermott (LHD)
Vancouver: Kole Lind (LW)
Washington: Lucas Johansen (LHD)
Winnipeg: Adam Lowry (C)

Jason Zucker - Yanni Gourde - Jayce Hawryluk
Brendan Perlini - Ivan Barbashev - Conor Garland
Dominik Kahun - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Josh Ho-Sang
Miles Wood - Adam Lowry - Tage Thompson
*Extras: Scott Laughton + Sonny Milano
*AHL: Kole Lind, Adam Mascherin, Jonathan Dahlen

Travis Dermott - Josh Manson
Nikita Zadorov - Anthony DeAngelo
Brett Kulak - Rasmus Anderson
*Extra: Matt Grzelcyk
*AHL: Joe Hicketts, Ethan Bear, Lucas Johansen

Juuse Saros
Jack Campbell
*AHL: Alex Nedeljkovic

Fun exercise to do. I'm sure there will be a lot of trades to protect more players.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

Interesting topic without much else to talk about in the offseason. For Dallas Faksa would be the right option as a pick, rebuilding or not. He could fetch more in a trade than Honka is worth and if they still wanted to take a chance on Honka the cost would be like a 4th rounder.

 

[HighNote]

Sundqvist would be taken ahead of Barbashev, but Sundqvist would have been protected over Bozak anyways.

Not sure why Sundqvist wasn't even mentioned in the analysis, either. Am I missing something?

 

[Larry Fisher]

I feel like making my official one in 2021 considering the circumstances of the teams and Seattle being a lot more accurate.

You are right, nobody should do any Seattle mocks until the week of the expansion draft in June 2021 following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final.

Believe it or not, some people like to look ahead or to envision what a Seattle team could like in the present if the draft was held today for the upcoming season.

This is simply meant to be a fun exercise to pass the time during the dog days.

 

[Playmaker09]

One thing that's plain to see is how easy it is for the expansion team to pick up top 4 Ds in this system. It wouldn't surprise me to see Seattle walk away with 6 top 4 guys. And so long as 1 of them breaks out a bit, you have the makings of a top 5-10 D core in the league from the get go.

The challenge, and the part where Vegas succeeded, is in finding the forwards with top line upside. Not sure if teams will give up on under the radar players like Marchessault and Smith so easily this time around. And there will most certainly be less teams willing to give up high picks to ensure a specific player gets taken. More teams are going to bite the bullet and deal with filling the hole in free agency or later in the off season.

The William Karlsson's will still be available, but the odds they will flourish when given first line minutes and PP are still low. Vegas just lucked out here.

Regardless, Dmen and goalies take the longest to develop and having those two positions locked down from the start is promising. With a couple of top 5 picks in back to back years they can draft their 1-2 punch down the middle and hopefully splurge on a prolific winger or two in free agency.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Without taking into account potential trades and basing it off the protected players, I'd go:

Anaheim: Josh Manson (RHD)
Arizona: Conor Garland (RW)
Boston: Matt Grzelcyk (LHD)
Buffalo: Tage Thompson (C/RW)
Calgary: Rasmus Anderson (RHD)
Carolina: Alex Nedeljkovic (G)
Chicago: Brendan Perlini (LW)
Colorado: Nikita Zadorov (LHD)
Columbus: Sonny Milano (LW)
Dallas: Adam Mascherin (LW)
Detroit: Joe Hicketts (LHD)
Edmonton: Ethan Bear (RHD)
Florida: Jayce Hawryluk (RW)
Los Angeles: Jack Campbell (G)
Minnesota: Jason Zucker (LW)
Montreal: Brett Kulak (LHD)
Nashville: Juuse Saros (G)
New Jersey: Miles Wood (LW)
New York I.: Josh Ho-Sang (RW)
New York R.: Tony DeAngelo (RHD)
Ottawa: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C)
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton (C)
Pittsburgh: Dominik Kahun (LW)
San Jose: Jonathan Dahlen (C)
St Louis: Ivan Barbashev (C)
Tampa: Yanni Gourde (LW)
Toronto: Travis Dermott (LHD)
Vancouver: Kole Lind (LW)
Washington: Lucas Johansen (LHD)
Winnipeg: Adam Lowry (C)

Jason Zucker - Yanni Gourde - Jayce Hawryluk
Brendan Perlini - Ivan Barbashev - Conor Garland
Dominik Kahun - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Josh Ho-Sang
Miles Wood - Adam Lowry - Tage Thompson
*Extras: Scott Laughton + Sonny Milano
*AHL: Kole Lind, Adam Mascherin, Jonathan Dahlen

Travis Dermott - Josh Manson
Nikita Zadorov - Anthony DeAngelo
Brett Kulak - Rasmus Anderson
*Extra: Matt Grzelcyk
*AHL: Joe Hicketts, Ethan Bear, Lucas Johansen

Juuse Saros
Jack Campbell
*AHL: Alex Nedeljkovic

Fun exercise to do. I'm sure there will be a lot of trades to protect more players.

Nice work, that’s a solid looking team too, though I doubt you made it to the cap floor? That was one of my rules, to stay within the cap floor/ceiling, which added to the challenge.

Glad you enjoyed my efforts, the BPA team publishes tomorrow morning (Thursday). I plan to do a few other Seattle-related articles this summer too.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

Not a chance that Saros is exposed and an even smaller chance that Seattle doesn't pick him and chooses Turris. That's like choosing Lucic over Carter Hart.

I understand where you are going with it and saying, but.....

Let’s pump the brakes on that analogy. That’s a little overboard.

 

[Larry Fisher]

Interesting topic without much else to talk about in the offseason. For Dallas Faksa would be the right option as a pick, rebuilding or not. He could fetch more in a trade than Honka is worth and if they still wanted to take a chance on Honka the cost would be like a 4th rounder.

Good point, stay tuned for the BPA mock tomorrow!

 

[Larry Fisher]

Sundqvist would be taken ahead of Barbashev, but Sundqvist would have been protected over Bozak anyways.

Not sure why Sundqvist wasn't even mentioned in the analysis, either. Am I missing something?

I liked Sundqvist in the playoffs, he exceeded my expectations, but I still don’t know what to make of his upside. I would personally feel more comfortable/confident in picking Barbashev for Seattle as of today. He was another subtle standout in the playoffs and I think his game can continue to trend up. I assume his ceiling will be higher than Sundqvist when they are both in their prime and this particular Seattle team is geared towards the future.

 

[Tical]

No way Ras is exposed, I'd be willing to wager a fair sum on that

 

[Larry Fisher]

One thing that's plain to see is how easy it is for the expansion team to pick up top 4 Ds in this system. It wouldn't surprise me to see Seattle walk away with 6 top 4 guys. And so long as 1 of them breaks out a bit, you have the makings of a top 5-10 D core in the league from the get go.

The challenge, and the part where Vegas succeeded, is in finding the forwards with top line upside. Not sure if teams will give up on under the radar players like Marchessault and Smith so easily this time around. And there will most certainly be less teams willing to give up high picks to ensure a specific player gets taken. More teams are going to bite the bullet and deal with filling the hole in free agency or later in the off season.

The William Karlsson's will still be available, but the odds they will flourish when given first line minutes and PP are still low. Vegas just lucked out here.

Regardless, Dmen and goalies take the longest to develop and having those two positions locked down from the start is promising. With a couple of top 5 picks in back to back years they can draft their 1-2 punch down the middle and hopefully splurge on a prolific winger or two in free agency.

Agreed on all fronts, well stated. The BPA team tomorrow highlights some of what you touched on here. And I will have a few follow-up articles discussing my findings from this exercise.

 

[Larry Fisher]

No way Ras is exposed, I'd be willing to wager a fair sum on that

This was debated at length on Twitter if you’re interested in my thoughts:

Essentially, the Flames are choosing between losing Andersson or Dube if the expansion draft was held today for the upcoming season.

 

[Tical]

This was debated at length on Twitter if you’re interested in my thoughts:

Essentially, the Flames are choosing between losing Andersson or Dube if the expansion draft was held today for the upcoming season.

Neither would be eligible today, however.

*Ok, I read the disclaimer. I can't really comment then, on something that is pure fantasy

 

[Soundgarden]

I understand where you are going with it and saying, but.....

Let’s pump the brakes on that analogy. That’s a little overboard.

No it's not, I'd value Saros' importance to Nashville the same as Philly fans would Hart. Turris has a better chance at bouncing back but his contract is still bad.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

No it's not, I'd value Saros' importance to Nashville the same as Philly fans would Hart. Turris has a better chance at bouncing back but his contract is still bad.

Saros’ is no where near the prospect that Hart is and Turris, sure as hell not, is as bad as Lucic.

 

[hockeykicker]

washington trades a second rounder to seattle for them not to take samsanov or copley? why? if they still have holtby then let seattle have one of copley/samsanov

 

[Larry Fisher]

Neither would be eligible today, however.

*Ok, I read the disclaimer. I can't really comment then, on something that is pure fantasy

This is “pure fantasy” and a fun summer project, but so is attempting a 2021 mock for Seattle considering all the roster turnover and individual player progression/regression over the next two full seasons. Things will be wildly different by then, so that is truly pointless. My project probably paints a more realistic picture because at least the results are relatable in present terms if you apply the 2021 eligibility rules to 2019.

 

[Larry Fisher]

washington trades a second rounder to seattle for them not to take samsanov or copley? why? if they still have holtby then let seattle have one of copley/samsanov

It was to retain both Holtby and Samsonov. That would allow Washington to protect either of those two, knowing whoever is exposed between them is off limits to Seattle. Washington wouldn’t want Samsonov to get selected by Seattle in the expansion draft today, then have Holtby leave in free agency next summer to land the Bobrovsky contract elsewhere if Washington can’t afford to offer him that exact deal.

So at the cost of a second-round pick (originally Colorado’s), the Capitals get to keep both Holtby and Samsonov for 2019-20. Then, if Holtby does sign elsewhere for 2020-21, at least Washington still has Samsonov with another year of experience under his belt to take over the net.

Seattle wouldn’t want Copley, there are much better options available, so he wouldn’t need to be part of that trade equation.

 

[hockeykicker]

It was to retain both Holtby and Samsonov. That would allow Washington to protect either of those two, knowing whoever is exposed between them is off limits to Seattle. Washington wouldn’t want Samsonov to get selected by Seattle in the expansion draft today, then have Holtby leave in free agency next summer to land the Bobrovsky contract elsewhere if Washington can’t afford to offer him that exact deal.

So at the cost of a second-round pick (originally Colorado’s), the Capitals get to keep both Holtby and Samsonov for 2019-20. Then, if Holtby does sign elsewhere for 2020-21, at least Washington still has Samsonov with another year of experience under his belt to take over the net.

Seattle wouldn’t want Copley, there are much better options available, so he wouldn’t need to be part of that trade equation.

But if they protect holtby (that means he is still on team) then let seattle have samsanov. Copley is an average backup

Washington would be happy