I think the Pens are fascinating because they have so many options to take. Obviously they go 7/3 protect Crosby/Malkin/Guentzel/Kapanen/Rust and Letang/Dumolin, but everything else is up in the air.
IMO there is no universe where I protect Carter, he is 36 and has one year left before retiring. It doesn't matter what value he would have to an opening lineup if he will only have that value for one season. Any other Pens pick has the potential to be a great member of the Kraken for much longer. Of the guys I'm exposing, I have him as the 6th best choice for the Kraken.
I'd protect McCann and Bleuger. McCann can pinch in as a solid 2nd line center or winger in case of injuries (which we have a lot of), he is a great utility guy and probably has the most value in a vacuum based on age, performance, and cap hit. Bleuger is very underrated as a shutdown center and I think he is more valuable to this team than ZAR because of his position and his ability to also generate some offense while given diddly squat for offensive zone starts.
So you leave Zucker exposed because of his meh performance (not saying bad, just meh) and ZAR. Then you have Tanev exposed who while on a slightly expensive contract is a wrecking ball who can slot in anywhere in a lineup.
On Defense, some people want to protect Friedman but he has barely played in the NHL and isn't some highly touted prospect. I understand it's because both Matheson and Petterson's contracts act like expansion protection but they aren't TOTAL albatrosses. Petterson is bland and not very physical, but he is a quality stay at home 2nd pairing guy. Matheson might have a worse contract, but he brings a great offensive instinct and first pass to a blue line. I'd probably protect Matheson simply because I think he fits what the Pens want to do more than Petterson, as Hexturkle will probably want a beefier #2LD to complement the more offensive guy.
Then with goaltending, I could totally see us protecting CDS over Jarry. Better numbers, better cap hit. I think it's a good play to promote CDS to the #1B spot and give him 41 games next season, and use Jarry's money on a #1A guy. We do not have the assets or the cap to swing for the fences on Gibson or any other true #1. I hope we sign Ullmark.
So if you're the Kraken, and you can choose from ZAR, Tanev, Zucker, Petterson, and Jarry, each one is a fantastic choice. And to me, Carter is a level under all five of those guys since he will only be around for 1 year.
So who will the Kraken want? I can only speculate obviously, but I think either Jarry or ZAR. They could platoon with Allen/Jarry and I bet Jarry would look excellent there. ZAR has some of the best defensive metrics for a forward and only costs like 1 million. So if the Kraken want to weaponize cap space that's one player you pick instead of a better but more expensive guy like Zucker. But this is the fascinating thing with Pittsburgh, there are 5 quality pieces available to the Kraken IMO, and each one is the "right" pick depending on your strategy with the expansion draft.
Zucker - BPA but expensive
Petterson - solid #4 stay at home D but expensive
Tanev - tenacious and versatile forward but slightly overpaid
ZAR - best defensive forward and best for weaponizing cap space.
Jarry - young #1B goalie at a fair price
Carter - will only have one or two years left in the tank but he can play #2C in a pinch and is basically free cap/salary wise.