News: Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Thread [Part III]

[caufieldbeerman]

If I am a Seattle fan I'm upset by this roster. What a bad job by Ron Francis.

 

[Irie]

Johnasen is usable for the next 4 seasons if you could have gotten them to retain some while getting assets back.

Agreed, Johansen has value, especially to Nashville. *if* they could get out of his contract without taking any cap back, I think they would move on, thus him not being protected. But if they are retaining, it just doesn't make sense for them.

Even at 1 million retention for 4 years, Nashville would probably rather just hold on to him.

 

[SEALBound]

In hindsight, sure. But I challenge you to go back and look at the general consensus on the quality of Vegas' roster post draft. Most people were thrashing them just as hard if not harder than they are thrashing the Seattle roster today.

And... Seattle isn't even done yet. $28M is plenty of room to fill in the remaining perceived gaps.

I'm not saying they'll make the finals like Vegas did. But I'm pretty confident they'll make the playoffs.

Yeah, I get that but I'm not sure it changes my overall viewpoint.

Back then: Wow, Vegas sucks.
Now: Wow, Seattle sucks.

I still wager the bet that Seattle DOES NOT do what Vegas did. I think looking at the roster Vegas had then and what Seattle has now, it would have been MUCH MORE believable that Vegas goes on a terror.

Mind you, this is all before free agency.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Yeah, I get that but I'm not sure it changes my overall viewpoint.

Back then: Wow, Vegas sucks.
Now: Wow, Seattle sucks.

I still wager the bet that Seattle DOES NOT do what Vegas did. I think looking at the roster Vegas had then and what Seattle has now, it would have been MUCH MORE believable that Vegas goes on a terror.

Mind you, this is all before free agency.

Vegas looked way better than this roster.

 

[caufieldbeerman]

Still can't believe they passed on both Tarasenko and Carey Price.

One is a pure elite sniper
Other one is 2nd best goalie in the world


Yes Carey Price's contract is bad but he still have 2-3 good years mininum in him and you are seattle you just bought a freakin team for 650 millions usd lol


Ron francis for worst gm of the year

 

[LokiDog]

The Seattle Kap'en

 

[JoemAvs]

Still can't believe they passed on both Tarasenko and Carey Price.

One is a pure elite sniper
Other one is 2nd best goalie in the world


Yes Carey Price's contract is bad but he still have 2-3 good years mininum in him and you are seattle you just bought a freakin team for 650 millions usd lol


Ron francis for worst gm of the year

Thats actually the only smart thing Francis has done.
The problem is that he is just not a good trading GM and way too conservative.
Teams have smartened up since Vegas and he thought he could ask for even more from them. And it turned out horribly. Really no excuse that he wasn't the one getting the 2nd from the Flyers or that he didn't atleast get picks from other teams or make any trades using the expansion draft as leverage and salary capspace as his currency.

He basically has to nail the start of UFA or the Kraken are off to a very bad start. There will be opportunities out there considering that there are still plenty of teams in captrouble that want to fill their roster in UFA and need help to create the necessary space. But if he doesn't make a killing over the next few weeks in trading, he will have failed miserably. And given his history I am not very optimistic.

 

[Bubbles]

Apparently "several" means one, nowadays

 

[FeatherHead]

At this point, what UFA would be chomping at the bit to suit up next to this group of ragamuffins? About the only thing Seattle can hope for is that many teams don’t have the cap space to sign anyone significant, and that with their own cap space, they can offer more than others. Maybe they plan on building through the draft for a few years and are waiting for the flat cap to go away and then open up the purse and go large. They can also take on players the way the Yotes did with Ghost. Take a bad salary along with picks in exchange for future considerations.

 

[jmco]

Apparently "several" means one, nowadays

Lol. Minnesota wild style hockey coming up.
Watch the fans just race to watch Eberle score a goal every 4 games the kraken to lose 3-1 each night.

 

[GM Armchair]

Apparently "several" means one, nowadays

Ya this tweet aged like milk

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I mean, as far as mock drafts go, or even side deals reporting, I think Seattle did a much worse job than the media.

I'm still waiting to see what they can do with $30M in cap space, but if reports are true, their price is too high and teams are just finding other buyers (see Ghost). Cap space is a valuable asset, but I think Seattle overvalued it. They're the only ones with $30M free, but multiple teams around the league have $5-$10M, or even more, free that can take a bad contract or two. As long as the player fits a team, they'll be happy to take them on.

Meanwhile, I fear Seattle will either
a) Be desperate come UFA time and sign players similar to those available in the ED, for much worst contracts
or
b) Tank.

But there is a difference between predicting and reporting, between a reporter saying this is what I THINK is going to happen and them saying this is what we're hearing Seattle will do.

A lot of reporters positioned themselves like they knew what was happening. They clearly didn't. When they whiffed on the picks they said "well side deals announced tomorrow" because they, of course couldn't be wrong! There has to be other factors.. Looking at you Gord Miller, to name one.

Fact is the media, who are paid to find out this info, had ZERO clue what Seattle was up to. Even if you think Seattle is a bunch of morons, the media's job wasn't to build the best team it was to figure our Seattle's team. And they whiffed in a gargantuan way.

 

[abo9]

But there is a difference between predicting and reporting, between a reporter saying this is what I THINK is going to happen and them saying this is what we're hearing Seattle will do.

A lot of reporters positioned themselves like they knew what was happening. They clearly didn't. When they whiffed on the picks they said "well side deals announced tomorrow" because they, of course couldn't be wrong! There has to be other factors.. Looking at you Gord Miller, to name one.

Fact is the media, who are paid to find out this info, had ZERO clue what Seattle was up to. Even if you think Seattle is a bunch of morons, the media's job wasn't to build the best team it was to figure our Seattle's team. And they whiffed in a gargantuan way.

Yeah good distinction between predicting and reporting.

My guess is it was pretty tight lipped on Seattle's side and the media had to report something, anything, so they just used their best judgement to do it. Probably speculated on what other GM's said too (like had they contacted Seattle or not?)

Then with all those weird picks there HAD to be side deals right? Alas they whiffed that too because it was wayy too left field that there was none

I imagine that this type of things happen more often than not. And that most rrports are just educated guess

 

[VivaLasVegas]

In hindsight, sure. But I challenge you to go back and look at the general consensus on the quality of Vegas' roster post draft. Most people were thrashing them just as hard if not harder than they are thrashing the Seattle roster today.

And... Seattle isn't even done yet. $28M is plenty of room to fill in the remaining perceived gaps.

I'm not saying they'll make the finals like Vegas did. But I'm pretty confident they'll make the playoffs.

Exactly and exactly. Seattle will do better than half the teams out there whose fans are laughing at them, now.

 

[mj2sexay]

You can't even compare Vegas's performance with Seattle, and the people thrashing Vegas without realizing what they had were idiots.

Their draft stunk and Francis did a horrible job managing his opportunity.

 

[BatVader]

Technically….anytime between 21/07/21 1:00:01 and Infinity is after 1pm, so…..

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Yeah good distinction between predicting and reporting.

My guess is it was pretty tight lipped on Seattle's side and the media had to report something, anything, so they just used their best judgement to do it. Probably speculated on what other GM's said too (like had they contacted Seattle or not?)

Then with all those weird picks there HAD to be side deals right? Alas they whiffed that too because it was wayy too left field that there was none

I imagine that this type of things happen more often than not. And that most rrports are just educated guess

There's a saying about fighting wars ... you're always fighting the last one.

I think that applies at least a little bit here. Everyone expected it to be like the last expansion draft. Definitely wasn't.

That explains the guesses. Logical.

I'm just shocked that other than one notable exception no one had a reliable source here. Even at the local team level a lot of reporters clearly had no accurate info. Even in their own worlds.

Not mad. Just really interesting to me.

 

[jfhabs]

What goalie tandems do you like better than Seattle for the next 5 years going forward? I can't think of a tandem I like much better.

The bottom 6 of their forwards is top tier, they just need top end guys.

Really? Pretty much every team with a legit number 1 goalie...
Just need op end guys the easiest to get are the top end guys, everybody know that hahah. Oh wait

 

[jfhabs]

They have $28M in cap space.

Spoiler

Still a lot of changes left to happen

They'll have to make trades... some players might go for the money, but players who want to win won't sign with that roster. We'll see, still very disapointing draft with many head scratchers

 

[ItWasJustified]

Apparently "several" means one, nowadays

 

[Maurice of Orange]

Would have thought Ron Francis would have come out of this expansion draft with at least a few draft picks but Seattle only made one trade for a 4th rounder, not a very good start for a franchise that just paid $650 million to have to privilege of being in the NHL.

Francis just was the wrong man for the job, not aggressive enough.

 

[Iwishihadaspacebar]

I get a feeling there will be a move or two today.

There are some teams that could do with adding players rather than taking prospects in the draft. Edmonton need D and there are several there that Seattle need to shift. If the Kraken are looking at their left side being Giordano/Oleksiak plus one other, then at least two of Soucy, Dunn, Lauzon are on the table, if not all three if they want Fleury on the left also.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Yeah I just think maybe you take him instead of Bastien. Now you can grab Andreas Johnnson for the LW side to add some speed and scoring ability over there and a natural LW instead of a bunch of guys who are righties playing their offside.

Have you guys stopped watching since 2019? Fischer is garbage and is paid over 1.1M in actual cash. He would clear waivers but you don't want to pay someone 1.1M to be in the AHL. Pitlick was the better player, they just had better RW so didn't need him he got them a pick, Fischer wouldn't. Johnsson has a 3.4M cap hit, nobody wants that. If Jersey offered them a pick or picks to take him then I could see the interest. He's massively overpaid and barely a bottom 6 player. Bastian has way more upside and adds a physical presence which it seems they're going for in the bottom 6. He did good on those two picks. Hell avoiding Domi and his shoulder was another good decision.

 

[Gaud]

Still can't believe they passed on both Tarasenko and Carey Price.

One is a pure elite sniper
Other one is 2nd best goalie in the world


Yes Carey Price's contract is bad but he still have 2-3 good years mininum in him and you are seattle you just bought a freakin team for 650 millions usd lol


Ron francis for worst gm of the year

Yeah i couldnt believe it either. I mean.. you take Price even if only for the marketing aspect of things! Just like MAF. Or else, you keep 3-4 M of his salary; a Price at 6-7 M has way more value than Cale Fleury plus 4 M dollars.

On the other hand, i don't think it is as bad as people seem to think. I actually like the D core. I don't know what to expect from the goalies, but they definitely have potential. The forward lines look to me like one 2nd line and 3 3rd lines, but made of players with grit and character that aren't periphery players. From the composition of it, it reminds me of "Moneyball"; did they fill positions based almost solely on stats rather than names? It is an interesting "base" team and team philosophy, but I assume that the remaining cap space will go to getting that offensive punch.

Where I think Seattle did worse is actually at acquiring picks; the GMs weren't giving picks this time around to protect their players (like the reported MB incident where he refused to pay a 1st and a 3rd), and Francis lost many opportunities to take players of value and flip them for a profit. having said that, i think that they have a lot of D that they can flip for just that purpose.

I think this team looks a lot different with a Landeskog in it, not to mention other UFA or trade players they may get. They do have 28M left on the cap.

 

[supsens]

Yeah i couldnt believe it either. I mean.. you take Price even if only for the marketing aspect of things! Just like MAF. Or else, you keep 3-4 M of his salary; a Price at 6-7 M has way more value than Cale Fleury plus 4 M dollars.

On the other hand, i don't think it is as bad as people seem to think. I actually like the D core. I don't know what to expect from the goalies, but they definitely have potential. The forward lines look to me like one 2nd line and 3 3rd lines, but made of players with grit and character that aren't periphery players. From the composition of it, it reminds me of "Moneyball"; did they fill positions based almost solely on stats rather than names? It is an interesting "base" team and team philosophy, but I assume that the remaining cap space will go to getting that offensive punch.

Where I think Seattle did worse is actually at acquiring picks; the GMs weren't giving picks this time around to protect their players (like the reported MB incident where he refused to pay a 1st and a 3rd), and Francis lost many opportunities to take players of value and flip them for a profit. having said that, i think that they have a lot of D that they can flip for just that purpose.

I think this team looks a lot different with a Landeskog in it, not to mention other UFA or trade players they may get. They do have 28M left on the cap.

Vegas is not going to help the Habs and help the team they trade price to and spend millions on other teams players. They are also not taking players the entire NHL has already refused to trade for.
Vegas was a fluke Seattle will not be a contender