News: Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Thread

[LokiDog]

Let Francis stand pat and not take back any crap contracts. Use the cap space on UFAs like Landeskog, Danault, Larsson... obviously I wouldn't expect him to land more than 1-2 solid UFAs (nor do I expect Landeskog to actually walk), but by having no bad contracts and just barely touching the cap floor after the draft you could do some serious shopping with that much cap space in the current climate:

Landeskog - Danault - X
Wennberg - X - X
X - Haula - X
Goodrow - Cizikas - X
X - Larsson
Murray - X
X - X
X
X

Draft guys like Vanacek, Appleton, Bean, Debrusk/Lauzon, Dickinson, Giordano... not a bad way to fill out.

 

[Daximus]

Boston is prettymuch boned. If Kase weren't hurt I'd say they should move him plus Moore & a bunch of sweeteners.

They might have to bite the bullet & lose Debrusk or Lauzon.

I don't think that's a major loss. Lauzon is probably their pick but at 24 he's bottom pairing guy at best right now.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

No I'm not saying no one wants to deal with him but he just priced himself out of 3 solid defencemen. His picks went from Dumba, Graves and Forsling to what Soucy or Rask? Nichushkin or Compher? Hornqvist?

His picks were never going to be Dumba and Graves if the teams in question were interested in protecting those players than letting Seattle have them. And that is exactly what happened.

 

[Daximus]

His picks were never going to be Dumba and Graves if the teams in question were interested in protecting those players than letting Seattle have them. And that is exactly what happened.

Exactly teams are more willing to shoot themselves in the foot long term than negotiate with him. Instead of getting something out of those teams he gets their scraps which aren't going to fetch much more than mid round picks on the open market.

I guess if your plan is to screw with other teams cap situations than congrats? You still have to build your own team.

 

[LokiDog]

Exactly teams are more willing to shoot themselves in the foot long term than negotiate with him. Instead of getting something out of those teams he gets their scraps which aren't going to fetch much more than mid round picks on the open market.

I guess if your plan is to screw with other teams cap situations than congrats? You still have to build your own team.

If everyone's cap is wrecked, Francis can offer contracts to everyone from Danault and Landeskog to Hamilton and Larsson and let the chips fall. Always a possibility you don't land the UFAs and they sign elsewhere, but Washington state is pretty attractive place to live, has no state income tax and being a marquee player on a brand new franchise in their first season could be attractive to some personalities.

 

[cwede]

Lotta know it all chit-chat here, second guessing the guys who really make the decisions

I dont see any teams overthinking Exp Draft yet.
Maybe learned from last time.

Expose a bunch, lose 1, dont look back, move on

It ain't the rocket science that distracted fans want it to be

 

[Daximus]

If everyone's cap is wrecked, Francis can offer contracts to everyone from Danault and Landeskog to Hamilton and Larsson and let the chips fall. Always a possibility you don't land the UFAs and they sign elsewhere, but Washington state is pretty attractive place to live, has no state income tax and being a marquee player on a brand new franchise in their first season could be attractive to some personalities.

We'll see how it unfolds as we get closer and closer. Teams have until Saturday to submit their lists so we could see a bunch of activity over the next two days. The big one is still Tampa, Francis can easily take them to the cleaners if he wants too. They don't really have much of a way out.

I don't see every single UFA singing in Seattle this offseason. Might be able to land one or two but if you land absolutely zero than what?

 

[RandV]

Let Francis stand pat and not take back any crap contracts. Use the cap space on UFAs like Landeskog, Danault, Larsson... obviously I wouldn't expect him to land more than 1-2 solid UFAs (nor do I expect Landeskog to actually walk), but by having no bad contracts and just barely touching the cap floor after the draft you could do some serious shopping with that much cap space in the current climate:

Landeskog - Danault - X
Wennberg - X - X
X - Haula - X
Goodrow - Cizikas - X
X - Larsson
Murray - X
X - X
X
X

Draft guys like Vanacek, Appleton, Bean, Debrusk/Lauzon, Dickinson, Giordano... not a bad way to fill out.

I think Seattle has to hit a minimum of $48.9M salary through the expansion.

As for what their top line could be from the draft rather than Henrique/Eberle if they want to spend their cap hit this way they could probably take one of Nashville's center's and Voracek from Philly. Not players that need to be exposed but from what I understand the teams would be happy to move the contracts.

 

[LokiDog]

We'll see how it unfolds as we get closer and closer. Teams have until Saturday to submit their lists so we could see a bunch of activity over the next two days. The big one is still Tampa, Francis can easily take them to the cleaners if he wants too. They don't really have much of a way out.

I don't see every single UFA singing in Seattle this offseason. Might be able to land one or two but if you land absolutely zero than what?

Yeah, it's highly unlikely they'd land an actual ton of the big UFAs, but it's simply interesting that they could be sitting with 33M cap space or something like that to go out and throw contracts at the guys they want while other teams are doing gymnastics to get their own core re-signed and add a piece here or there. It's a unique environment with the ED and flat cap at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if they made - not huge like what I outlined as an example - but a bigger than expected splash in the UFA market.

 

[Daximus]

Yeah, it's highly unlikely they'd land an actual ton of the big UFAs, but it's simply interesting that they could be sitting with 33M cap space or something like that to go out and throw contracts at the guys they want while other teams are doing gymnastics to get their own core re-signed and add a piece here or there. It's a unique environment with the ED and flat cap at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if they made - not huge like what I outlined as an example - but a bigger than expected splash in the UFA market.

Yeah it's not like they are the only teams coming into this offseason with cap though. Sure their are a few teams who are up against the wall. But there are plenty of teams who are walking into this offseason with $20m or more to burn. Detroit has $48m and not many big deals to sign, the Devils have a boatload of cap and probably looking to turn the corner. Even Minny who shot themselves in the foot down the road won't feel that burn heavily until another 2 years. Sure that screws them then, did nothing to stop them from wanting to try and compete now. If anything it just lit a fire under them to be more aggressive. I just think Francis is screwing himself out of easy assets by asking for the stars when he likely could have easily gotten the moon. Now he gets some dirt in a bottle from the backyard of those teams.

 

[gstommylee]

Yeah it's not like they are the only teams coming into this offseason with cap though. Sure their are a few teams who are up against the wall. But there are plenty of teams who are walking into this offseason with $20m or more to burn. Detroit has $48m and not many big deals to sign, the Devils have a boatload of cap and probably looking to turn the corner. Even Minny who shot themselves in the foot down the road won't feel that burn heavily until another 2 years. Sure that screws them then, did nothing to stop them from wanting to try and compete now. If anything it just lit a fire under them to be more aggressive. I just think Francis is screwing himself out of easy assets by asking for the stars when he likely could have easily gotten the moon. Now he gets some dirt in a bottle from the backyard of those teams.

So Seattle should bow down and ask for prospect that have no shot and low 6 to 7 round draft picks that end up being not great results....

 

[LokiDog]

Yeah it's not like they are the only teams coming into this offseason with cap though. Sure their are a few teams who are up against the wall. But there are plenty of teams who are walking into this offseason with $20m or more to burn. Detroit has $48m and not many big deals to sign, the Devils have a boatload of cap and probably looking to turn the corner. Even Minny who shot themselves in the foot down the road won't feel that burn heavily until another 2 years. Sure that screws them then, did nothing to stop them from wanting to try and compete now. If anything it just lit a fire under them to be more aggressive. I just think Francis is screwing himself out of easy assets by asking for the stars when he likely could have easily gotten the moon. Now he gets some dirt in a bottle from the backyard of those teams.

Well, my supposition is that Seattle, with regards to living in the PNW, not paying income tax and having the excitement and spotlight of a new team - plus the possible feeling they could be good out of the gate like Vegas - makes them more attractive than Detroit or NJ. As you said, only time will tell.

 

[Dog]

Well, my supposition is that Seattle, with regards to living in the PNW, not paying income tax and having the excitement and spotlight of a new team - plus the possible feeling they could be good out of the gate like Vegas - makes them more attractive than Detroit or NJ. As you said, only time will tell.

Actually, Seattle is better off than more than half of the teams. First, not in Canada but close to Canada so can gain advantage of Canadian+American players. Seattle can appeal to Scandinavian and Russian players as well. European players in general will love this city it's got museums, great food, and key location where don't have to deal with crazy media all the time

 

[Daximus]

So Seattle should bow down and ask for prospect that have no shot and low 6 to 7 round draft picks that end up being not great results....

All reports are saying that Francis is being overly aggressive in his ask, no one said that about Vegas who managed to get good value out of almost every team. I'm sure teams would have no issues giving up draft picks or prospects like they did with Vegas. So obviously Francis is asking for the sun, moon and all the stars in the sky. No team wants to shoot themselves in the foot with $14,743,588 in dead cap like Minny did. So obviously the ask was so far from reality that Guerin said F that noise I'd rather put a bullet in both of my feet than gut my team.

I seriously, seeeeeeeeriously doubt Minny said take these useless prospects and a 7th round pick or we are just going to bung up our future cap to the tune of nearly $15 million dollars. Francis' ask had to be pretty damn ugly to force Guerin to look at it and say no I'd rather stick my head in this wood chipper over here.

 

[gstommylee]

All reports are saying that Francis is being overly aggressive in his ask, no one said that about Vegas who managed to get good value out of almost every team. I'm sure teams would have no issues giving up draft picks or prospects like they did with Vegas. So obviously Francis is asking for the sun, moon and all the stars in the sky. No team wants to shoot themselves in the foot with $14,743,588 in dead cap like Minny did. So obviously the ask was so far from reality that Guerin said F that noise I'd rather put a bullet in both of my feet than gut my team.

I seriously, seeeeeeeeriously doubt Minny said take these useless prospects and a 7th round pick or we are just going to bung up our future cap to the tune of nearly $15 million dollars. Francis' ask had to be pretty damn ugly to force Guerin to look at it and say no I'd rather stick my head in this wood chipper over here.

So tampa will just be screwed with their roster that they can't afford... Or other teams are just find with losing a player they don't want to lose just so they don't trade with seattle...

 

[Daximus]

Well, my supposition is that Seattle, with regards to living in the PNW, not paying income tax and having the excitement and spotlight of a new team - plus the possible feeling they could be good out of the gate like Vegas - makes them more attractive than Detroit or NJ. As you said, only time will tell.

Oh for sure Seattle is an attractive market, we'll see what kind of team they end up with though through the XD. I think that will be telling as well. If some players feel there will be a bit of a building process to go through there they might opt for somewhere else.

Whats the best player currently available based of speculated protection lists? McDonaugh maybe?

 

[Daximus]

So tampa will just be screwed with their roster that they can't afford... Or other teams are just find with losing a player they don't want to lose just so they don't trade with seattle...

Sure maybe but he still lost out on easy assets. Put it any way you like I see that as a failure for Seattle. Vegas wasn't nearly this aggressive and even told teams right before the draft that they would be willing to work with them to find deals that were tangible for both sides and they still made out like bandits. Being overly aggressive is already blowing up in Francis' face and we still have 2 days to go.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Exactly teams are more willing to shoot themselves in the foot long term than negotiate with him. Instead of getting something out of those teams he gets their scraps which aren't going to fetch much more than mid round picks on the open market.

I guess if your plan is to screw with other teams cap situations than congrats? You still have to build your own team.

Do you know what was asked of Francis to NOT take said players? At the end of the Francis has to evaluate if it is better for him to take a said player (Graves, Dumba) or assets to not take them. If you got offered a 3rd for not taking Dumba, it is not worth it in my mind because Dumba is far more valuable than a 3rd. Let the GM's shoot themselves in the foot and figure out how to deal with such situations. The onus is on them to protect the players. And if they cannot, the Kraken get the player they wanted anyway.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

All reports are saying that Francis is being overly aggressive in his ask, no one said that about Vegas who managed to get good value out of almost every team. I'm sure teams would have no issues giving up draft picks or prospects like they did with Vegas. So obviously Francis is asking for the sun, moon and all the stars in the sky. No team wants to shoot themselves in the foot with $14,743,588 in dead cap like Minny did. So obviously the ask was so far from reality that Guerin said F that noise I'd rather put a bullet in both of my feet than gut my team.

I seriously, seeeeeeeeriously doubt Minny said take these useless prospects and a 7th round pick or we are just going to bung up our future cap to the tune of nearly $15 million dollars. Francis' ask had to be pretty damn ugly to force Guerin to look at it and say no I'd rather stick my head in this wood chipper over here.

All reports are from one side and that's other teams GM's leaking stuff and whining about Francis asking price and hoping to add some pressure on Seattle in doing so.

The "insiders"(even Friedman) are completely in the dark and grasping at straws like seen during the HC announcement where no one knew who it was until the Kraken released it on twitter.

So I'd just wait and see what actually happens before talking about how "Ronnie has screwed himself" and "no one wants to negotiate with him" even though no one knows what's actually being talked about or what was actually possible for Seattle.

 

[LokiDog]

Actually, Seattle is better off than more than half of the teams. First, not in Canada but close to Canada so can gain advantage of Canadian+American players. Seattle can appeal to Scandinavian and Russian players as well. European players in general will love this city it's got museums, great food, and key location where don't have to deal with crazy media all the time

Amen. I’m out in eastern Washington but it’s a beautiful state and Seattle is great.

 

[Daximus]

Do you know what was asked of Francis to NOT take said players? At the end of the Francis has to evaluate if it is better for him to take a said player (Graves, Dumba) or assets to not take them. If you got offered a 3rd for not taking Dumba, it is not worth it in my mind because Dumba is far more valuable than a 3rd. Let the GM's shoot themselves in the foot and figure out how to deal with such situations. The onus is on them to protect the players. And if they cannot, the Kraken get the player they wanted anyway.

I think Minny would have parted with a lot more than a 3rd to not be sitting on nearly $15m of dead cap space and not only that the owner Leopold has to look at what Francis is asking and say no I think I'd prefer lighting millions of dollars on fire than make that deal. The ask would have to be pretty damn high to have a GM look at it and say no this alternative is far easier to stomach. Remember Francis is in the driver seat here, he sets the price. Obviously his price was pretty friggin steep if Minny was willing to go to that much of an extreme rather than pay it.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I think Minny would have parted with a lot more than a 3rd to not be sitting on nearly $15m of dead cap space and not only that the owner Leopold has to look at what Francis is asking and say no I think I'd prefer lighting millions of dollars on fire than make that deal. The ask would have to be pretty damn high to have a GM look at it and say no this alternative is far easier to stomach. Remember Francis is in the driver seat here, he sets the price. Obviously his price was pretty friggin steep if Minny was willing to go to that much of an extreme rather than pay it.

Its easy to draw a conclusion based on what the Wild GM did. But there is no way for you to verify what was actually offered. Till someone can confirm that there is no way to truly know.

 

[Daximus]

All reports are from one side and that's other teams GM's leaking stuff and whining about Francis asking price and hoping to add some pressure on Seattle in doing so.

The "insiders"(even Friedman) are completely in the dark and grasping at straws like seen during the HC announcement where no one knew who it was until the Kraken released it on twitter.

So I'd just wait and see what actually happens before talking about how "Ronnie has screwed himself" and "no one wants to negotiate with him" even though no one knows what's actually being talked about or what was actually possible for Seattle.

We have an obvious examples of that happening right before our eyes. I'll say it a million more times so everyone in the back can hear me.

An owner and a GM would rather light millions of dollars on fire and put their team in a nearly $15 million dollar cap hole than pay the price that Francis was asking. Think about the implications of that for a second. How insane would that ask have to be for a team to resort to that extreme? Pretty damn insane if you ask me.

 

[gstommylee]

minny paying seattle not to take dumba would be cheaper than cutting down their total cap from 81.5 to 69 for 22-23 and 66.3m for 23-24 and 24-25 cause of dead weight.

 

[Dog]

Yeah it's not like they are the only teams coming into this offseason with cap though. Sure their are a few teams who are up against the wall. But there are plenty of teams who are walking into this offseason with $20m or more to burn. Detroit has $48m and not many big deals to sign, the Devils have a boatload of cap and probably looking to turn the corner. Even Minny who shot themselves in the foot down the road won't feel that burn heavily until another 2 years. Sure that screws them then, did nothing to stop them from wanting to try and compete now. If anything it just lit a fire under them to be more aggressive. I just think Francis is screwing himself out of easy assets by asking for the stars when he likely could have easily gotten the moon. Now he gets some dirt in a bottle from the backyard of those teams.

Problem with NJ and Detroit they are crapshoot teams who struggled many years now. Who would you rather pick a new team or teams that keep failing for many years now