NHL Roundup: Kraken expansion roster; trade freeze ends today; and more
The folks over at ESPN were likely not pleased with the fact the majority of picks had been leaked prior to the broadcast. Starting almost as soon as Seattle submitted their picks, top NHL insiders began dropping who was taken.
Kraken expansion roster headlined by Mark Giordano and Yanni Gourde
The Kraken did take three players scheduled to make more than $5 million next season.
Veteran Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano ($6.75 million), the 2019 Norris Trophy winner, is expected to be the Kraken’s first captain.
“This is the first time in my career I’ve ever been drafted,” Giordano said, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent. “It’s a beautiful city and you can feel the buzz.”
The Kraken also selected forwards Yanni Gourde ($5.17 million) from the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and Jordan Eberle ($5.5 million) from the New York Islanders.
“We wanted players with character,” Francis said. “We certainly wanted players that compete hard.”
Trade Freeze lifts at 1PM
The NHL Trade Freeze ends today at 1PM ET. Teams can also announce their signings. One that is expected to be finalized is the Rangers signing of Barclay Goodrow for 6 years at $3.6 million AAV.
Another that is supposedly close to done is Taylor Hall with the Boston Bruins. In Edmonton, there’s some rumblings that the Oilers, Leafs, and Zach Hyman may have a sign and trade in the works.
From the Seattle Kraken, they may have one or two side deals to announce.
One rumored deal from yesterday involved the Rangers and Mark Giordano. That is not likely to take place although the Rangers continue to look for a veteran left defenseman.
With the NHL Draft set for tomorrow night, there’s plenty of anticipation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres. Will they trade Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Rasmus Ristolainen all in one fell swoop for first round picks?
Seattle Kraken full roster
The Kraken passed on taking players like Carey Price and PK Subban. Here’s all their selections.
Forwards
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets)
Nathan Bastian (New Jersey Devils)
Colin Blackwell (New York Rangers)
Joonas Donskoi (Colorado Avalanche)
Jordan Eberle (New York Islanders)
Morgan Geekie (Carolina Hurricanes)
Yanni Gourde (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Calle Jarnkrok (Nashville Predators)
Kole Lind (Vancouver Canucks)
Jared McCann (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Tyler Pitlick (Arizona Coyotes)
John Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks)
Alexander True (San Jose Sharks)
Carsen Twarynski (Philadelphia Flyers)
Defensemen
Gavin Bayreuther (Columbus Blue Jackets)
William Borgen (Buffalo Sabres)
Dennis Cholowski (Detroit Red Wings)
Vince Dunn (St. Louis Blues)
Cale Fleury (Montreal Canadiens)
Haydn Fleury (Anaheim Ducks)
Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
Adam Larsson (Edmonton Oilers)
Jeremy Lauzon (Boston Bruins)
Kurtis MacDermid (Los Angeles Kings)
Jamie Oleksiak (Dallas Stars)
Carson Soucy (Minnesota Wild)
Brandon Tanev (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Goaltenders
Joey Daccord (Ottawa Senators)
Chris Driedger (Florida Panthers)
Vitek Vanecek (Washington Capitals)
–Field Level Media contributed to this article
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