So much for that.
What was supposed to be an exciting, suspenseful night turned out to be a letdown. Prior to Wednesday night’s Seattle Kraken NHL Expansion Draft, every single selection – besides the Red Wings’ – has been leaked.
Why did this happen? Well, every player selected – plus their agent and front office – was informed of the selection, meaning “leaks were inevitable,” according to Arpon Basu of The Athletic.
And the leaks came in numbers.
The biggest storyline of the day was the Kraken electing to pass on goaltender Carey Price. The 33-year-old just led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final and waived his no-movement clause to facilitate a potential move. However, the Kraken passed on his injury risk and $10.5 million cap hit for the next five years, instead selecting Cale Fleury.
Another surprising development was Seattle electing to pass on Vladimir Tarasenko, instead taking Vince Dunn from the Blues. The 29-year-old forward requested a trade, but with shoulder concerns and a $7.5 million cap hit for two more years, St. Louis will keep him and try to trade him for assets.
The Islanders allowed the Kraken to take Jordan Eberle, who may end up being Seattle’s most talented forward. Seattle snagged Eberle over Josh Bailey after the Isles opted to protect fourth-liners Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck.
There is a good chance the Islanders traded assets so the Kraken were forced to take Eberle, according to The Athletic, meaning Lou Lamoriello and his $23.6 million in cap space – if Eberle is indeed selected – could have a big signing or trade in mind.
In other local news, the Rangers will lose Colin Blackwell and the Devils will lose Nathan Bastian. The Kraken will snag Will Borgen from the Sabres, too.
There were other notable omissions – like Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk of the Flyers, Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene of the Predators, pending free agent Gabriel Landeskog of the Avalanche, Malcolm Subban of the Blackhawks, Jake Bean of the Hurricanes, pending free agent Gabriel Landeskog of the Avalanche and some talented players from the Lightning – which signified the Kraken are focusing on maintaining salary cap space for years to come.
“The one thing we think is extremely, extremely important in this environment is cap space,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis told Sportsnet before the Expansion Draft.
Below is a list of every player the Kraken will reportedly select Wednesday night:
Anaheim Ducks: D Haydn Fleury (via Pierre LeBrun of TSN)
Arizona Coyotes: F Tyler Pitlick (via Craig Morgan of NHL Network)
Boston Bruins: D Jeremy Lauzon (via Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada)
Buffalo Sabres: D Will Borgen (via Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News)
Calgary Flames: D Mark Giordano (via Salim Nadim Valji of TSN)
Carolina Hurricanes: F Morgan Geekie (via Pierre LeBrun of TSN)
Chicago Blackhawks: F John Quenneville (via Mark Spector of Sportsnet)
Colorado Avalanche: F Joonas Donskoi (via Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic)
Columbus Blue Jackets: D Gavin Bayreuther (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Dallas Stars: D Jamie Oleksiak (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Detroit Red Wings: Troy Stecher or Dennis Cholowski is the likely picks (via Helene St. James of Detroit Free Press)
Edmonton Oilers: D Adam Larsson (via the Associated Press)
Florida Panthers: G Chris Driedger (via the Associated Press)
Los Angeles Kings: D Kurtis MacDermid (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Minnesota Wild: D Carson Soucy (via Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada)
Montreal Canadiens: D Cale Fleury (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Nashville Predators: F Calle Jarnkrok (via Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada)
New Jersey Devils: F Nathan Bastian (via Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada)
New York Islanders: F Jordan Eberle (via Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)
New York Rangers: F Colin Blackwell (via The Post)
Ottawa Senators: G Joey Daccord (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Philadelphia Flyers: F Carsen Twarynski (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Pittsburgh Penguins: F Brandon Tanev (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
San Jose Sharks: F Alexander True (via Pierre LeBrun of TSN)
St. Louis Blues: D Vince Dunn (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Tampa Bay Lightning: F Yanni Gourde (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Toronto Maple Leafs: F Jared McCann (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Vancouver Canucks: F Kole Lind (via Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic)
Washington Capitals: G Vitek Vanecek (via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff)
Winnipeg Jets: F Mason Appleton (via Darren Dreger of TSN)