| 2021 NHL expansion draft | |
| Logosize: | 250px |
| Date: | July 21, 2021 |
| Location: | Gas Works Park Seattle |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Expansion Team: | Seattle Kraken |
| Expansion Season: | 2021–22 |
| Prev: | 2017 |
The 2021 NHL expansion draft was an expansion draft that was conducted by the National Hockey League (NHL) on July 21, 2021 at Gas Works Park in Seattle. The draft took place to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2021–22 season, the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken selected 30 players from 30 of the league's 31 teams, and 25 ultimately ended up playing for the team.
On December 4, 2017 the Seattle City Council voted 7–1 to approve a memorandum of understanding between the city of Seattle and the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group, co-founded by Tim Leiweke, for renovations of KeyArena.[1] Renovations for the arena began in 2018 and were completed in 2021.[2] The original roof remains in place, as it is considered a local historical landmark.[3] Three days later, the NHL Board of Governors agreed to consider an expansion application from Seattle, with an expansion fee set at US$650 million.[4] On February 13, 2018, the Oak View Group filed an application with the NHL for an expansion team and payed a $10 million application fee.[5] [6] At the time, the earliest a Seattle NHL team could have begun playing was the 2020–21 season pending the completion of arena renovations. On October 2, another step towards an expansion team was taken when the NHL Executive Committee unanimously agreed to recommend the expansion bid to a vote of the Board of Governors in December.[7] On December 4, the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the addition of Seattle's expansion team into the league.[8] On July 18, 2019, the organization hired Ron Francis to serve as their general manager to initiate operations for the team.[9] [10] As general manager, Francis oversees all of the club's hockey operations, including facets like player personnel, coaching staff, scouting, and minor league operations. Francis later stated that three things he wanted to prioritize in the Kraken's roster were speed, character, and competitiveness.[11]
In July 2020, the franchise announced their team name—the Seattle Kraken—as well as their team colors, branding, and home jersey.[12] On April 30, 2021, the franchise payed the final installment of the US$650 million expansion fee, officially making the Seattle Kraken the 32nd team of the NHL.[13] On May 12, the Kraken signed their first player—Luke Henman—to a three-year, entry-level contract.[14] In June, the Kraken named Dave Hakstol as their inaugural head coach. "Dave possesses great experience, a strong work ethic, a solid technical understanding of the game, and the remarkable ability to communicate clearly and effectively. I look forward to working with Dave as we strive to build a team our fans will be proud of," Ron Francis stated about Hakstol.[15]
Seattle followed the same rules for the draft as the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL expansion draft,[16] with the provision that Vegas was exempt from losing a player in exchange for forgoing a share of the Kraken's expansion fee.[17] The 30 other teams submitted their lists of protected players on July 18. Teams could protect eight skaters and a goaltender, or seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender; and they had to expose at least two forwards and one defenseman who were under contract for the 2021–22 season and played in at least 27 games in the 2020–21 season, or more than 54 games in the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons combined. Teams also had to expose a goaltender under contract for the 2021–22 season or who would be a restricted free agent (with a qualifying offer received) in 2021. Teams were required to protect any contracted players with no-move clauses (NMCs) with one of the team's slots for protected players, unless:
Any player picked in the expansion draft could not have his contract bought out until after the completion of the 2021–22 season.
At least twenty of the thirty players selected by Seattle had to be under contract for the 2021–22 season, and the team was required to select a minimum of fourteen forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders. Furthermore, the 2021–22 salaries of the thirty players selected (as measured in terms of what is counted against the salary cap, had to add up to between 60% and 100% of the 2020–21 salary cap (i.e., the full nominal cap, not the prorated cap for the shortened 56-game season that was played). Seattle was granted a 48-hour window prior to the draft to sign any unprotected pending free agent (restricted or unrestricted, one per team). Teams that lost a player to Seattle during the signing window did not have a player selected from its roster during this draft as the signed player counted as Seattle's selection.
On July 18, the protected player list, a list of players who the Kraken were not allowed to select during the draft, was released.[18]
Italics indicate player was protected for contractual reasons.
On July 19, a three-day period where the Seattle Kraken could talk to unrestricted free agents (UFAs) begun.[19] On the morning of the draft day, July 21, the Kraken signed defensemen Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak and goaltender Chris Driedger to a four-year $16 million deal, a five-year $23 million contract, and a three-year $10.5 million deal, respectively.[20] [21] [22] Larsson, Oleksiak, and Driedger would count as the pick from their respective teams (Edmonton, Dallas, and Florida, respectively).[23]
The Kraken's draft selections are listed below:[24]
Key: Left wing = LW, Center = C, Right wing = RW, Defenseman = D, Goaltender = G
| Selection number | Player | Position | Team drafted from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | Boston Bruins | ||
| 2 | D | Buffalo Sabres | ||
| 3 | D | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| 4 | G | Florida Panthers | ||
| 5 | D | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| 6 | G | Ottawa Senators | ||
| 7 | C/LW | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| 8 | LW/C | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| 9 | RW/C | Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| 10 | D | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| 11 | RW | New Jersey Devils | ||
| 12 | RW | New York Islanders | ||
| 13 | C | New York Rangers | ||
| 14 | LW | Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| 15 | LW | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| 16 | G | Washington Capitals | ||
| 17 | C | Arizona Coyotes | ||
| 18 | C | Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| 19 | RW | Colorado Avalanche | ||
| 20 | D | Dallas Stars | ||
| 21 | D | Minnesota Wild | ||
| 22 | RW | Nashville Predators | ||
| 23 | D | St. Louis Blues | ||
| 24 | C | Winnipeg Jets | ||
| 25 | D | Anaheim Ducks | ||
| 26 | D | Calgary Flames | ||
| 27 | D | Edmonton Oilers | ||
| 28 | D | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 29 | C | San Jose Sharks | ||
| 30 | RW | Vancouver Canucks |
On July 22, the Kraken made their first trade in team history, giving expansion draft pick Tyler Pitlick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft.[25] [26] Five days later, the Kraken traded draft pick Kurtis MacDermid to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.[27] On July 28, the first day of free agency, the Kraken traded draft pick Vitek Vanecek to the team he was selected from, the Washington Capitals, in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2023.[28] That same day, draft pick Gavin Bayreuther re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.[29] On September 5, draft pick John Quenneville signed as a free agent with ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League[30]
All other expansion draft players would feature for the Kraken at least once during their inaugural season.[31]
Several Seattle sportspeople and celebrities made appearances to announce the draft picks, including Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics, as well as former Sonics coach Lenny Wilkens; Marshawn Lynch and Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks; Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm via video conference as she was in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics; Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners; Brad Evans and Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders FC; Kraken scout Cammi Granato, and Seattle based rapper Macklemore. Western Washington Female Hockey members, Anchorage Hockey Association members, Kraken season-ticket holders, and construction workers from Climate Pledge Arena were also featured during the event. Kraken co-owner Jerry Bruckheimer and general manager Ron Francis also participated.[32] [33] [34]