2021 NHL Expansion Draft

Player selection draft

2021 NHL Expansion Draft

General information
Date(s)| July 21, 2021
Location| Gas Works Park
Seattle, Washington
Overview
League| National Hockey League
Expansion team| Seattle Kraken
Expansion season| 2021–22

<- 2017

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft that was conducted by the National Hockey League on July 21, 2021, to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2021–22 season, the Seattle Kraken.

## Background[edit]

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,[1] for renovations of KeyArena. On December 7, the NHL's board of governors agreed to consider an expansion application from Seattle, with an expansion fee set at US$650 million.[2] The Seattle ownership group was represented by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, who conducted a preliminary season ticket drive to gauge interest in Seattle.[3]

On February 13, 2018, the Oak View Group filed an application with the NHL for an expansion team and paid a US$10 million application fee.[4][5] At the time, the earliest the team could have begun playing was the 2020–21 season, pending the completion of arena renovations.[4]

On October 2, 2018, the NHL Executive Committee unanimously agreed to recommend the expansion bid to a vote of the Board of Governors in December.[6][7] The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve Seattle's expansion team on December 4, 2018.[8]

## Rules[edit]

Seattle followed the same rules for the draft as the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft,[9] with the provision that Vegas was exempted from losing a player in exchange for forgoing a share of the Kraken's expansion fee.[10] The 30 other teams submitted their lists of protected players on July 17. 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.[11] 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. Players who made their professional debuts in North America in the 2019–20 or 2020–21 seasons were not eligible to be picked, and such players were not needed be protected from expansion.

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.[9] Furthermore, the 2021–22 salaries of the thirty players selected (as measured in terms of what is counted against the salary cap, otherwise colloquially known as the "cap hit") 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.

Teams were required to protect any contracted players with no move clauses (NMCs) with one of the team's slots for protected players, unless:

1. The contract expired on July 28, 2021, in which case the NMC was considered void for the draft.
2. The player with an NMC continuing past July 28, 2021, was deemed to have a career-threatening injury and is thus declared exempt from selection and use of a protection slot.[12]
3. The player with an NMC waived his no-movement clause for the expansion draft.

Any player picked in the expansion draft cannot have his contract bought out until after the completion of the 2021–22 season.[9]

## Protected players[edit]

The protected players' list was published on July 18, 2021.

### Eastern Conference[edit]

Italics: Players protected for contractual reasons.[13]

Atlantic Division Position  | Boston | Buffalo | Detroit | Florida | Montreal | Ottawa | Tampa Bay | Toronto

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Forwards  | Patrice Bergeron | Rasmus Asplund | Tyler Bertuzzi | Aleksander Barkov | Josh Anderson | Drake Batherson | Anthony Cirelli | Mitch Marner
Charlie Coyle | Anders Bjork | Adam Erne | Sam Bennett | Joel Armia | Connor Brown | Nikita Kucherov | Auston Matthews
Jake DeBrusk | Jack Eichel | Robby Fabbri | Anthony Duclair | Jake Evans | Logan Brown | Brayden Point | William Nylander
Trent Frederic | Casey Mittelstadt | Dylan Larkin | Patric Hornqvist | Brendan Gallagher | Nick Paul | Steven Stamkos | John Tavares
Brad Marchand | Victor Olofsson | Michael Rasmussen | Jonathan Huberdeau | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Brady Tkachuk |  |
David Pastrnak | Sam Reinhart | Givani Smith | Mason Marchment | Artturi Lehkonen | Austin Watson |  |
Craig Smith | Tage Thompson | Jakub Vrana | Carter Verhaeghe | Tyler Toffoli | Colin White |  |
Defensemen  | Brandon Carlo | Rasmus Dahlin | Filip Hronek | Aaron Ekblad | Ben Chiarot | Thomas Chabot | Erik Cernak | T. J. Brodie
Matt Grzelcyk | Henri Jokiharju | Nick Leddy | Gustav Forsling | Joel Edmundson | Victor Mete | Victor Hedman | Justin Holl
Charlie McAvoy | Rasmus Ristolainen | Gustav Lindstrom | MacKenzie Weegar | Jeff Petry | Nikita Zaitsev | Ryan McDonagh | Jake Muzzin
|  |  |  |  |  | Mikhail Sergachev | Morgan Rielly
Goaltender  | Daniel Vladar | Linus Ullmark | Thomas Greiss | Sergei Bobrovsky | Jake Allen | Filip Gustavsson | Andrei Vasilevskiy | Jack Campbell
Metropolitan Division Position  | Carolina | Columbus | New Jersey | NY Islanders | NY Rangers | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Washington

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Forwards  | Sebastian Aho | Cam Atkinson | Jesper Bratt | Mathew Barzal | Pavel Buchnevich | Nicolas Aube-Kubel | Teddy Blueger | Nicklas Backstrom
Jesper Fast | Oliver Bjorkstrand | Nico Hischier | Anthony Beauvillier | Filip Chytil | Sean Couturier | Jeff Carter | Lars Eller
Warren Foegele | Boone Jenner | Janne Kuokkanen | Cal Clutterbuck | Chris Kreider | Claude Giroux | Sidney Crosby | Evgeny Kuznetsov
Jordan Staal | Patrik Laine | Michael McLeod | Anders Lee | Artemi Panarin | Kevin Hayes | Jake Guentzel | Anthony Mantha
Andrei Svechnikov | Gustav Nyquist | Yegor Sharangovich | Matt Martin | Kevin Rooney | Travis Konecny | Kasperi Kapanen | T. J. Oshie
Teuvo Teravainen | Eric Robinson | Miles Wood | Brock Nelson | Ryan Strome | Scott Laughton | Evgeni Malkin | Daniel Sprong
Vincent Trocheck | Jack Roslovic | Pavel Zacha | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | Mika Zibanejad | Oskar Lindblom | Bryan Rust | Tom Wilson
Defensemen  | Brett Pesce | Vladislav Gavrikov | Ryan Graves | Adam Pelech | Libor Hajek | Ryan Ellis | Brian Dumoulin | John Carlson
Brady Skjei | Seth Jones | Damon Severson | Ryan Pulock | Ryan Lindgren | Ivan Provorov | Kris Letang | Dmitry Orlov
Jaccob Slavin | Zach Werenski | Jonas Siegenthaler | Scott Mayfield | Jacob Trouba | Travis Sanheim | Mike Matheson | Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltender  | Alex Nedeljkovic | Joonas Korpisalo | Mackenzie Blackwood | Semyon Varlamov | Alexandar Georgiev | Carter Hart | Tristan Jarry | Ilya Samsonov

### Western Conference[edit]

Central Division Position  | Arizona | Chicago | Colorado | Dallas | Minnesota | Nashville | St. Louis | Winnipeg

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Forwards  | Lawson Crouse | Henrik Borgstrom | Andre Burakovsky | Jamie Benn | Joel Eriksson Ek | Filip Forsberg | Ivan Barbashev | Kyle Connor
Christian Dvorak | Alex DeBrincat | Tyson Jost | Radek Faksa | Kevin Fiala | Tanner Jeannot | Jordan Kyrou | Andrew Copp
Conor Garland | Brandon Hagel | Nazem Kadri | Denis Gurianov | Marcus Foligno | Luke Kunin | Ryan O'Reilly | Pierre-Luc Dubois
Clayton Keller | David Kampf | Nathan MacKinnon | Roope Hintz | Jordan Greenway |  | David Perron | Nikolaj Ehlers
Phil Kessel | Patrick Kane | Valeri Nichushkin | Joe Pavelski | Ryan Hartman |  | Brayden Schenn | Adam Lowry
Johan Larsson | Dylan Strome | Logan O'Connor | Alexander Radulov | Nico Sturm |  | Oskar Sundqvist | Mark Scheifele
Nick Schmaltz | Jonathan Toews | Mikko Rantanen | Tyler Seguin | Mats Zuccarello |  | Robert Thomas | Blake Wheeler
Defensemen  | Kyle Capobianco | Caleb Jones | Sam Girard | Miro Heiskanen | Jonas Brodin | Alexandre Carrier | Justin Faulk | Josh Morrissey
Jakob Chychrun | Connor Murphy | Cale Makar | John Klingberg | Matt Dumba | Mattias Ekholm | Torey Krug | Neal Pionk
Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Riley Stillman | Devon Toews | Esa Lindell | Jared Spurgeon | Dante Fabbro | Colton Parayko | Logan Stanley
|  |  |  |  | Roman Josi |  |
|  |  |  |  | Philippe Myers |  |
Goaltender  | Darcy Kuemper | Kevin Lankinen | Philipp Grubauer | Anton Khudobin | Cam Talbot | Juuse Saros | Jordan Binnington | Connor Hellebuyck
Pacific Division Position  | Anaheim | Calgary | Edmonton | Los Angeles | San Jose | Seattle | Vancouver | Vegas

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Forwards  | Nicolas Deslauriers | Mikael Backlund | Josh Archibald | Lias Andersson | Rudolfs Balcers | Drafting | Brock Boeser | Exempt
Max Jones | Dillon Dube | Leon Draisaitl | Viktor Arvidsson | Logan Couture | Jason Dickinson
Isac Lundestrom | Johnny Gaudreau | Zack Kassian | Dustin Brown | Jonathan Dahlen | Bo Horvat
Rickard Rakell | Elias Lindholm | Connor McDavid | Alex Iafallo | Tomas Hertl | J. T. Miller
Jakob Silfverberg | Andrew Mangiapane | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Adrian Kempe | Evander Kane | Tyler Motte
Sam Steel | Sean Monahan | Jesse Puljujarvi | Anze Kopitar | Kevin Labanc | Tanner Pearson
Troy Terry | Matthew Tkachuk | Kailer Yamamoto | Trevor Moore | Timo Meier | Elias Pettersson
Defensemen  | Cam Fowler | Rasmus Andersson | Ethan Bear | Drew Doughty | Brent Burns | Olli Juolevi
Hampus Lindholm | Noah Hanifin | Duncan Keith | Matt Roy | Erik Karlsson | Tyler Myers
Josh Manson | Christopher Tanev | Darnell Nurse | Sean Walker | Marc-Edouard Vlasic | Nate Schmidt
Goaltender  | John Gibson | Jacob Markstrom | Stuart Skinner | Cal Petersen | Adin Hill | Thatcher Demko

## Draft results[edit]

All 30 draft picks were submitted at once; they were announced in alphabetical order of teams in each division from east to west.

#  | Player  | Pos  | Drafted from

|
|
|

1  | Jeremy Lauzon | D  | Boston Bruins
2  | Will Borgen | D  | Buffalo Sabres
3  | Dennis Cholowski | D  | Detroit Red Wings
4  | Chris Driedger | G  | Florida Panthers
5  | Cale Fleury | D  | Montreal Canadiens
6  | Joey Daccord | G  | Ottawa Senators
7  | Yanni Gourde | C/LW  | Tampa Bay Lightning
8  | Jared McCann | LW/C  | Toronto Maple Leafs
9  | Morgan Geekie | RW/C  | Carolina Hurricanes
10  | Gavin Bayreuther | D  | Columbus Blue Jackets
11  | Nathan Bastian | RW  | New Jersey Devils
12  | Jordan Eberle | RW  | New York Islanders
13  | Colin Blackwell | C  | New York Rangers
14  | Carsen Twarynski | LW  | Philadelphia Flyers
15  | Brandon Tanev | LW  | Pittsburgh Penguins
16  | Vitek Vanecek | G  | Washington Capitals
17  | Tyler Pitlick | C  | Arizona Coyotes
18  | John Quenneville | C  | Chicago Blackhawks
19  | Joonas Donskoi | RW  | Colorado Avalanche
20  | Jamie Oleksiak | D  | Dallas Stars
21  | Carson Soucy | D  | Minnesota Wild
22  | Calle Jarnkrok | RW  | Nashville Predators
23  | Vince Dunn | D  | St. Louis Blues
24  | Mason Appleton | C  | Winnipeg Jets
25  | Haydn Fleury | D  | Anaheim Ducks
26  | Mark Giordano | D  | Calgary Flames
27  | Adam Larsson | D  | Edmonton Oilers
28  | Kurtis MacDermid | D  | Los Angeles Kings
29  | Alexander True | C  | San Jose Sharks
30  | Kole Lind | RW  | Vancouver Canucks

## Trades[edit]

The Seattle Kraken made no trades for concessions in exchange for agreeing to select certain unprotected players.[14]

## Post-draft[edit]

Not all players selected by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft would remain with the team. Some players were traded in the following days:

* Tyler Pitlick was traded to Calgary for a fourth-round pick in 2022 on July 22.[15]
* Kurtis MacDermid was traded to Colorado for a fourth-round pick in 2023 on July 27.[16]
* Vitek Vanecek was traded back to Washington for Winnipeg's second-round pick in 2023 on July 28.[17]

Other players who were no longer on the Kraken's roster at the start of the 2021–22 NHL season include the following:

* Gavin Bayreuther re-signed as an unrestricted free agent with Columbus on July 28, 2021.[18]
* John Quenneville signed as an unrestricted free agent with ZSC Lions on September 5, 2021.[19]
* Nathan Bastian was claimed by the New Jersey Devils after being placed on waivers on November 25 2021

## Guest appearances[edit]

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. Co-owner Jerry Bruckheimer and general manager Ron Francis also participated.[20][21][22]

## See also[edit]

* 2020–21 NHL transactions
* 2021–22 NHL transactions
* 2021 NHL Entry Draft
* 2021–22 NHL season

## References[edit]

1. ^ Baker, Geoff (December 4, 2017). "KeyArena MOU approved by Seattle City Council; will NHL announcement soon follow?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
2. ^ "Bettman says NHL will consider Seattle expansion bid". USA Today. Associated Press. December 7, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
3. ^ Rosen, Dan (December 7, 2017). "Seattle can begin NHL expansion process". NHL.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
4. ^ a b "Seattle applies for NHL expansion team". NHL.com. February 13, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
5. ^ Baker, Geoff (February 13, 2018). "Seattle group files application for NHL expansion team to play at KeyArena". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
6. ^ Kimelman, Adam (October 2, 2018). "Seattle expansion bid recommended for NHL Board of Governors vote". NHL.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
7. ^ Baker, Geoff (October 2, 2018). "NHL executive committee unanimously recommends forwarding Seattle expansion bid to December vote". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
8. ^ "National Hockey League approves expansion team in Seattle". NHL.com. December 4, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
9. ^ a b c "Seattle 2021 NHL Expansion Draft rules same as Golden Knights followed". July 23, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
10. ^ "How the NHL expansion draft will work for the Seattle Kraken: Schedule, format, rules, players available". July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
11. ^ "Nine teams with interesting conundrums ahead of Seattle expansion draft". April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
12. ^ Barr, John (June 22, 2021). "Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft injury exemption list". Sound of Hockey. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
13. ^ "NHL announces protected list for 2021 NHL Expansion Draft". NHL.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
14. ^ @CapFriendly (July 22, 2021). "#SeaKraken made no trades with any teams prior to the expansion draft" (Tweet). Retrieved July 22, 2021 - via Twitter.
15. ^ "Pitlick traded to Flames by Kraken, was selected in NHL Expansion Draft". NHL.com. July 22, 2021.
16. ^ "MacDermid traded to Avalanche by Kraken". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
17. ^ "Capitals re-acquire Vanecek from Kraken". TSN.ca. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
18. ^ "Columbus Blue Jackets sign Gavin Bayreuther to two-year contract". Columbus Blue Jackets. July 28, 2021.
19. ^ "ZSC Lions Verpflichten John Quenneville". ZSC Lions. September 5, 2021. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
20. ^ "Seattle-area sports stars, celebrities help Kraken with Expansion Draft". NHL.com. July 22, 2021.
21. ^ "Celebrities lined up to aid Seattle Kraken's expansion draft". sportsnaut.com. July 20, 2021.
22. ^ "Sue Bird, Marshawn Lynch, Gary Payton among Seattle celebrities to appear at NHL expansion draft". The Seattle Times. July 19, 2021.

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