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With the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft complete, the NHL’s 32 teams can look ahead to the rest of the offseason’s business, with free agency and the NHL Entry Draft among the top priorities for the league’s General Managers. However, with the newly-minted Seattle Kraken now constructed, NoVa Caps takes a look at the initial roster (once the trade freeze lifts at 1PM on July 22 any trades made by the Kraken involving selected players will be announced) of the newest team of the NHL and early numbers.

The Kraken and General Manager Ron Francis selected a total of 15 forwards, 12 defenseman, and three goaltenders, and after the draft, have a projected $28,951,667 in cap space per CapFriendly. The Opening Night projected roster average age (with the current makeup of the team) would put them as the ninth-oldest team, per CF, at 27.2.

The current projected opening night roster for Seattle has an average age of 27.2. That would be the 9th oldest based on current rosters.

All of this will change, but fun to look at regardless.

— CapFriendly Depth Charts (@CF_DepthCharts) July 22, 2021

FORWARDS

The Kraken’s brain trust selected 15 forwards in the 2021 Expansion Draft. Among the notable names selected include Jordan Eberle (most recently of the New York Islanders) and Yanni Gourde (a back-to-back Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning). In total, the 10 forwards selected that are projected to be on the roster (per CapFriendly) combine for 33.4% of the Kraken’s Salary Cap space, equating to $27, 206,666 with one (Carsen Twarynski a Restricted Free Agent). The average age of the team’s forwards is 27.3-years old.

DEFENSEMEN

The Kraken have a bit of a surplus of blueliners, whose notable names include former Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano, and Jamie Oleksiak. The seven defensemen that are projected to be on the roster account for 25.9% of the team’s salary cap space, a total of $21,125,000 in 2021-22, with three Restricted Free Agents (Vince Dunn, William Borgen, and Dennis Cholowski), and a combined average age of 26.6-years old.

GOALTENDERS

The Kraken selected three goaltenders in the Expansion Draft, but the two that are projected to be on the roster, are former Florida Panther Chris Driedger, and former Washington Capitals netminder Vitek Vanecek, both of whom are not yet 30 (Vanecek is 25 and Driedger, 27) and whose average age is 26. The two netminders’ salaries combine for just 5.9% of the team’s salary cap and $4,216,667 in 2021-22, with Driedger having signed a three-year deal with the Kraken.

OTHER NUMBERS

The majority of the players selected by Seattle hail from Canada, followed by the United States, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, and Denmark.

#SeaKraken expansion draft picks by nation:

Canada – 19
USA – 6
Sweden – 2
Finland – 1
Czech Republic – 1
Denmark – 1

— CapFriendly Depth Charts (@CF_DepthCharts) July 22, 2021

In addition, the Kraken’s selections include seven former first-round picks (Jordan Eberle, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak, Adam Larsson, Haydn Fleury, Dennis Cholowski, John Quenneville).

By Michael Fleetwood