When Ron Francis steps up to the podium and announces his team, there are going to be some things that have fallen into place perfectly, and others that have not. Today we're going to take a break from reality and imagine what the Kraken roster could be if everything goes right for the Seattle Kraken. Before anyone jumps to their keyboards to tell me that I'm an idiot or that_____ would never not be protected... relax. I have no big news to share today regarding the Kraken but I wanted to give everyone something fun to read. Don't take this seriously.

With that out of the way, here is the dream team. If your team is not included here it's because I found no one exciting to take from them. Assume I took some random prospect or low level option.

TOP LINE
Drouin(MON)-Johansen(NAS)-Tarasenko(STL)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
I've outlined a few times that Johansen might be made available if the Predators are looking to free up cap space and move more towards a rebuild. Drouin has been dealing with a number of personal issues and while his GM would want some assets back, he may help the player out by exposing him for Seattle. On the other side the issues between the Blues and Tarasenko have been made very public and if Armstrong doesn't want to drag this out he may end up making a deal with Ron Francis to ship him to the coast.

SECOND LINE
Killorn(TMP)-Kadri(COL)-Oshie(WAS)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
The Lightning do need to move out some salary this off-season and could go about it a number of ways in who they decide to expose to Seattle. In this case, Killorn would be an excellent fit in the top six on the left side. In fact this entire line would bring some veteran omph. Now that Erik Johnson has waived his NMC it seems likely that Ryan Graves is selected but if the Avs decide to go the 4-4-1 route instead that could leave Kadri open to the Kraken. Kadri pulled his shenanigans once again and was suspended for the duration of Colorado's run and that may have rubbed his team the wrong way. Lastly for the Caps they might just decide to leave Oshie open to clear some cap space, especially with the young Mantha ready to step up.

THIRD LINE
Foegele(CAR)-Wennberg(FLA)-Kapenen(PIT)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Foegele has publicly vocalized his displeasure with the Canes and it seems like it's highly likely he will never put his skates on for the team again. Once again a trade would be the preferred way for this to go and maybe that trade happens with Seattle. Wennberg is set to be a UFA but as I wrote in my last expansion piece, the Kraken could offer him a contract prior to any other team in their early UFA period. Lastly, depending how the Penguins under Burke and Hextall are thinking, there is a scenario where the likes of Blueger, McCann and Zucker are protected over Kapanen.

FOURTH LINE
Dube(CAL)-Asplund(BUF)-Appleton(WIN)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Calgary may have an issue exposing the proper number of forwards and may have to risk losing the young Dube in order to do so. I've already discussed Asplund as a young option that Buffalo might lose and that remains the case here. In this scenario, it may be between Logan Stanley and Mason Appleton for the Jets. This time I have selected the tenacious forward.

EXTRA FORWARDS
Lizotte(LAK), Gambrell(SAN), Abramov(OTT)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Fairly easily for the most part. Some cheap younger contracts that could work their way into the lineup.

TOP PAIRING
Klefbom-Deangelo
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
The word right now is that Klefbom will likely not play next season but we are looking at a best case scenario here for the Kraken. What if the Oilers leave Klefbom exposed and his rehab ends up going far better than expected and he is able to return at the beginning of the season or close to. If at 100%, Klefbom does have the ability to be a top pairing defenseman. On the other side, I spoke last time about Deangelo and the same philosophy applies. Deangelo is left exposed if no teams express real trade interest.

SECOND PAIRING
Oleksiak-Manson
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Once again, the Kraken could use their buying power in early free agency and offer Oleksiak a deal before any other team is able to. The shutdown, physical defenseman would be a great asset to this team. On the other side, Manson seems like an obvious name to protect but the rebuilding Ducks may value Haydn Fleury and his potential more, leaving the right shot defender exposed.

THIRD PAIRING
Dermott(TOR)-Lauzon(BOS)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
With the amount of centre depth I was able to acquire this time around, there was less need for Alex Kerfoot. Instead I could pursue the young Dermott who could continue to grow into a skilled young player. Lauzon isn't a sexy pick but he brings some physicality and PK ability.

GOALIES
Kuemper(ARI)
Talbot(MIN)
Delia(CHI)
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
Arizona is looking for cap relief and if they can't come up with a deal soon for Kuemper they may expose him and keep their younger and cheaper guy in Adin Hill. With some of the other selections made, Talbot is now my #2 with the younger Delia as a pick for my up and comer.

I hope you all enjoy this because this is 100% what is going to happen on July 21st. Thanks for reading

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