The NHL Expansion Draft takes place tomorrow, with the New York Islanders likely to lose a notable forward to the Seattle Kraken.
Defenseman Nick Leddy was thought to be the likely option for selection, but he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in advance of the draft. The Islanders still chose to leave some quality players unprotected, however, in an effort to clear more cap space. To recap, here’s the team’s protected list:
FORWARDS (7): Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Anders Lee, Matt Martin, Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau
DEFENSE (3): Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock
GOALIE (1): Semyon Varlamov
The two most notable players exposed were Josh Bailey and Jordan Eberle and while seeing Eberle exposed wasn’t completely shocking, I don’t think many people were expecting to see Bailey left off the protected list. Both players have three years remaining on their respective contracts, with Bailey at a $5 million cap hit, while Eberle’s AAV is slightly higher, at $5.5 million. Other available players include Kieffer Bellows, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Leo Komarov, Richard Panik and Andy Greene.
Personally, I really disagree with the decision to leave Bailey exposed, given that he still brings good value for his deal. He finished second on the team in points this season, scoring 35 points in 54 games, a pace of 53 points per 82 games.
With Bailey and Eberle as the most significant players left exposed, we can be fairly confident that Seattle is taking one of them.
Eberle may have a slightly higher offensive ceiling, with good hands and finishing ability, but is mainly only dangerous from in close, once New York is already set up in the offensive zone. Bailey is a good playmaker but what sets him apart from Eberle is his defensive play. Eberle is really only a key asset when he has the puck in a very specific area of the ice, while Bailey is more well-rounded and is quite a bit more effective defensively.
Of course, Seattle could go a different direction and take a younger player at a much lower price. That said, whether it be Kieffer Bellows, Otto Koivula or someone else, nobody would bring the same value as Bailey or Eberle and as a result, this seems unlikely. The Islanders could also try to make a deal to get another player on a bad contract taken, like Thomas Hickey or Leo Komarov, but from Seattle’s perspective, it probably just makes more sense to take one of the veteran forwards. I think Bailey would probably be the better pick for the Kraken, based on what he brings at a lower cap hit, but it's just as likely that Eberle could be taken.
It’s still up in the air as to which of the two forwards could be on their way out but it certainly does seem likely that it'll be either Bailey or Eberle joining the Kraken.
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Who do you think is more likely to be selected by Seattle?
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