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.
Background
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]
Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan celebrating the city's expansion team in September 2018
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.[5] 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]
Ron Francis was hired in 2019 to be the Seattle Kraken's inaugural general manager.
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.[9] 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]
Luke Henman became the first player to join the Kraken after signing a contract with the team on May 12, 2021.
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]
Rules
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:
The contract expired on July 28, 2021, in which case the NMC was considered void for the draft.
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.
The player with an NMC waived his no-movement clause for the expansion draft.
Any player picked in the expansion draft could not have his contract bought out until after the completion of the 2021–22 season.[16]
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.[16]
Protected players
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.
Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Chris Driedger reportedly signed contracts with the Kraken before they were selected by the team during the 2021 NHL expansion draft.
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 defensemenAdam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak and goaltenderChris Driedger to a four-year $16 million deal, a five-year $23 million contract, and a three-year $10.5 million deal, respectively.[19][20][21] Larsson, Oleksiak, and Driedger would count as the pick from their respective teams (Edmonton, Dallas, and Florida, respectively).[22]
Draft selections
The Kraken's draft selections are listed below:[22][23]
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