Seattle Kraken will not select Vladimir Tarasenko or Carey Price

The NHL expansion draft will set the first-ever roster for the Seattle Kraken, but two huge names will not be joining the team. 

For the first time ever, the Seattle Kraken will unveil their roster to the world.

After years of rumors that a franchise would be coming to Seattle, and months of speculating what their roster might look like, Ron Francis and company have finally decided who will help lead the charge for the NHL’s newest team.

When teams revealed their protected lists this weekend, there was a pretty decent amount of star power available for the Kraken to choose from. A quick glance at the unprotected list read like an All-Star roster with Gabriel Landeskog, Vladimir Tarasenko, Carey Price, and others made available for the taking.

Seattle, however, won’t be indulging itself in most of the top-rated talent in the pool. As tempting as it may be to load up a roster of huge names, the Kraken front office is taking a measured approach which means passing on two of the biggest stars everyone thought they might be adding.

Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft: Vladimir Tarasenko won’t be selected

According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Kraken won’t be selecting superstar Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues. Instead, Seattle will reportedly be selecting defenseman Vince Dunn.

On the surface, this seems like a giant swing-and-miss by the Kraken. Tarasenko is one of the best players in hockey and a true superstar who would be the type of franchise centerpiece Seattle could build around in the immediate future. Taking Tarasenko would seemingly catapult the Kraken into contention right away, not unlike how the Vegas Golden Knights were able to take their expansion draft roster and turn it into a Stanley Cup contender right away.

Seattle Kraken salary cap situation is probably why they passed on Tarasenko

Just because a player is available doesn’t mean Seattle can draft him and not worry about salary cap ramifications. Selecting a player means selecting his contract, and right now Tarasenko doesn’t have one. He’s a free agent this summer, and selecting him would require the Kraken to unload a considerable amount of money to get him to stay long-term.

Ditto with Carey Price, who carries a hefty price tag and a ton of risks that might not be worth the bind his contract might put Seattle in. According to reports, Price will also not be selected by the Kraken — and interestingly neither will Minnesota Wild goalie Kaapo Kähkönen, who many believed would be the pick after it was leaked the Kraken were out on Price.

When does the NHL expansion draft start?

There’s still time for the Kraken to change their mind about who is going to be selected from the available player pool. The NHL expansion draft doesn’t begin until 8 pm ET on ESPN2, but the Kraken will likely have their list locked in well before that to avoid any potential salary cap hangups that could derail their plans.