Kraken's Stanley Cup Odds Shift After NHL Expansion Draft

The NHL’s 32nd franchise, the Seattle Kraken, officially set their for their inaugural season.

The expansion draft was held Wednesday, July 21st, and now we finally know who will be wearing the Kraken jersey for their first ever game in the upcoming season.

Not only do we know what their roster looks like, but we now have their betting odds to win the Stanley Cup. WynnBET has released 2021 Stanley Cup odds, and the Kraken are listed at +4000. They originally opened up at +5000 after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, but the expansion draft has caused WynnBET to move their odds up slightly.

How Good Is the Seattle Kraken Roster?

Despite the movement in the Stanley Cup odds, many people weren’t impressed with the choices Seattle made with its expansion draft. There were a number of big name superstars that were made available to the Kraken, but they refused to bite on them. Among those names were Carey Price, Vladimir Tarasenko, P.K. Subban, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, and Jakub Voracek.

Instead, the Kraken decided to opt for a team that is built to win in the future, while also leaving themselves a significant amount of cap space which will allow them to make roster moves throughout the upcoming season.

Among the top players that the Kraken did select were Mark Giordano, Jordan Eberle, Brandon Tanev, and defenseman Adaam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Yanni Gourde. 

Their most popular selection of the draft was goaltender Chris Driedger, who had a solid 2020-2021 season with the Florida Panthers, recording a 2.07 ERA and a .927 save percentage. Not only does the 27-year old have a bright future in the NHL, but he came at the cheap price of only $3.5 million annually over a three year contract. The team would have paid much more for the likes of Carey Price, if they decided to go in that direction.

Can the Kraken make the playoffs?

Don’t expect the Kraken to go on a Cinderella run like the Vegas Golden Knights did in their first season in the league. Instead of drafting a team that’s built to win now and making deals with several other teams right out of the gate like the Golden Knights did, the Kraken opted to build for the future instead.

That’s not to say they can’t make the playoffs this season.

One advantage Seattle has is that it was placed in the Pacific division, which is unarguably the weakest division in the league. With Arizona being moved to the Central Division, that leaves Seattle to compete against the Western Canadian teams and the California clubs. The Edmonton Oilers were the only team of the six to make the playoffs last season, and they were promptly swept by the Winnipeg Jets. The Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks all had less than ideal 2021 campaigns.

The Golden Knights will certainly run away with the division crown, but that leaves two other playoff spots in the Pacific division, one of which could certainly be captured by the Kraken.