SAN JOSE – The Sharks believed they had put themselves in a good position heading into the NHL expansion draft by not leaving any core players available for the Seattle Kraken to select.
For now, it feels like the Sharks came out of the process relatively unscathed, even though the player the Kraken took from San Jose was a bit unexpected.
Rather than having a more seasoned forward or defenseman plucked from their lineup, the Sharks on Wednesday lost center Alexander True to the Kraken, which formed its roster with players left available by 30 teams throughout the league.
True, 24, just finished his fourth professional season with the Sharks organization and is a pending restricted free agent. In 2021, True had one assist in seven NHL games as he spent the bulk of the season with the Barracuda, where he had 20 points in 27 games.
“It’s mixed feelings,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said of losing the 6-foot-5, 200-pound True. “A big body, we think he’s just coming into his own. We knew we would lose somebody. I think Seattle did their homework, and they got a good player.”
True, who played from 2014 to 2017 with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, could compete for a depth forward role with the Kraken should he remain with the team.
Still, just like in 2017 when they lost depth defenseman David Schlemko in the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft, the Sharks can carry on without having to worry about filling a sizeable hole in the lineup.
Without True, the Sharks, for now, have one less player to compete for the fourth line center job next season, although Dylan Gambrell — now that he’s still in San Jose – is the leading candidate for that role.
The Sharks had also exposed forwards Ryan Donato and Matt Nieto, along with Jayden Halbgewachs, Kurtis Gabriel, Maxim Letunov, Patrick Marleau and Marcus Sorensen.
The Sharks presumably are glad that Nieto is still with the team after he signed a two-year, $1.7 million extension last month. A hip flexor issue prematurely ended Nieto’s 2021 season, but when healthy, he averaged 14:00 of ice time per game and was one of Sharks’ top penalty-killers.
Donato, a pending RFA, fell out of favor with the Sharks’ coaching staff toward the end of last season and would need to receive a $2.15 million qualifying offer from Wilson to remain with the team.
Halbgewachs will likely remain with the Sharks, but it would be a surprise to see Gabriel, Letunov, Marleau or Sorensen return to the organization.
The picks were announced before a few thousand fans on an outdoor stage set up along the Seattle waterfront. True was the second-to-last player to be announced, as the Pacific Division selections followed the picks of the three other divisions.
The Kraken had to submit their expansion draft selection list to the NHL by 7 a.m. (PT) Wednesday morning, along with a list of unrestricted free agents they signed from other teams. Seattle was allowed to take one player from each of the 30 teams that had to participate in the process.
Among the more notable players the Kraken selected were forwards Yanni Gourde from the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and Jordan Eberle of the New York Islanders, plus defensemen Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and Vince Dunn from the St. Louis Blues.
All 30 picks have now been leaked ahead of tonight's expansion draft.
Meet the 1st edition of the Seattle Kraken – 15 F, 12D, 3G.
18 signed players, 5 UFA (of which at least 2 must be signed by tonight to meet 20 contract minimum), 7 RFA.
And tons of cap space.
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/alXywrmsmc
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) July 21, 2021
Former Sharks Joonas Donskoi and Colin Blackwell were also chosen by the Kraken from the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers, respectively.
The Kraken chose not to select several players with a higher price tag, electing instead to preserve valuable space under the NHL’s salary cap of $81.5 million.
Some high-profile players that had been available included Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price and St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Price’s contract carries a $10.5 million cap hit for the next five years and Tarasenko’s deal has a $7.5 million hit for the next two years.
Goalie Martin Jones, who was exposed to Seattle but remains on the Sharks roster for now. The Kraken instead chose Joey Daccord (Ottawa) and Vitek Vanecek (Washington), and had recently signed former Florida Panthers goalie Chris Driedger as a free agent.
Jones’ future with the Sharks is murky at best, as his contract carries a cap hit of $5.75 million for the next three years and could be bought out by the Sharks in the coming days. The Sharks recently acquired Adin Hill from the Arizona Coyotes, and he’ll likely play a significant role for San Jose going forward.
The Sharks opted to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and Hill. The skaters they protected were Rudolfs Balcers, Logan Couture, Jonathan Dahlen, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
The Sharks defensemen who were made available in the expansion draft were Christian Jaros, Nicolas Meloche, Jacob Middleton, and Radim Simek.
Seattle will be in the Pacific Division along with the Sharks, Golden Knights, Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers. The regular season is expected to begin in early-to-mid October.
