What is your NHL Expansion Draft sales pitch?

The Seattle Kraken get to select players in the expansion draft on July 21st. Just over two weeks from now, the NHL’s newest team will be fully stocked and hoping to replicate the out of the gate success of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Fans are concerned that their favorite players will be left unprotected in the draft and nabbed by the Kraken. Blues fans especially are concerned because last time there was an expansion draft, the Golden Knights selected David Perron. Luckily, Perron returned to the Blues and has had three solid seasons since then, being a key component in the Cup run as well as averaging a point per game in 2021’s shortened season.

Chances are very good that Perron’s safe this go-round, but considering teams can only protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender, the Blues will be short at least one player when pre-season starts in September - and it might not be who you want it to be.

The full nitty gritty of the expansion draft rules can be found over here - it’s not going to be simple for any team to choose their eleven protected players. There are quite a few stipulations, like players with NMCs having to choose to waive them in order to be selected, for GMs to take into consideration while making that list.

Fans have of course, players that they would love to actively petition the Kraken to take. Obviously, most teams’ “dead weight,” as determined by the fans of course, won’t be tops of the Kraken’s list. They’re going to want players who have some sort of upside and who can add value to their team. How, then, can teams make the armchair NHL 21 GMs happy?

The long and short of it is that they can’t. The draft hasn’t happened yet, and all we can do is dream. How would you, dear readers, persuade the Kraken to take your least favorite player - and who would that person be?

Share your sales pitch in the comments - how do you persuade the Kraken to take, well... I think we all know who quite a few of these pitches are going to be about.