Seattle Kraken take 30 NHL players in expansion draft

The Seattle Kraken already had a franchise, and now they have a team.

The NHL’s 32nd team revealed the names of 30 players selected in the expansion draft at Gas Works Park, overlooking Lake Union in Seattle today. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was on hand, as well as a star-studded cast of characters that included Macklemore, Sue Bird, Marshawn Lynch, Lenny Wilkens, Jordan Morris, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Bobby Wagner, and Kyle Lewis.

Seattle showed it was a hockey town right away, with fans on hand observing the time-honoured tradition of booing Bettman.

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As for the picks, there wasn’t much suspense, as every single selection was leaked to the media earlier in the day. Kraken GM Ron Francis chose to pass on a number of high-priced players available like Carey Price, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, P.K. Subban, Max Domi, and James van Riemsdyk. He did pick former Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano, who joins Seattle from the Calgary Flames.

Six of the selected players were on hand in Kraken jerseys, including Giordano, along with Chris Driedger (Florida Panthers), Jordan Eberle (New York Islanders), Brandon Tanev (Pittsburgh Penguins), Jamie Oleksiak (Dallas Stars), and Haydn Fleury (Anaheim Ducks).

Here are the 30 players picked by the Kraken today: