The Kraken of Seattle isn't fooling around. With just over a month until the expansion draught, general manager Ron Francis has been rumoured to be looking to land great players to set the tone for the team's inaugural season.
Francis is already negotiating with other teams across the league ahead of the expansion draught, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, and is looking to add impact players before the players' protection process begins. Friedman believes that Kraken management is taking a closer look at Carolina Hurricanes star defenseman Dougie Hamilton and may be interested in signing him in a sign-and-trade deal to keep him in Seattle for the long haul.
Meanwhile, additional speculations suggest that Buffalo Sabers centre Sam Reinhart could be a target for the expansion team, as well as the Kraken.
Reinhart, a restricted free agent, has also surfaced in trade rumours, prompting Friedman to report that he is already attracting a lot of interest. The Sabres are expected to receive a second high first-round pick in July, but we don't know if Francis would be prepared to give up his second overall pick in the NHL draught this summer.
«And, if you can't do the Dougie, there will be other options. Over the next two summers there are plenty of good defensemen who could hit the market. There are top-of-the-chart types ( Seth Jones, Colton Parayko), strong mid-levelers, good depth pieces, older, younger, you name it.
The key to all of this could be the Kraken. The surest predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and when Ron Francis was GM of the Hurricanes he was a compulsive hoarder of defensemen. Seattle will have an exclusive negotiating window with free agents prior to the expansion draft. That window (or the draft itself) is an excellent opportunity for Francis to build his own unit, or do what Vegas did — acquire assets to be flipped elsewhere.»
