The Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft is almost here. As we look ahead to it, here are four Winnipeg Jets players that make sense for the Kraken to draft.
We are just one day away from the Expansion Draft and the rumors are still flying around about who the Seattle Kraken may select from the Winnipeg Jets.
On Sunday morning, the Winnipeg Jets along with the rest of the franchises around the NHL (except for the Vegas Golden Knights) released their protected list for the draft.
The Jets front office made some surprising decisions as they left some key players from this past season’s team unprotected and these players can be selected by Seattle.
Ultimately Seattle will choose one player from the Winnipeg Jets, but here are four members of the Jets that make the most sense for Seattle to Draft:
4. Dylan DeMelo
Before the protected lists were released, one of the questions around Winnipeg Jets country was if the Jets protect Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey, then who is the third defenseman Winnipeg will protect? Logan Stanley or Dylan DeMelo?
Well, the Jets ultimately decide to protect the young-rookie defenseman and pending restricted free agent, in Stanley rather than the proven DeMelo.
The former sixth-round draft pick, DeMelo, appeared in 52 out of the possible 56 regular season games for the Winnipeg Jets and played well. DeMelo finished the season without registering a goal but had nine assists and amassed an outstanding plus-ten plus/minus.
DeMelo was extremely consistent for the Jets this past year. He was a reliable figure on the Jets’ blue line and was one defenseman that was tough to beat although he is not the most imposing figure.
A player like DeMelo can offer Seattle a lot in their inaugural season. He has shown that he can be a valuable defenseman anywhere on the depth chart and still has three years left on his current contract, which means he can be a key part of the future for the Kraken.
His contract has an average annual value (“AAV”) of $3,000,000 per season, so it will be interesting to see if this factors into Seattle’s decision. If Seattle sees DeMelo as a key player for the next couple of years then he is the perfect match for them.