The Boston Bruins have released who they have chosen to protect in the upcoming expansion draft. From that list the following players are exposed to be taken by the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken.

Exposed List:

• Anton Blidh (F)
• Paul Carey (F)
• Peter Cehlarik (F)
• Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (F)
• Taylor Hall (F)
• Cameron Hughes (F)
• Ondrej Kase (F)
• Alex Khokhlachev (F)
• Joona Koppanen (F)
• David Krejci (F)
• Karson Kuhlman (F)
• Sean Kuraly (F)
• Curtis Lazar (F)
• Greg McKegg (F)
• Nick Ritchie (F)
• Zach Senyshyn (F)
• Chris Wagner (F)
• Linus Arnesson (D)
• Connor Clifton (D)
• Steven Kampfer (D)
• Jeremy Lauzon (D)
• John Moore (D)
• Mike Reilly (D)
• Jarred Tinordi (D)
• Jakub Zboril (D)
• Callum Booth (G)
• Jaroslav Halak (G)
• Tuukka Rask (G)

Most of these players are on expiring deals, and they can test free agency a few days after the Seattle draft which is on July 21st.

With a name like Kraken, which comes from a folk tale of a gigantic sea monster, one would think the new team would draft players that live up to that identity of being strong and dangerous.

My pick for who Seattle takes: Connor Clifton, Nick Ritchie, or Jaroslav Halak.

Connor Clifton: A decent, young choice for defense, who can play either side. Clifton is not afraid to throw around his body to break up a play. The 26 year old is just five games shy of 100 NHL games, but has a great future that Seattle could build around.

Nick Ritchie: Ritchie had a career high season with the black and gold with 15 goals, with five power play goals and nine points on the power play. His big body would add a dangerous edge to Seattle, at 6’2″ and 230lbs and the 25 year old is a decent left winger with close to 400 NHL games under his wing.

Jaroslav Halak: Halak already stated he’s parting ways with the Bruins in this offseason, gives Seattle a great veteran goaltender to draft. The 36 year old has plenty of NHL experience, with 539 games played in the NHL and helped out the Bruins when Rask was injured. However, there are a lot of goaltenders available for Seattle to draft.

THE PICK IS IN: JEREMY LAUZON

The left handed defenseman is headed to Seattle! Reuniting with Jay Leach, the 24 year old has a lot more to learn but is a great pickup by Seattle. Personally, I won’t miss him as much as he did not put up much points for the B’s, with his highlight year being spent in the AHL in 2019.