NYHN Daily: Islanders Lose Eberle in Expansion Draft & More

The Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft came and went as the New York Islandes saw Jordan Eberle selected. With all that cap room, what is next for Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello? Today at 1 PM, NHL teams can start making trades with Seattle and the other 31 teams around the league. Do the Islanders make any trades or do they stay pat? These stories and more in today’s daily links!

It’s Official, Jordan Eberle is headed to Seattle. The forward was selected by the Seattle Kraken in Wednesday night’s expansion draft and appeared in person during the presentation. The selection capped days of speculation after Eberle and Josh Bailey were both left unprotected by the New York Islanders. Sources had told NYI Hockey Now that Seattle was eying Bailey and that the Islanders were working to steer them to Eberle. (NYI Hockey Now)

Lou Lamoriello’s goal at the start of the offseason was to find enough cap space to retain his core younger players, a couple of his key veterans heading for free agency and possibly a bigger swing at a difference-making scorer. With Jordan Eberle headed to Seattle in Wednesday’s expansion draft, Lamoriello’s options have gone from limited to limitless in the span of five days. Now what? (The Athletic)

Jordan Eberle strode onto the stage wearing a white Seattle Kraken jersey with his familiar No. 7. “It’s a new challenge,” the former Islander said on the ESPN2 broadcast of Wednesday night’s expansion draft. “You don’t get many opportunities to be a part of a new franchise.” There’s no doubt losing a top-line right wing does leave a (temporary) hole in the Islanders’ lineup. But the Islanders now have much more financial flexibility with the remaining three seasons of Eberle’s $27.5 million deal — with an annual average value of $5.5 million — off their books. (Newsday)

A Boston Bruins team source has confirmed multiple reports that the Seattle Kraken have selected defenseman Jeremy Lauzon from the Bruins’ NHL Expansion Draft list of available players. Sportsnet NHL Insider Chris Johnston was the first to report that the Bruins had lost Lauzon to the Seattle Kraken. Shortly after that, Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff also reported Lauzon to Seattle, citing former Providence Bruins head coach and now Seattle Kraken Assistant Coach Jay Leach playing a role in the decision to select Lauzon. (Boston Hockey Now)

The Pittsburgh Penguins were guaranteed to lose one player via the 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion draft. No matter how wickedly any GM spun the chessboard, one player was headed out, except the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of a few teams to lose two NHL players. And therein lies the problem. After sitting through a cringe-worthy ESPN debut, the thought was inescapable. The money saved did not equal the players the Penguins lost, Brandon Tanev and Jared McCann. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Expansion Draft came an went on Wednesday night without any trades. No official trades, no reported trades, and no leaked trades. The Seattle Kraken took a player from 30 teams and that was that. But things should pick up at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday when the NHL roster freeze lifts. The Philadelphia Flyers have their eye on Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Pitlick, among other names in the trade market. Let’s start with the bigger name: Vladimir Tarasenko. (Philly Hockey Now)

When Chris Driedger walked out onto the podium wearing his brand new Seattle Kraken jersey on Wednesday night, one could forgive him for his thoughts turning back a few years. It was only three years ago when Driedger was cut loose by the Ottawa Senators after years of toiling mostly in their minor league system. Without any NHL offers, Driedger had told his agent to start looking at options at playing in Europe. Then the Florida Panthers called with a lifeline — a minor-league contract. Driedger took it and has never looked back. Fast forward to Wednesday night and here is Chris Driedger, the assumed starting goalie of the Seattle Kraken with a three-year, $10.5 million contract to go with it. (Florida Hockey Now)

Sportsnet’s Mark Specter is reporting that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski will be announced as a selection in the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft. Cholowski was the Red Wings’ first round pick in 2016 and hasn’t developed the way the Red Wings hoped he would. Many fans hoped the Kraken would take Cholowski over Troy Stecher who has become a modest fan favorite. Stecher plays with energy and likes to move up into the offensive flow. (Detroit Hockey Now)

The Washington Capitals bid adieu to Vitek Vanecek as the Seattle Kraken selected the 25-year-old in the 2021 expansion draft. Now, the attention shifts to what’s next on the offseason to-do list. Right now, Washington still has a lot of business to take care of over the summer. Not only do they need to re-sign captain Alex Ovechkin, but they need to address RFAs Ilya Samsonov and Lucas Johansen. Michael Raffl, Zdeno Chara, Paul LaDue and Cameron Schilling are also pending UFAs, but it’s unclear if they’ll return to the Capitals. (Washington Hockey Now)

The picks weren’t official, but nearly all Seattle Kraken expansion draft picks have been leaked via Twitter. Former TSN reporter turned Daily Faceoff lead Frank Seravalli did most of the damage to the Wednesday night ESPN broadcast. The usual suspects from TSN and Sportsnet did some heavy lifting, too. While Vegas Golden Knights and their fans watched the drama from afar, teams and fanbases puckered through the day, picks were leaked, one by one until 29 of the 30 picks were known. Seattle GM Ron Francis had a clear design. Many of the names below you will not recognize or know much about. (Vegas Hockey Now)

The 2021-22 NHL schedule will be revealed during the 6 p.m. ET edition of “SportsCenter” on ESPN on Thursday. The NHL plans to play a full 82-game schedule beginning in October and ending in April followed by the Stanley Cup Playoffs ending in June. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on July 12 briefed general managers on the guidelines for next season and a variety of topics in a video conference called by senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell. (NHL)

The Seattle Kraken have 30 players after they revealed their initial roster at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft presented by Upper Deck on Wednesday. Seattle selected 15 forwards, 12 defensemen and three goalies, one player from the 30 participating teams. The Vegas Golden Knights did not lose a player because they were exempt from the expansion draft. The Kraken will undoubtedly make some changes to the roster through free agency, trades and the 2021 NHL Draft before their first game at the Golden Knights on Oct. 12, but here is a position-by-position analysis of what they look like following the expansion draft: (NHL)