The Seattle Kraken appear to have zeroed in on their target in Chicago

With the Seattle Expansion Draft fast approaching and the NHL's transaction freeze in full effect, the Kraken will have a few days to go through each team's list of players who were left exposed and try to assemble the best of what's left into some semblance of an NHL roster.

While previous expansion teams have had to endure several years of struggle to even ascend to mediocrity, the Vegas Golden Knights and potentially also the Seattle Kraken have had the good fortune of entering the league with an adjusted expansion draft process that allows for a more expedited route to possible contention.

The Seattle Kraken have some tough decisions to make over the next few days as they look to add at least 14 forwards, 9 defensemen and 3 goalies, with the ability to add 4 additional players at the positions of their choosing beyond that to total 30 players, with Vegas, of course, being exempt.

Teams like Pittsburgh, Arizona and Dallas each took the initiative to move a player that they did not want to lose for nothing. The Pens moved middle-six forward Jared McCann to the Leafs, the Coyotes sent goaltender Adin Hill to San Jose and the Stars shipped Jason Dickinson over to the Vancouver Canucks to recoup some assets.


One team who was trying to do the same, but came up short was the Chicago Blackhawks, who then had to expose defenseman Nikita Zadorov to Seattle. By all accounts, Zadorov indeed appears to be a candidate for selection on Wednesday.

The news was shared on Twitter by St. Louis Blues rinkside reporter Andy Strickland on Sunday evening.

Zadorov, 26, has already amassed 411 games of regular season NHL experience and 33 games of NHL playoff experience.

With just 8 points in 55 games with the Blackhawks last season, Zadorov is not going to blow anyone away with his offensive production, but with his hard-nosed approach, he certainly won't think twice about throwing the body, so he will make it so that guys know where he is on the ice.

In terms of how the rest of the blueline will round out, it's fairly unclear at this point. There are several players who make some sense for the Kraken, but it really depends on what GM Ron Francis' priorities are.

If leadership is high on the list, the Kraken need not look any further than Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano or Colorado's Erik Johnson. If it's youth and upside they're after, there are plenty of options there as well, including Detroit's Dennis Cholowski (23), Boston's Jeremy Lauzon (24) and Carolina's Jake Bean (23).

There are certainly some interesting names available and, from what I've seen in several mock drafts, the Kraken stand a reasonably good chance of piecing together a quality roster, even without engaging in any potential side deals with teams who wish to influence their pick in some way.

Wednesday cannot get here fast enough.