Seattle expansion draft pick signs PTO in Europe
A selection of the Seattle Kraken in the team's recent expansion draft has signed a tryout contract with a team in Europe. John Quenneville, who was taken by the Kraken from the Chicago Blackhawks, is headed to Zurich for a tryout with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League.
This one is a bit of a head-scratcher. While it seems clear the plan for Kraken GM Ron Francis was to build up the team through free agency, this seems like a bit of a wasted pick. Some of the names from the Blackhawks that were left unprotected include Henrik Borgstrom, Ryan Carpenter, Brett Connolly, Josh Dickinson, Adam Gaudette, Vinnie Hinostroza (UFA), David Kampf, Brandon Pirri (UFA), Calvin de Haan, Anton Lindholm (UFA), Riley Stillman and Nikita Zadorov. Goaltenders Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban were also made available. None of these names would have been game changers, but surely they wouldn't have had to rely on a tryout contract in Switzerland for their next gig.
There was a similar situation with Seattle's pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Defenseman Gavin Bayreuther went straight back to Columbus as the Kraken failed to make the restricted free agent a qualifying offer.
Quenneville was a first round draft of the New Jersey Devils in 2014. He's played 44 NHL games for the Devils and the Blackhawks. The 25-year-old forward has two goals and five points in that span.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||