Compiling Our Own Lists-of Fun Facts

The lists are here. Let's spool out some fun lists about the lists.
Sunday morning, 30 NHL franchises submitted their Expansion Draft protected-player lists to the league, starting the clock in Seattle. Kraken general manager Ron Francis and his hockey operations group will pour over the lists until the Wednesday 7 a.m. deadline to submit their 30 picks.

The group will be simultaneously making phone calls to inquire about trades and begin to put the Kraken's inaugural roster together.
Anticipation will grow between now and Wednesday night at Gas Works Park when the Kraken announce picks in front of a live crowd and an ESPN2 national audience (5 p.m. telecast time). Lots of work has already been done to prepare, but the receipt of the official protected lists will make for a hard sprint down the home stretch toward the Expansion Draft.
Francis and crew do not have an easy task ahead. There are so many permutations and directions to choose. Load up on veteran players? Stock the future by selecting younger players with promising upsides? Do a bit of both?
The lists are available for fans to determine, or predict, the way it will go. In fact, we are asking fans on our social channels to

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Working with notable NHLers not protected by their teams, here are fun facts about some of the available players.

Northwest Connections

There are a number of accomplished players exposed Sunday that have ties to the Pacific Northwest.
The Carolina Hurricanes have three such players of note. Center Morgan Geekie and defenseman Jake Bean both played junior hockey in Kennewick with the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans.
Geekie scored 87 goals for the Americans in three-plus seasons from 2014 to 2018, including 174 points (65 goals, 109 assists) during his final two hockey years in Tri-City. Bean joined Geekie in Tri-City for a stretch run in 2018.
Carolina's Nino Niederreiter played two seasons for the Portland Winterhawks from 2009 through 2011. He notched 129 points (76 G, 53 A) in 120 games.
Tri-City shows up on the list again with Montreal goalie Carey Price, who played his junior hockey in Kennewick from 2003 through 2007. A fun fact is Price played his last WHL game in Seattle under the same roof that will be overhead at Climate Pledge Arena.
Other notable PNW players - Washington defenseman Brendan Dillon (Seattle Thunderbirds 2007-2011), San Jose's Alexander True (Seattle 2014-2017), Detroit goalie Calvin Pickard (Seattle 2008-2012), Edmonton's Jujhar Khaira (Everett Silvertips 2013-2014), Florida's Radko Gudas (Everett 2009-2010), Nashville's Ryan Johansen (Portland Winterhawks 2009-2011) and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Tyler Johnson (Spokane Chiefs 2007-2011) are available.
Johnson, from Spokane, joins San Jose Sharks winger Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, WA) as available players who are from the Northwest.

NHL Award Winners

In the history of NHL Expansion Drafts, 18 players have been selected who had previously won an individual NHL award. Most recent was in 2000 when the Minnesota Wild drafted both goalie Mike Vernon (Jennings Award, Conn Smythe Award) and Jamie McLennan (Bill Masterton Award).
Could a 19th or 20th player join that list over the next three days?
Montreal's Carey Price was left unprotected after he waived his no-move clause and is available. His trophy case is crowded, thanks to a monster season in 2014-2015. He was awarded the Hart Trophy for league MVP that year, plus the Vezina Trophy for best goalie, the Ted Lindsay Award as MVP voted by players and the Jennings trophy for fewest goals allowed.
Other notables: The Los Angeles Kings exposed goalie Jonathan Quick and he has a Conn Smythe Award (2012) as playoff MVP. Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano won the Norris Trophy for best defenseman in 2019 and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2020.

Get Out the Calculator

Not only does Ron Francis and the Kraken have to find the best players from a performance standpoint but there are player contracts and salary cap hits to consider. For one thing, at least 20 of the 30 selected players must be under contract for the 2021-22 season and their salaries in aggregate must represent at least 60 percent of the league's $81.5mil salary cap.
There are some players that may be intriguing picks but come with a high price tag. Salary is one of the factors that Francis and his team will have to balance as they fill out their roster, especially to leave the franchise flexible to sign potential free agents beginning July 28.
Carey Price makes another list appearance. He is signed through the 2026 season for $10.5 million a year. Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres, and a former Carolina Hurricane, is inked for $9 million on a contract that will expire after the 2026-27 NHL season.
Teammates Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene were not protected by the Nashville Predators; each player is signed through 2025 for $8 million a season. Jakub Voracek from the Philadelphia Flyers has three years remaining on his $8.2 million contract while New Jersey's P.K. Subban has one more year due at $9 million.

Word about the Wise

If, as they say, wisdom and experience come with age, there are a fair number of wise hockey players available in the Expansion Draft. Andy Greene from the New York Islanders and Jason Spezza from the Maple Leafs were both not protected at the age of 38.
Greene made his NHL debut in 2006 with the New Jersey Devils. He has logged 988 games and spent the last two seasons with the Islanders, coming over in a trade with NJD. Spezza was taken second overall by Ottawa in the 2001 NHL Draft and has played 1177 NHL games with the Senators, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Other experienced and wise players of note: Defenseman Mark Giordano is 37 and has spent his entire career with the Calgary Flames. Montreal defenseman Shea Weber (facing injuries that will reportedly prevent him from playing this coming season) is 35 years old while Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is 34.

Who are the scorers?

Someone once said that you have to score goals if you want to win hockey games. Seems obvious, right? In the history of NHL Expansion Drafts the most points scored by a selected player was Brian Bradley who recorded 86 points after being chosen by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
Will Seattle find that type of scoring this go-round? Here are some of the top scorers from the 2020-21 regular season left exposed Sunday morning.
- Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay: 55 games, 15 goals, 31 assists, 46 points - Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia: 53 games, 9 G, 34 A, 43 points - James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia: 56 games, 17 G, 26 A, 43 points - Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay: 56 games, 17 G, 19 A, 36 points - Josh Bailey, New York Islanders: 54 games, 8 G, 27 A, 35 points - Nino Niederreiter, Carolina: 56 games, 20 G, 14 A, 34 points - Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders: 55 games, 16 G, 17 A, 33 points - Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay: 56 games, 15 G, 18 A, 33 points - Mark Giordarno - Calgary - 56 games, 9 G, 17 A, 26 points - Ryan Johansen - Nashville - 48 games, 7 G, 15 A, 22 points

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Playing for national pride

Hockey allows players to have a chance to represent their countries at various international events, including the Olympics. There are players available to the Kraken this week who have worn their countries' jersey for past Winter Games.
The Olympians include Carey Price, who represented Canada for gold medals at the World Junior Championships (2007) and Olympics in 2014. Carolina's Niederreiter played in the World Junior Championships (2010, 2011) and Olympics (2014) for Switzerland. The United States was represented by Quick when he played in the 2014 Olympics.
For the most important lists of all, click
here
for a full list of protected and exposed players.