3 Players The Seattle Kraken Must Avoid From The Central Division

With the Expansion Draft tonight, the Seattle Kraken have an abundance of potential players to choose from. There are many notable players available, such as Carey Price and Vladimir Tarasenko, who they will certainly consider selecting. Yet, there are some players who absolutely should be avoided at all costs.

There are players to stay away from in every single division, so we will be taking a look at each of them before tonight.

In this episode, we will be focusing on the Central Division.

Matt Duchene (Nashville Predators): Matt Duchene struggled significantly this season, as he recorded just 13 points in 34 games. Although he is a popular name and known as being a top-six center, this decrease in production is far too severe to ignore. He has five more years left on his contract and it carries an $8 million cap hit. Although he is just two years removed from a 70-point campaign, he only had 42 points in 66 games the following season, too. There is too much danger in taking a player with this big of a contract who is showing potential signs of regression.

Ryan Johansen (Nashville Predators): Yes, the Kraken should avoid the other notable center that the Predators are leaving exposed. Like Duchene, Ryan Johansen has an $8 million cap hit, but only three years left. He also has seen his offensive numbers drop a lot over the last two seasons, too. However, this year was particularly underwhelming, as he only had 22 points in 48 games. Therefore, selecting him comes with serious risk and the Kraken simply shouldn't. He is paid like a top-line center, but hasn't been producing like one.

Brett Connolly (Chicago Blackhawks): In 31 games this season with the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks, Brett Connolly only had six points. It was a pretty shocking decrease in production, as he is still only 29-years-old and had 33 points in 69 games the previous season. He may be due for a bounce-back year, but with him making $3.5 million in each of the next two seasons, he is not worth adding at this juncture.