Expansion Draft: 2 Detroit Red Wings the Seattle Kraken May Select

The Seattle Kraken have July 17 marked on their calendars.as the deadline looms for every team in the NHL to submit their protected list for the expansion draft. From there the fun begins and the Kraken will announce their roster on July 21. Today we examine a couple of Detroit Red Wings who could end up in a Seattle Kraken uniform next season.

For educational purposes:

Teams must submit their protected lists to the league by July 17
Each team must submit a protected list of seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie OR eight skaters and one goalie
Any player with a no-movement clause must be protected unless the player waives it
Each team must expose two forwards, one defenseman, and one goalie who are under contract and played at least 40 games this past season or 70 combined games over the last two seasons
Any player with a career-ending injury is exempt from selection
All first- and second-year players, as well as unsigned draft picks, are exempt from selection

Red Wings Players to Watch:

Troy Stecher: Right-handed defenseman are hard to come by and especially ones who make $1.7 million on the salary cap. Last season in his first with the Red Wings, Stecher recorded 11 points in 44 games. He's shown in the past an ability to play in all situations, and the Kraken could certainly use some of his versatility during their first season. With only one season left on his deal, the 27-year-old would be a low-risk high-reward type of addition for the Kraken.

Vladimir Namestnikov: The 28-year-old winger is able to play either side of the ice and carries a reasonable cap hit of $2 million. The former first-round pick has bounced around in recent years so another move to Seattle would be something he's now used to. Last season he recorded 17 points in 53 games and the Kraken would hope he could get back to his scoring ways that we saw when he posted 44 points in 62 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years back.

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