Seattle Kraken Will Not Be Taking This St. Louis Blues Star

According to Frank Seravalli, the Seattle Kraken are not going to pick Vladimir Tarasenko at the Expansion Draft. Instead, they will likely be selecting 24-year-old defenseman, Vince Dunn.

Sources say #SeaKraken also passed on another high-profile, big money player: Vladimir Tarasenko.

Subject to change but sounds like the selection from #stlblues will be Vince Dunn.@DFOHockey
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 21, 2021

This is an interesting development, as players of Tarasenko's level are not normally free for the taking. However, he has had a lot of injury trouble over these last two seasons. In fact, he only appeared in 34 games between them, while registering 24 total points. He also has two years left on his contract and it carries a $7.5 million cap hit, so perhaps Seattle saw him as too big of a risk.

Dunn is still a very solid pick for the Kraken, as he is a top-four defenseman who is able to contribute well offensively. He has been the subject of trade rumors for quite some time, but now it appears that his time in St. Louis is finally over. In 43 games this season, he scored six goals and recorded 20 total points. He very well could form a nice pair with Adam Larsson, who is expected to sign with the Kraken shortly.

Nonetheless, it is still noteworthy that the Kraken decided to pass on Tarasenko.