Two Big Wingers Left Exposed By The Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers protection list doesn't include two notable names: Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk. Thus, the Kraken now have two more top-six forward options they can select in the Expansion Draft. Of course, they can only choose one of the two, though.

Official #flyers protection list (7-3-1)

Protected: Aube-Kubel, Couturier, Giroux, Hayes, Konecny, Laughton, Lindblom, Ellis, Provorov, Sanheim, Hart.
Available: Voracek, van Riemsdyk, Braun, Gostisbehere, Hagg.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 18, 2021

It has already been established that the Flyers are hoping to move on from Voracek, so him being exposed isn't all that surprising. Yet, JvR is a bit shocking, as he is coming off a very strong season. Instead, the Flyers have decided to protect bottom-six forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel over him. It appears that the Flyers are mainly focused on gaining cap space from leaving these two exposed.

Voracek is still a talented forward at the NHL level, as evidenced by his stats this season. In 53 games, the 31-year-old had nine goals and recorded 43 points. Yet, his contract may keep Seattle away if they plan on bringing in other big names. Voracek has three years left on it and carries a $8.25 million cap hit. That is a lot of money to take on, even if he still produces well.

As previously stated, JvR had a very strong season on a struggling Flyers team. In 56 games, he had 17 goals and 43 points in total. He works very well on the power play because of his strong net presence. This leads him to be a scoring threat, so the Kraken could be intrigued by him. Like Voracek though, he would not come cheap. He makes $7 million per season and has two more years left on his deal.

The Kraken do have other interesting options besides these two as well. Shayne Gotisbehere and Robert Hagg could also be potential targets for them.