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Sammi’s Daily Mix: Capitals, NHL Ready For Seattle

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The Capitals and NHL are preparing for the expansion draft.

Following a wild weekend of protected lists and trades before the roster freeze, the Washington Capitals and NHL now brace for the Seattle Kraken’s picks at the expansion draft. Then, a week later, comes NHL free agency.

From big names left exposed to surprising names left protected, here’s everything to know as we begin another week of this busy offseason.

Capitals Links

  • Washington revealed its protected list and went with the expected 7-3-1 option. However, they surprised by using the final defensive spot to protect Trevor van Riemsdyk over Justin Schultz. Here’s more on the Capitals’ decisions, including why Alex Ovechkin and Schultz are unprotected and more. (Washington Hockey Now)
  • Seattle has a number of options when it comes to who to pluck from Washington, but what direction will they go in? Peter Hassett ranks all the Capitals available in the expansion draft. (Russian Machine Never Breaks)
  • In prospect news, Michael Sgarbossa is showing a lot of promise as a promising depth center. Jon Sorenson has more on the 28-year-old’s performance and future after signing a two-year extension with Washington in mid-June. (NoVa Caps)

NHL Links

  • The Montreal Canadiens made a surprising move for the upcoming draft, exposing goaltender Carey Price to the Kraken. Elliotte Friedman explains the move, and how injury troubles complicate things for Seattle as they debate whether or not to take the 33-year-old netminder. (Sportsnet)
  • In addition to Price, there are several interesting names available, including Ondrej Palat, Nino Niederreiter and even the Capitals’ Nick Jensen. James O’Brien breaks down the most intriguing players up for grabs and who the Kraken may want to invest in. (Pro Hockey Talk)
  • Gabriel Landeskog was another big name left exposed for Seattle, leading some to speculate further about his future with the Avalanche. Adrian Dater takes a look at what this means for Colorado. (Colorado Hockey Now)

Sammi’s Top Shelf Takes

  • Stop panicking about Ovechkin, friends. He wants to finish his career in D.C. and exposing him was the right move. Sure, Seattle can take him if they want to regardless of whether or not he expresses interest in the pre-negotiating window. However, he could just hit free agency and re-sign with the team on July 28. This is also likely why he doesn’t have a contract; it allowed Washington to protect an extra player. I’m confident he’ll be with Washington to start next season.
  • Regardless of whether or not the Kraken decided to take on Price, their situation in net is going to be fantastic. Ben Bishop and Braden Holtby (there’s still a lot left in these two) are ready for the taking, as are younger options like Kaapo Kahkonen and (I’ll say it) Vitek Vanecek.
  • Stick taps to Nashville Predators prospect luke Prokop, who became the first player under NHL contract to publicly come out as gay.