SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 23: A general view of the Space Needle as the Seattle Kraken team flag is hung from above on July 23, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The NHL revealed the franchise's new team name today. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
The last time there was an expansion draft, the New York Islanders made a trade with the Golden Knights to protect exposed players. If you remember, the Isles protected Andrew Ladd, John Tavares, Anders Lee, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Thomas Greiss.
That left players like Josh Bailey, Casey Cizikas, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome and others available for the taking.