Beware the Kraken.
Seattle, the NHL’s incoming 32nd franchise, will stock its initial roster in Wednesday night’s expansion draft. And several teams may go through some drastic alterations as the Kraken make their picks.
If the league’s last expansion draft for Vegas — exempt from losing a player on Wednesday — in 2017 is a barometer, there will be plenty of maneuvering and side deals made with the Kraken to keep the new team from selecting a player another team doesn’t really want to lose but was forced to leave exposed to the draft.
That would include he Islanders’ Josh Bailey, the team’s longest-tenured player.