Reviewing my Mock Expansion Draft

Anaheim Ducks

Predicted: Jaccob Slavin

Actual: Zack MacEwen

Note: The Ducks swung a side deal, paying a 3rd, a 4th, Josh HoSang, and Curtis Douglas to keep Seattle from taking Slavin.

Arizona Coyotes

Predicted: Ville Husso

Actual: Ville Husso

Note: The obvious pick, Husso is young and cost controlled, and Arizona had to protect Hellebuyck.

Boston Bruins

Predicted: JT Compher

Actual: Dante Fabbro

Note: The Bruins decided to protect Compher, then swung a deal that saw them send Kevin Hayes to Seattle to guarantee that Fabbro would be taken.

Buffalo Sabres

Predicted: Brendan Lemieux

Actual: Brendan Lemieux

Note: Seattle also sent a 4th to Buffalo in exchange for Kale Clague.

Calgary Flames

Predicted: Zach Bogosian

Actual: Anders Lee

Note: Seattle chose to take on the better rated Lee at $7 million rather than the cheaper Bogosian.

Carolina Hurricanes

Predicted: Carson Soucy

Actual: Oscar Sundqvist

Note: Sundqvist is under team control for longer for cheaper than Soucy, and the Kraken decided to go with defenders in a lot of other places rather than here.

Chicago Blackhawks

Predicted: Derek Stepan

Actual: Guillaume Brisebois

Note: Not a lot to pick from here. Chicago ended up protecting Stepan, and so Seattle went for the young defenseman who does not appear to be related to Julian Brisebois.

Colorado Avalanche

Predicted: TJ Brodie

Actual: Nikita Zaitsev

Note: Colorado gives up a 2nd, Keaton Middleton, and Jason Dickinson to keep Brodie.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Predicted: Zach Hyman

Actual: Danton Heinen

Note: Columbus traded Max Pacioretty shortly before the deadline, allowing them to protect Hyman.

Dallas Stars

Predicted: Mason Shaw

Actual: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Note: Dallas also sent Blake Coleman and Zemgus Girgensons to Seattle in order to dump RNH’s remaining 5 years at $8.25 million.

Detroit Red Wings

Predicted: Ilya Samsonov

Actual: Ondrej Kase

Note: Detroit ended up protecting Samsonov after trading Stuart Skinner to Montreal, leaving Seattle to take Kase instead.

Edmonton Oilers

Predicted: Robby Fabbri

Actual: Scott Wedgewood

Note: Fabbri did in fact go to Seattle as part of a side deal, along with Alec Martinez. Edmonton received cash and a pass along of Jason Dickinson from Colorado.

Florida Panthers

Predicted: Caleb Jones

Actual: Caleb Jones

Note: Florida’s young core was largely exempt, leaving Jones the obvious choice.

Los Angeles Kings

Predicted: James Reimer

Actual: Riley Stillman

Note: Seattle largely went young in net, and so passed on the veteran Reimer in favor of the young D-man.

Minnesota Wild

Predicted: Mikhail Sergachev

Actual: Ben Chiarot

Note: Sergachev was a major piece in Minnesota acquiring Auston Matthews. Seattle will instead look to try to fleece someone like the real life Panthers were fleeced this past season for Chiarot.

Montreal Canadiens

Predicted: Wayne Simmonds

Actual: Givani Smith

Note: There wasn’t a lot here, and Seattle chose to take a young forward rather than the effective pass that taking Simmonds would have been.

Nashville Predators

Predicted: Ryan Lindgren

Actual: Ryan Lindgren

Note: I’m so smart

New Jersey Devils

Predicted: Alex Nedeljkovic

Actual: Alex Nedeljkovic

Note: New Jersey also took the opportunity to offload the last two years of Brett Burns’ $8.5 million contract and gained a 2nd round pick.

New York Islanders

Predicted: Kyle Turris

Actual: Anton Forsberg

Note: Forsberg gives Seattle a cheap option in net if they end up finding trade partners for their young netminders.

New York Rangers

Predicted: Travis Dermott

Actual: Ryan Donato

Note: Seattle chose the forward over the defenseman.

Ottawa Senators

Predicted: Nick Foligno

Actual: Steven Lorentz

Note: Lorentz will be cheaper than Foligno, part of what allowed Seattle to take on big contracts like Burns and RNH.

Philadelphia Flyers

Predicted: Jake McCabe

Actual: Hampus Lindholm

Note: Philly traded McCabe to Ottawa shortly before the deadline, leaving Lindholm to be taken instead

Pittsburgh Penguins

Predicted: Luke Kunin

Actual: Casey Mittelstadt

Note: Seattle must still believe that some of Mittelstadt’s hype was real.

St. Louis Blues

Predicted: Nick Leddy

Actual: Matt Murray

Note: I wasn’t willing to even consider this as a possibility. Looking forward to not having to worry about him for the next three years.

San Jose Sharks

Predicted: Jake Virtanen

Actual: Dysin Mayo

Note: I was tired at this point and chose a non-eligible player. San Jose instead spent a 5th to make sure that Seattle chose someone real.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Predicted: Joey Anderson

Actual: Otto Koivula

Note: Seattle went a tad younger and didn’t give in to any Leafs bias.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Predicted: Jesper Fast

Actual: Jesper Fast

Note: I am very smart

Vancouver Canucks

Predicted: Sean Monahan

Actual: Rasmus Ristolainen

Note: Sean Monahan also went to Seattle, as Vancouver also shipped a 2nd, a 4th, and Brendan Gallagher to their next-door neighbors, spending picks to dump over $18 million in cap.

Vegas Golden Knights

Predicted: Matt Grzelcyk

Actual: Kaapo Kahkonen

Note: Kahkonen is a young goalie who still has a decent upside, where Grzelcyk has 4 years left at $5 million.

Washington Capitals

Predicted: Jakob Silfverberg

Actual: Gustav Nyquist

Note: Seattle chose to pick up Nyquist at a slightly lower cap hit as he came back from missing a full year with a torn labrum.

Winnipeg Jets

Predicted: Erik Gudbranson

Actual: Cameron Hughes

Note: Winnipeg swung one of the bigger deals of the day, sending Vincent Trochek and a 4th along with Hughes for Ville Husso and a 2nd.

Overview: Without most protection lists yet submitted or any knowledge of any side deals, I managed to exactly get six picks correct, with two other picks ending up on Seattle as part of side deals. 8/30 is 0.267, which is Santiago Espinal’s current batting average.