One Boston Bruins Player Will Become a Member of the Seattle Kraken

 By: Martin Borys | Follow me @kmartin133

There is plenty of speculation on which Bruin’s players to protect from the Seattle Kraken Expansion draft. On the other hand, what about the player they select. A few expansion draft simulations from months past; showed Anders Bjork being Seattle’s best choice from Bruin’s unprotected players.

Some time has passed since that simulation, and the Bruins received Taylor Hall and Cutis Lazar for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick. Getting value for Bjork instead of letting him slip away to the Krakens for nothing was the best option. This brings back a familiar discussion of who will the Kraken’s choose from the unprotected Bruins lineup. Suppose history repeats itself like in the 2017 Vegas Knights expansion draft, where the Knights chose Bruins Defenseman Colin Miller. Seattle may be looking to select a Bruins Defenseman. It is no secret the Bruins have a strong farm of Defensemen.

There are a few options for the Seattle Krakens to select, but Connor Clifton has stood out recently. Clifton, who though the past season, has struggled and taken a few unnecessary penalties, is a resourceful player. Despite not the best performance in the regular season, Clifton has stepped up and shown why he is valuable to the Bruins this postseason. Clifton has answered the call up to playing his offside in the first round against the Capitals.

Looking calm and collected, Connor shut down top players like Ovechkin on the Washington Capitals. He is showing his value to the Bruins organization, but there are more eyes on him than just those of Bruins fans. Clifton is showing he is a young versatile defenseman that could be Seattle Kraken’s best choice from the unprotected Bruins roster.

Assuming the three protected defensemen will be McAvoy, Grzelcyk, and Carlo. That leaves a lot of unprotected Bruins’ defensemen. Lauzon and Zboril are two strong skaters that have gotten a lot of ice time this season. Showing they would each be viable choices for the Seattle Kraken. They have a lot of skill and will only get better the more they play.

Since their time in Black and Gold, they have made a great deal of progress. If they went to Seattle, it would not be surprising to see their skillset and confidence grow tremendously. If Seattle is looking at Connor Clifton, his NHL experience has grown tremendously over the last three NHL seasons.

It is difficult to assume Seattle will want to discuss options with an RFA on the Bruins’ roster, given the limited time window. A few RFA’s have already voiced their commitment to the Boston Bruins and do not see themselves in anything except black and gold. Boston fans would love to see their veteran favorites resigned in a spoked B sweater.

Whichever Bruin the Kraken select, that player will surely be missed in Boston. At the same time, that player will have their moment to shine in Seattle. Losing a player is only one side of the coin; the other side is brighter. Being able to watch a player elevate their status in a brand new club is a rare opportunity.