We’re going to finally find out tomorrow night what the Seattle Kraken roster will look like. It has only been a few days since the protection lists were submitted, but it feels like we’ve been waiting a lot longer than that.

A lot of chatter the last few days has been about the idea of the Buffalo Sabres or any team for that matter, paying the Kraken assets to protect players. We’ll likely see this occur with a few teams, as it did in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft.

Something else that happened back in 2017 is that the Golden Knights immediately flipped a few players that they selected in the draft to pick up more assets. This is where I think that the Sabres should be in conversations with the Kraken.

I went through the available players and landed on two players that I feel that Kevyn Adams should approach Ron Francis about for a post-expansion trade. I looked at teams where the Kraken would not be losing out on another player they could have on their roster. If there were no other real strong candidates to pick off of a particular roster, in theory, they would be open to flipping a player.

Troy Stecher

The first player is current Detroit Red Wings defenseman, Troy Stecher. I’m surprised that the Red Wings exposed him. The 27-year-old is a solid right-shot defender that won’t hurt you at either end of the ice. He’s a player that can play on your second pair or third pair on a stacked blue line.

This past year he ranked 48th in even-strength defense per 60 minutes in Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement model among defensemen to play at least 400 minutes. Over the past three years, he ranks in the top 75 among 282 qualifying players in EVD/60.

You’ll see below in Micah McCurdy’s model that he’s average offensively and slightly above average defensively.

He’s someone that a team can rely on to deploy in a variety of situations. I see Stecher as the player that can replace the departure of Jake McCabe. He’s not as good defensively, but he can be the veteran leader on what will likely be a young blue line in Buffalo.

He only has one more year remaining on his current deal with a $1.7 million cap hit. If it doesn’t work out then the Sabres are not tied to him beyond one year. It may also be worth noting that Stecher was Owen Power’s partner for Canada during the IIHF World Championships when they won Gold.

Using a mid-round pick (third or fourth-rounder) to bring in this type of player would be worth the risk of spending the asset.

Nick Ritchie

The other player I would explore trading for is winger Nick Ritchie. A lot of fans have clamored for the Sabres to add some grit to their lineup and become more difficult to play against. You’re going to get that Ritchie and you’ll also get a player that can be a strong middle-six winger in your lineup.

The 25-year-old is a restricted free agent and was exposed by the Boston Bruins. He scored a 22-goal and 38 point pace over 82 games with the Bruins last season. His ceiling is realistically around a 20-goal scorer when you take into account that he shot over three goals above expected in all situations last season, according to Evolving Hockey. In previous years, he has been a below-expected shooter.

As you’ll see in the chart above, the interesting part in Ritchie’s game is his positive impact offensively at even strength. The production hasn’t always been there throughout his career, but the impact has been. That could be a sign that this season may not have been that big if a fluke with his production levels.

The downside on him is that you have to be willing to live with the penalties. According to Evolving Hockey, he has the second-worst penalty differential per 60 minutes in the league over the last two years. The Sabres are a team that historically doesn’t take a lot of penalties. Therefore, they may be able to absorb this on their roster.

Ritchie fits more along the line of type of player the Sabres are looking for in terms of age when you compare him to Stecher. In that sense, he may be one they would prefer.

Data via: Evolving Hockey, Hockeyviz.com, and Cap Friendly

Photo Credit: Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images