Early reports in the hours leading up to Wednesday night's 2021 NHL Expansion Draft suggest the Seattle Kraken are going heavy on defensemen.
The Boston Bruins chose not to protect several young defensemen, and it sounds like one of them is going to be selected by the Kraken.
Multiple reports indicate Jeremy Lauzon is going to be the pick.
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Lauzon played three AHL seasons for former Providence Bruins head coach Jay Leach, who was recently hired as an assistant coach for the Kraken. So, Leach could have given Kraken general manager Ron Francis the best possible scouting report on Lauzon.
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The Kraken going with Lauzon would not be a surprise at all. Cheap, young defenseman with NHL experience are pretty valuable. Lauzon is signed through the 2021-22 season with a $850,000 cap hit. He's eligible to be a restricted free agent next summer.
He has shown an ability to be a quality defensive defenseman and a solid penalty killer, although consistency has been an issue at times, including last season. He's only 24 years old and still has plenty of room for improvement.
If Lauzon is Seattle's pick, it would be another blow to an already thin left side of the Bruins' blue line, a group that saw Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug leave for nothing in free agency before last season.