The fun and exciting off-season for the Minnesota Wild is upon us folks. Here we are on the day of the expansion draft for the NHLs newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken. Earlier today, the Kraken were due to submit there selection list to the NHL central registry, shortly after, news started leaking out of who the Kraken were taking.
Michael Russo first tweeted out that he didn’t get the impression that the Kraken were taking goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, shortly there after, Russo tweeted out that Kraken were reportedly selecting defenseman Carson Soucy.
Sources say the Kraken have taken defenseman Carson Soucy from the #mnwild.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 21, 2021
Wild's top-5 D is now a top-3 of Brodin-Spurgeon-Dumba. Wild will need at least 3 NHL defensemen in free agency, plus a depth guy IMO, to push Calen Addison.
Losing Soucy hits the Wild’s defense core more especially with the departure of Ryan Suter via buyout and no guarantee that pending UFA Ian Cole will return, there is interest from both sides, it’s a matter of term and dollar amount.
Soucy – originally drafted 137th overall in 2013 out of the University of Minnesota – Duluth where he spent four seasons of playing college hockey and developing into the defenseman he is today. He paid his dues with the Iowa Wild as well and earned a shot with the big club at the beginning of the 2019-2020 season due to injuries. He impressed the Wild’s coaching staff so greatly that he became a permanent fixture on the Wild’s blueline.
Mostly playing third pairing minutes, Soucy will have an excellent chance at up ticking his time on ice with the Kraken as he’ll look to make an impact as a top four defenseman and at age 26, is still developing quite well.
In order to replace Soucy, the Minnesota Wild will have to dip into free agency a bit. A couple of options that are out there are Alex Goligoski, Jake McCabe, Alex Edler. Alec Martinez could make sense but he may price himself out of Minnesota’s reach.
Final thoughts
While all this information is preliminary, it would seem certain that we’ve been expecting to lose Soucy for a while. Although it may not have been everyone’s favorite center in Victor Rask, there’s still much to be excited about with what this new roster could look like come training camp.
The Souc will be loose in Seattle.