Kraken’s choice of expansion among the Penguins? Seattle radio host says, “It starts and ends with Jason Zucker, right?”

Ahead of Wednesday’s expansion draft, many Pittsburgh Penguins fans voiced hopes that the Seattle Kraken would select winger Jason Zucker.

If all the teams outside of the Vegas Golden Knights are going to lose someone, why not him?

Following his acquisition of the Minnesota Wild in February 2020, Zucker never scored in Pittsburgh at the pace the Penguins’ management had hoped for. Whether it was limited time with Sidney Crosby, extended time with Evgeni Malkin, or working on a third line with a number of crosses, Zucker never blossomed the way GM Jim Rutherford wanted when. he designed this business.

Zucker has 15 goals and 15 assists and posted a minus-9 rating in 53 regular season games in Pittsburgh. He added four goals and one assist in 10 playoff games.

Not terrible. However, also not worthy of his salary cap of $ 5.5 million. Especially for a Pens team desperate to lose their paycheck.

But the Kraken would not be so willing to tie $ 11million from their cap over the next two years with Zucker when top-grossing last-six forwards such as Brandon Tanev and Zach Aston-Reese were exposed.

Would they do it?

On Wednesday’s Breakfast With Benz podcast, KJR Radio host Ian Furness joined me from Seattle. I asked him which penguin he expected the Kraken to catch.

“It’s Zucker. Is not it ? It starts and ends there with Jason Zucker, doesn’t it? I keep hearing Zucker’s name, ”Furness replied. “You go down this path because (if) you hear a name enough, especially around that kind of mess, it almost feels like they’re settling on it. I think that’s where they’re going to go.

Part of the reason Furness thinks this way is that he expects the Kraken to spend a large chunk of the $ 81.5 million salary cap space they have.

“They are not afraid to spend money. They came out and said, very publicly, that they would spend up to the cap, ”Furness said, warning that the team could leave between $ 4 million and $ 6 million in“ wiggle room ”to make a few moves over the course. of the season.

“Spending money and taking contracts isn’t going to be something they are afraid to do,” Furness added.

Zucker is also recognized as one of the most community-oriented players in the league, always engaging in some sort of outreach. As the Kraken look to gain a foothold in the community, Furness says it might appeal to the franchise’s front office.

“This is an organization on the business side that is 100 percent forward looking and forward thinking, and the hires are out of the box – nontraditional hockey hires,” Furness said.

“Working in the community is a big priority. “

That said, if general manager Ron Francis tries to spend his money elsewhere, Aston-Analysis darling Reese could prove attractive as a restricted free agent who made just $ 1 million last year.

“Their analysis is a huge part of it,” Furness said. “Their first hire in the organization before Ron Francis was an analytical expert (Alexandra Mandrycky). Their analytical side, they are heavy, heavy in there. If you say analytical sweetheart, then that propels someone to the top of the list, as far as they’re looking.

A selection of black horses could be goaltender Casey DeSmith. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan has named him as the likely Pens exiting player. While Furness doesn’t hear much of DeSmith’s name in Seattle per se, he expects Francis to stock up on goalies.

“I think they’re going to pick a number of goalies and try to move some of these guys. It’s going to be wacky, ”Furness said. “They’re going to do all this made-for-TV stuff. And 24 hours later, some of those guys might be gone. Their days as the Kraken could be over by day two of the draft.

During the podcast, Furness and I also discuss how the Kraken franchise is received in Seattle, the idea of ​​acquiring Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, and how the ESPN broadcast is going to play out. .

Buckle up. You are going to see a lot of 12th Man Seahawks flags. Lots of Space Needle. And just enough flying fish at Pike Place to make you think, “Are we sure the NHL on NBC was that bad?” ”

Listen: Tim Benz and Seattle radio host Ian Furness discuss Penguins players the Kraken could take