Kraken reportedly drafting defenseman Jeremy Lauzon from Bruins
The Seattle Kraken will draft defenseman Jeremy Lauzon away from the Boston Bruins with one of their 30 expansion draft picks, according to multiple reports.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the The #SeaKraken are clearly prioritizing defencemen with these expansion selections. They have their sights set on Jeremy Lauzon in Boston.
A 24-year-old defender, and thrown into a top-four role out of the gate following Boston’s decision to move on from Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug last offseason, Lauzon established career-highs in games (41), points (eight), plus-minus (plus-8), hits (98), blocks (53), and time on ice (18:43 per night) in 2021.
The 6-foot-1 Lauzon was also Boston’s top penalty-killing defender this past season, with a team-leading 3:05 of shorthanded time on ice per game, and for a B’s shorthanded unit that finished with the second-best kill (86 percent) in the league.
Drafted by the Bruins with the No. 52 overall pick in 2015, Lauzon has totaled three goals and 11 points with a plus-12 rating in 76 games with the B’s over three seasons. Lauzon also appeared in 13 playoff games with the B’s.
With Lauzon slated to leave the Bruins, Matt Grzelcyk and Jakub Zboril are the B’s left-shot defenders signed for the 2021-22 season, while 2017 first-round draft pick Urho Vaakanainen (16 NHL games over the last three seasons) is entering the final year of his entry-level contract.
In-season additions Mike Reilly and Jarred Tinordi are both pending unrestricted free agents, too, and the Bruins have entered this offseason prioritizing the need for a top-four defenseman.
The Kraken will make their picks official with an expansion draft presentation at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
