Price’s wife: ‘I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle’

Like Montreal Canadiens fans, Carey Price’s wife Angela is certainly relieved all the expansion draft drama is over.

Angela detailed the experience on her lifestyle blog, “By Angela.”

“With your world dependent on what seemed like a game of chicken was bizarre and something I hope to never experience again,” she wrote.

Carey waived his no-movement clause ahead of the expansion draft, and the Habs created quite a stir when they left their franchise icon unprotected and free for the Seattle Kraken’s picking – a decision the organization made so it could protect backup netminder Jake Allen instead.

“Really, there was no other option,” Angela wrote. “I was not stressed about it at all – because of Carey’s contract, his age, and his injury, Seattle wouldn’t even give him a second glance … or so we thought.”

Then, the rumor mill started churning, and Angela “spent the next couple of days living on Twitter.”

“It definitely got to a point where I thought we were for sure headed to Seattle, so I let myself start mentally preparing for it and even talking about it. Just in case it did happen,” she wrote.

Of course, seeing as the Kraken opted to select defenseman Cale Fleury from Montreal instead, Carey will be suiting up for Montreal once again next campaign.

“Our heart, my heart is with the Canadiens organization,” Angela wrote, adding that she “hated” the way the news of Carey’s choice to waive his no-movement clause broke before the news of his injury.

“His injury was the entire reason we had lifted his no-trade and he was left unprotected,” she said. “It hurt my heart to read that people thought we wanted out of Montreal. I was so thankful when it came out the next day that Carey was going to need surgery, but at the same time Carey’s agent was calling to say that Seattle didn’t seem too concerned about his injury and him being picked up could really happen.”

Carey received knee surgery on July 23, and he’s expected to be ready for the start of the regular season in October.

Kraken take Giordano from Flames

The Seattle Kraken selected defenseman and Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano in Wednesday’s expansion draft, the team announced.

Giordano spent his first 15 seasons with the Flames. Calgary gave him the “C” in 2013-14.

Mark Giordano, reportedly selected by SEA, is no longer the Norris-calibre defenceman he was a few seasons ago but he can still play for sure. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/6YFyJhSPeo

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 21, 2021

The veteran blue-liner will be 38 years old in October.

Giordano won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top rearguard in 2018-19 after piling up 74 points over 78 games. His production has tailed off since then, but he averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time this past season while collecting 26 points and playing all 56 contests.

The Toronto-born defenseman is under contract through the coming season at a cap hit of $6.75 million, according to CapFriendly.

Giordano ranks second all time on the Flames with 949 games played. He also sits fifth in team history in assists and eighth in points.

He won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2020.

Blues expose Tarasenko in expansion draft

The St. Louis Blues aren’t protecting Vladimir Tarasenko in the upcoming expansion draft, reports The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.

St. Louis will instead shield forward Ivan Barbashev from being selected by the Seattle Kraken, per Rutherford.

Tarasenko reportedly requested a trade earlier this month following his frustration with how the Blues handled two of his three shoulder surgeries and now no longer trusts the club.

The former star winger is under contract through 2022-23 at a cap hit of $7.5 million, according to CapFriendly.

Tarasenko excelled for the Blues during their Stanley Cup championship run in 2018-19. During that postseason, he collected 11 goals and six assists across 26 games to help St. Louis win the title. However, he’s been limited to 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons.

He’s spent his entire nine-year career with the Blues, who drafted him 16th overall in 2010.

Holtby drawing interest from Kraken

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby is drawing real interest from the Seattle Kraken, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal report.

Holtby is expected to be unprotected in the upcoming expansion draft, but Seattle has inquired about Vancouver potentially retaining some of the veteran netminder’s salary in a side deal, according to Drance and Dhaliwal. Holtby carries a $4.3 million cap hit next season but is owed $5.7 million in base salary.

The 31-year-old signed a two-year, $8.6 million contract with the Canucks last October, but Thatcher Demko has since emerged as the club’s clear goalie of the future.

Holtby would be one of the better goalies available for the Kraken in the draft and surely the most established. The Saskatchewan native has made 489 NHL starts and has a Stanley Cup (2018) and Vezina Trophy (2016) on his resume.

Despite his reputation and prior accomplishments, Holtby’s stats over the past two seasons are cause for concern. In 69 appearances between 2019 and 2021, he’s 32-25-9 with an .895 save percentage and minus-29.4 goals saved above average.

Stars’ Bishop waives no-move clause for expansion draft

Ben Bishop is doing his team a solid.

The Dallas Stars goaltender has agreed to waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, general manager Jim Nill told Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News.

The decision applies only to the expansion draft and not a trade, Nill confirmed.

The Stars are now able to protect fellow netminder Anton Khudobin. Youngster Jake Oettinger is exempt. He split time in the crease with Khudobin this past season.

Bishop missed the entire 2020-21 campaign after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, and he played only three playoff games during Dallas’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. His status for next season is unclear.

There are two years remaining on the 34-year-old’s contract, and he carries an annual cap hit of $4.92 million, according to CapFriendly.

Bishop has battled other injuries throughout his career, but he’s been an elite puck-stopper when healthy. He produced a .920 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average over 44 games during the 2019-20 season.

The towering 6-foot-7 netminder has been a Vezina Trophy finalist three times, including as recently as 2018-19.

Islanders shopping Leddy ahead of expansion draft

The New York Islanders have placed defenseman Nick Leddy on the trade block, sources told The Athletic’s Arthur Staple.

The Isles are reportedly looking to move the veteran so they don’t risk losing him in the expansion draft for nothing.

Leddy recorded two goals and 29 assists in 56 games this past season while averaging 21:35 per contest. He added six points in 19 playoff games during New York’s run to the final four. His underlying numbers have been poor, though.

Nick Leddy, reportedly on the trade block, has not been a strong playdriver at all in recent years despite strong offensive zone playmaking and prolific zone entries. #Isles pic.twitter.com/XjWJmSLqso

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 13, 2021

The 30-year-old has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million.

The Islanders are projected to use the 7-3-1 protection list format in the expansion draft, with the three defense spots going to Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield.

New York is estimated to have nearly $12 million in cap space once Johnny Boychuk is placed on long-term injured reserve. However, the club has multiple key restricted free agents to re-sign, including Ilya Sorokin, Anthony Beauvillier, Michael Dal Colle, and Pelech.