The Penguins' protected list for the July 21 expansion draft that will provide players for the new franchise in Seattle probably won't be known until a few days before the Kraken goes public with its selections.
Most of the players Ron Hextall and his staff will protect seem fairly obvious, but there will be a few close calls, with the final decisions hinging on how management weighs any number of variables.
Contract status and salary-cap hit could play a part. So could the availability of a replacement player if a particular individual is exposed and claimed.
Th only real certainty, then, is that the Penguins will be losing the services of someone they probably would prefer to keep. Indeed, Hextall has acknowledged that he anticipates losing "a pretty good player."
He didn't suggest anyone in particular, of course, but it's not a reach to suggest that Seattle will get a shot at someone such as Marcus Pettersson.
There's little reason to think Hextall will consider surrendering an asset or two to assure that the Kraken will pass on -- or claim -- a specific player, as Jim Rutherford did to get Vegas to grab Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2017 draft, so he presumably will have come to grips with losing anyone who shows up on the exposed list.
Not all losses are equal, however. The player who goes to Seattle won't necessarily be the one the Penguins could least afford to have depart; in an extreme case, it might even be someone the front office would be happy to have move on, perhaps because of his contract or the way he fits into the dressing room.
Then again, the Kraken's selection might turn out to be a guy the Penguins believed they could sneak through, and who held a fairly prominent place in their plans for 2021-22.
YOUR TURN: Which player, if any, are you most concerned about the Penguins losing to Seattle in the expansion draft, and why? Bonus question: Is there a guy you actually (and realistically) would like to see the Kraken claim?