Expansion Draft Grade: B+
The Predators were in a dilemma when it came to their protection list because they had so many defensemen they had to protect first and were of more value than their forwards.
Unlike the rest of the NHL, the Predators chose to protect five defensemen, and I can’t really disagree with them on that. You absolutely had to protect the defensemen you did, with Alexandre Carrier being the one that really elevated their stock in 2020-21.
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They also chose to protect Dante Fabbro, which some may have argued against so that they could’ve protected another forward, like Calle Jarnkrok.
Instead, both Jarnkrok and Colton Sissons were surprisingly left exposed, and Jarnkrok got chosen by the Seattle Kraken.
I can’t go full on A+ with my grade of how they handled the expansion draft because I didn’t like seeing Sissons exposed, even though it was Jarnkrok that got taken.
Losing Sissons would’ve been a much tougher blow to the team’s depth than losing Jarnkrok. Overall, however, the expansion draft wasn’t a complete disaster for the Predators.