Lauzon, Jakub Zboril or Connor Clifton were likely to be picked
The Seattle Kraken had a decent collection of Boston Bruins blueliners to choose from in the NHL expansion draft, and it appears they are going with Jeremy Lauzon.
The Kraken took the Bruins defenseman in the expansion draft. News of the selection had leaked earlier in the day, but was made official Wednesday night.
Lauzon broke into the NHL on a more regular basis in the 2019-20 season. A big-bodied, physical defenseman, Lauzon had a nice ability to put out fires in the defensive end, which is a large reason Bruce Cassidy liked putting him with more aggressive partners like Connor Clifton or Matt Grzelcyk.
There’s still some growth left in his game, and he still is working through some growing pains that were particularly evident during the 2021 playoffs, when he made a few too many mental mistakes that led to goals or put the Bruins on the penalty kill.
The 24-year-old, a 2015 second-round pick of the B’s, signed a contract extension prior to last season. He will make $850,000 next season before hitting restricted free agency.