The Seattle Kraken have a Carey Price bluff to either call or leave alone.
In a stunning move, the Montreal Canadiens left their franchise goaltender, who just led them to within three games of the Stanley Cup while injured, exposed for Wednesday's NHL expansion draft.
Every good team needs a good goaltender, but Price makes north of $10 million, a significant cap hit for a team that is starting with a blank slate.
The Kraken, if nothing else, are doing their due diligence, and the possibility of Price ending up in the Pacific Northwest is not completely off the table.
"I think there's a chance of that from the point of view of this," The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun said Tuesday on TSN's "Insider Trading." "I think there's an expectation that Seattle may come at the 11th hour and ask about a price to not take Carey Price. And if that's the case, how does GM Marc Bergevin react? To me, Marc Bergevin is pot committed if we stick with a poker theme here. He's exposed Carey Price, Carey Price is in on this, I don't think you pay a price, I think you call Seattle's bluff and say 'either take him or don't.' "
There's some concern about Price's knee and hip, and he actually will spend Wednesday in New York getting evaluated. It is not considered serious at the moment, but any trepidation about his health likely will scare the Kraken away from making such a huge commitment.
The Kraken will be working with an abundance of information.
"All of this is information Seattle is aware of, they have access to the Carey Price medical file," LeBrun added. "In the meantime, Kraken GM Ron Francis has had a few conversations with Price's agent, it's all happening, it's intriguing, let's see what happens Wednesday."
The Kraken must have their picks into the league by 10 a.m. ET. They will be announced at 8 p.m. ET.
