Ron Francis got authorization from the owner of the Kraken to spend the maximum
Seattle Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said general manager Ron Francis has the green light to spend in the organization's inaugural season.
"Our general manager has a lot of options. What the owners want is for our general manager to build a long-term winner. He has to figure out how to do that. If that strategy involves us capping the first year, he has the power to do that. "
"I think that's one of the reasons we're all optimistic. We have this fan base. We have this arena. We have the Kraken Community Iceplex and owners willing to give Ron resources. Hopefully we'll reward those fans, who have been incredible, with a competitive team for years to come. " - Tod Leiweke
Seattle's expansion draft is scheduled for July 21 and follows the same rules the Vegas Golden Knights adhered to in 2017. It will be difficult for Francis to get close to the NHL's $81.5 million salary cap by simply taking exposed players. However, the club could take advantage of teams facing salary cap issues by manufacturing side deals for stronger assets like Vegas did.
To date, the Kraken has only signed one player, minor league Luke Henman, since officially becoming the 32nd franchise in the league. The franchise recently hired Dave Hakstol as its first head coach.
