2021 NHL Expansion Draft First Selection

Lore & Background

When the Kraken franchise was approved in 2018, Seattle fans had waited decades for professional hockey to call the city home. The expansion draft was the first real, tangible step toward that dream becoming reality. For a city that had watched the NHL pass it by for generations, the moment Seattle's name was called first in the draft carried an almost ceremonial gravity. It was not merely a roster transaction; it was the first brushstroke on a blank canvas.

Choosing Matt Luff, a seasoned two-way forward out of San Jose, reflected the Kraken's stated philosophy: build a team of experienced, hard-working players who could contribute immediately and set the cultural tone for a young organization. Luff brought physical play, penalty-killing grit, and veteran leadership—qualities a brand-new team needed more than raw, unproven talent. The selection told the league, and the city, that Seattle was not here to wait and watch.

In the broader tapestry of NHL expansion history, the first pick of an expansion draft is always a defining moment. It is the moment a franchise stops being a concept and starts being a team. For Seattle, that moment belonged to the 2021 expansion draft, and it echoed through the building as fans in the stands and watching at home felt the first true pulse of Kraken hockey.

In Their Own Story

The draft room hummed with the low static of a dozen television cameras and the murmur of front-office staff. On the screen, the NHL logo pulsed in blue and red. The commissioner's voice crackled through the speakers, and then came the words every person in the room had rehearsed in their head a hundred times: "Seattle Kraken… Matt Luff… San Jose Sharks."

A hand shot up from the front office table. A phone rang. In a coffee shop three blocks away, a fan in a hastily printed Kraken T-shirt slammed her palm on the counter and shouted at the flat-screen TV. The sound of skates on ice—broadcast from a highlight reel playing on a loop behind the desk—seemed, for one strange second, to belong to a team that had existed all along, waiting in the dark for someone to finally say its name out loud.

Reader's Guide

The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft was the mechanism by which the Seattle Kraken assembled their opening roster before the 2021–22 season. As the newest franchise, Seattle held the first overall selection, giving them the right to choose any eligible player not protected by their existing team.

Seattle selected Matt Luff, a left wing out of the San Jose Sharks, with that first pick. Luff was a veteran two-way forward known for his physical style and penalty-killing reliability. The choice signaled a front office intent on building an immediate-impact, veteran-led core rather than reaching for a young prospect.

The expansion draft format allowed each of the 31 existing teams to protect a set number of players, leaving the rest eligible for selection. The Kraken then continued down the board, adding additional players to round out their inaugural roster. The entire exercise was a one-time event: the only draft the Kraken would ever need to participate in under expansion rules.

In NHL history, expansion first picks have ranged from instant stars to forgotten names. For Seattle, the 2021 selection was less about a single player's career arc and more about the symbolic act of a new team drawing its first breath on the league's stage.

Did You Know?

• The Seattle Kraken became the 32nd franchise in NHL history, ending a long drought of professional hockey in the Pacific Northwest.
• Matt Luff, selected first by Seattle, was a veteran forward known for his two-way game and penalty-killing work, fitting the Kraken's stated philosophy of building an experienced, hard-working core.
• The expansion draft was a one-time event; the Kraken have not participated in any subsequent expansion or expansion-style draft.
• Seattle's entry into the NHL for the 2021–22 season made them the first new franchise to join the league since the expansion era's most recent additions, marking a new chapter in the sport's growth.