That Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman runs a tight ship was in high evidence Wednesday.
Around noon, names started popping up on Twitter of who the Seattle Kraken had selected from the lists of players submitted Saturday by 30 teams (2017 expansion team Vegas Golden Knights was exempt). By around 1:30, there was a name associated with every team save the Wings.
The big reveal was supposed to happen during the expansion draft show Wednesday starting at 8 p.m. (ESPN2).
Since taking command of the Wings in April 2019, Yzerman has played his cards very close to his chest — and made sure those in his hockey operations circle did the same.
The Wings protected forwards Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Givani Smith; goaltender Thomas Greiss, and defensemen Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom and newcomer Nick Leddy.
Available players include veteran forward Vladislav Namestnikov and veteran defenseman Troy Stecher, 2015 first-round pick Evgeny Svechnikov and 2016 first-round pick Dennis Cholowski.
The expectation is the Kraken will take either Stecher or Cholowski.
More: Detroit Red Wings eager for training camp, next season; but will Dylan Larkin be ready?
More: Detroit Red Wings announce 2021-22 exhibition schedule: First game is Sept. 29
The Kraken had to select a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. There were some enticing names out there, especially Montreal’s Carey Price, but the Kraken found their goaltenders elsewhere.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.