The Penguins have protected Jeff Carter and exposed Brandon Tanev in the expansion draft.
Carter, 36, played well after being acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline, and his value apparently was enhanced by the knee surgery that could force second-line center Evgeni Malkin to miss at least part of the regular season.
Nonetheless, the decision to expose Tanev was something of a surprise, because his high-energy game is the kind that seems to appeal to the new management team of Ron Hextall and Brian Burke.
He does, however, have four years left on a contract that carries a $3.5 million salary-cap hit. And while Tanev's non-stop style and willingness to play bigger than he is is sure to have caught Seattle's attention, it's possible that Francis will be concerned about the return he could expect to get on Tanev's deal when his deal is winding down.
Other prominent Penguins players who will be available for selection by the Kraken are Jason Zucker, Zach Aston-Reese, Marcus Pettersson, Anthony Angello, Sam Lafferty and Casey DeSmith.
Hextall did not speak with reporters today and is not expected to do so until later in the week, so the thinking behind his decisions isn't known yet.
Zucker, Aston-Reese and Pettersson appear, at first blush, to be players in whom the Kraken might be particularly interested, but it should be remembered that whoever is selected from the Penguins will be just one piece of a 30-player personnel puzzle for Seattle.
That means it's conceivable that the Kraken would take a lower-profile individual who can fill a specific hole on the organization's still-developing depth chart.
The Penguins, as expected, opted fo protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie. Their other option would have been eight skaters, regardless of position, and a goalie.
Expansion-draft regulations compelled them to protect the three players -- Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang -- whose contracts include no-movement clauses.
The players they protected are:
FORWARDS -- Teddy Blueger, Jake Guentzel, Kasperi Kapanen, Bryan Rust, Crosby, Malkin and Carter.
DEFENSEMEN -- Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson and Letang.
GOALIE -- Tristan Jarry.
Former Penguins left unprotected by their current teams include Jared McCann (Toronto), Matt Murray (Ottawa) and Carl Hagelin and Justin Schultz (both Washington). The Capitals did protect former Penguins prospect Daniel Sprong.
Seattle's choices are scheduled to be announced Wednesday at 8 p.m.
