The Seattle Kraken’s inaugural NHL season is coming to a close, with nine games to play and a last-place finish in the Pacific Division locked in.

The season might not have been a success if the goal was a playoff appearance — much less to match their expansion predecessors, the Vegas Golden Knights, with a Stanley Cup Final appearance — but was it a success as a start to the team-building process? How do their selections in the expansion draft hold up nine months later? What opportunities were missed? And which picks have held up?

To find out, we asked the writers who know each NHL team best which player the Kraken should have selected from the teams they cover, with 20/20 hindsight. (Reminder: As the previous expansion team, Vegas did not lose a player in the Kraken draft.) In response, we received 10 picks that wouldn’t have changed and 20 that would have — including a few misses on big contributors and a number of attempts to solve Seattle’s goaltending issues.

Is it fair to the Kraken front office to second guess its selections with future knowledge? No, but it’s fun, so let’s do it anyway.

Here’s the team our staff built.

Anaheim Ducks

Who the Kraken picked: Haydn Fleury

Who they should have picked: Adam Henrique

Why? Taking the now-32-year-old Henrique might not have fit the long view, but the veteran forward was motivated to have a bounce-back season. He has 17 goals and 38 points in 52 games for Anaheim while giving the Ducks versatility, playing both left wing and center. His contract ($5.8 million average annual value through 2023-24) could have been managed, and the Kraken would have a productive top-six forward while building out their prospect base. Fleury has been scratched at times and is just a third-pairing option on Seattle’s blue line. — Eric Stephens

Arizona Coyotes

Who the Kraken picked: Tyler Pitlick

Who they should have picked: Tyler Pitlick

Why? The Coyotes had one of the thinnest available lists in the league, so for the Kraken to extract anything of value represented a minor victory. The best available option other than Pitlick might have been defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who was on a modest $1.35 million contract. Lyubushkin could have been a cost-effective option in the short term; and trade bait at the deadline. Realistically, Seattle didn’t flip enough players for draft choices in side deals, but they got this one right — landing a 2022 fourth-rounder from the Flames for Pitlick, a player who lasted 25 games and scored two assists before getting shuffled out of Calgary. — Eric Duhatschek

Boston Bruins

Who the Kraken picked: Jeremy Lauzon

Who they should have picked: Jeremy Lauzon

Why? At least one member of the Bruins’ hockey operations staff was surprised that Seattle took Jeremy Lauzon instead of Connor Clifton. Lauzon performed as expected: a depth defenseman for the Kraken who was on for more goals against than for. But somehow the Kraken convinced the Predators to give them a 2022 second-rounder for Lauzon at the deadline. That’s a very good return for a player that did not move the needle. — Fluto Shinzawa

Buffalo Sabres

Who the Kraken picked: Will Borgen

Who they should have picked: Kyle Okposo

Why? Like the Kraken, the Sabres are creating something new. Okposo has been a foundation of the rebuild. The 34-year-old is rejuvenated on the ice as one of Buffalo’s top goal scorers and fiercest two-way forwards. In the dressing room, he’s made the young team believe winning is possible. Okposo is the guy players look to for lessons in being a pro, which is what any blossoming franchise needs. — John Vogl

Calgary Flames

Who the Kraken picked: Mark Giordano

Who they should have picked: Oliver Kylington

Why? Giordano worked out fine for the Kraken. He was named captain, was easy to market and sold some jerseys. And then they flipped him at the deadline for two second-round picks and a third-rounder. It was fine work. But Oliver Kylington was available to be selected last summer and has been one of the Flames’ breakout players this season. He is only 24, makes $750,000 and could have been a staple on the Kraken blue line. Now if the team just wanted picks, then Giordano works just fine, but it’s hard to look at what Kylington is doing this season in the Flames’ top four and not see it as a missed opportunity by Seattle. — Hailey Salvian

Carolina Hurricanes

Who the Kraken picked: Morgan Geekie

Who they should have picked: Jake Bean

Why? Look, I like Geekie’s potential. And now that the dust has settled, I at least see what the Kraken were doing when they picked him over Bean. I also see how the defense is so “stacked” (read: they have their guys) that it can barely fit former Hurricane Haydn Fleury into the lineup. I also don’t think this was even close to a decision that is making or breaking the team’s inaugural season. But everyone thought the Kraken were going to pick Bean for good reason, and as a defenseman, he only has one fewer point in eight fewer games than center Geekie. Both are on bad teams — Bean was traded to Columbus — and both have bright futures, but would Geekie fetch a second-round pick in a trade like Bean did? — Sara Civian

Chicago Blackhawks

Who the Kraken picked: John Quenneville

Who they should have picked: Calvin de Haan

Why? The Kraken essentially punted by taking John Quenneville, a career AHLer who ended up playing in Switzerland this season. It was a curious decision, given viable and useful players such as Calvin de Haan, Ryan Carpenter, Nikita Zadorov, Vinnie Hinostroza and Adam Gaudette were available. Certainly, something’s better than nothing, right? The Kraken had better options than those players at their respective positions, but de Haan would have been smartest and safest bet for getting some value out of the pick — a cagey veteran, reliable defender and well-liked teammate on an expiring contract. He could have been a nice piece going forward, too. — Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers

Colorado Avalanche

Who the Kraken picked: Joonas Donskoi

Who they should have picked: J.T. Compher

Why? It makes sense that Donskoi’s numbers have suffered going from Colorado to Seattle, but the extent to which they’ve suffered has been a major problem for the Kraken. He has only two goals and 19 points in 67 games. Compher, meanwhile, is younger and slightly cheaper. He’s a bottom-six player who is good defensively and can chip in points. His $3.5 million cap hit might be a little hefty, but the Kraken have cap space. They could’ve kept him or offered to eat some of his salary at the deadline to make him more appealing to inquiring teams. — Peter Baugh

Columbus Blue Jackets

Who the Kraken picked: Gavin Bayreuther

Who they should have picked: Max Domi

Why? The Kraken decided they’d rather get nothing from the Blue Jackets (they picked Bayreuther but let him walk via free agency) than be saddled with Domi’s $5.3 million cap hit or $6 million salary. Fair enough. But couldn’t Seattle have flipped Domi for something (anything!) of trade value, as the Blue Jackets did at the deadline? In Seattle’s defense, last summer was not an easy time to be trading players with big paychecks. — Aaron Portzline