Trade Deadline Primer: Seattle Kraken

With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle Kraken’s ship is leveling out after an inaugural season that saw them fail to reach 30 wins, and a 2022-23 season that saw them outscore most of the league en route to the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the middle ground between one dismal season and one electric season hasn’t produced much. The Kraken are in the midst of a fairly boring season, ranked as the fifth-lowest-scoring team in the league and one of six teams caught up in the Western Conference Wild Card race. It hasn’t been a necessarily bad year for the Kraken, but they’ll need to find a spark if they want to push for the playoffs once again. Luckily, the 2024 Trade Deadline should offer plenty of opportunity for Seattle to bring in high-impact players and build a lineup that can compete into the Spring.

Record

25-22-11, 6th in the Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Reluctant Buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$4.93MM of cap space on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: SEA 1st, SEA 2nd, SEA 3rd, TOR 3rd, SEA 4th, SEA 6th, SEA 7th, CGY 7th
2025: SEA 1st, SEA 2nd, SEA 3rd, SEA 4th, SEA 5th, SEA 6th, SEA 7th

Trade Chips

The Kraken has managed to draft phenomenally well in their few years of existence, already promoting two top picks into routine NHL roles in Matthew Beniers and Ryker Evans. The team also boasts the acclaimed Shane Wright, Jagger Firkus, and Jani Nyman in their pool – among a long list of talented names. Their strength at the draft helps Seattle in a menagerie of ways – but most notably, it makes their future draft picks a bit more expendable. While the next three drafts each carry talented top-ends, the Kraken shouldn’t pass up the chance to make a splash just because it’d cost them high draft picks. A first-round pick has been the starting point of many rumors this winter and the pricier players on the market could cost upwards of two first-round picks. That’s a lot of capital to send off, but the Kraken has already built a robust prospect pool that should survive a couple of years without top picks.

If Seattle isn’t ready to move draft capital, their best trade value will come from marketing veterans like Jordan Eberle. Eberle has provided value in all three zones this season, boasting 14 goals and 35 points through 54 games this season. He’s been a focal piece of Seattle’s power play, scoring nine points on the man advantage this season, and ranks atop the team with a 54.44 CF% (Corsi-For Percentage). What’s best – Eberle carries a quant $5.5MM cap hit this season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s a short-term rental that could fill a lot of different roles for contending teams. If teams aren’t interested in Eberle, Seattle also offers similar value in the likes of Brandon Tanev and Tomas Tatar. The team could also see interest in Alexander Wennberg, who has taken on a prominent utility role in Seattle – playing on both special teams and operating as a go-to option on the faceoff. Seattle will have to ask themselves which veterans are expendable, with the team still wanting to keep enough together to push for a successful Spring, but their long list of options gives Seattle plenty to entertain this Deadline.

Other trade candidates: Justin Schultz (D, $3MM cap hit until 2024), Brian Dumoulin (D, $3.15MM cap hit until 2025), Chris Driedger (G, $2.35MM cap hit until 2024)

Team Needs

1) Swing For The Fences – The Seattle Kraken offense has not been good this season. They rank 27^th in the league in goals and have only seen three players – Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, and Oliver Bjorkstrand – even top 40 points through their first 58 games this season. It’s clear that the Kraken need a spark to breathe life below their first line. Luckily, St. Louis has made star winger Pavel Buchnevich available. Buchnevich is a fantastic option for teams looking for a difference-maker, with the 28-year-old winger boasting 22 goals and 46 points in 55 games this season, and 189 points in 191 career games with the Blues. He’s scored at least 20 goals in five of his eight years in the NHL, including each of the last four seasons. And what’s best – Buchnevich carries a manageable $5.8MM cap hit through the end of next season. That means any trade will provide benefits through the end of next year, which could be a saving grace for a Kraken team at the tail end of the playoff race. Unfortunately, St. Louis could be asking for as much as two first-round draft picks in exchange for Buchnevich. That’s a tall ask, especially considering Seattle currently only has two first-round picks in the next two years. A strong prospect pool, and luck in the later rounds of the draft, could be enough to convince Seattle to pay the price. Though, if the Kraken are willing to spend big this Deadline, they could also pursue Trevor Zegras, likely the most expensive asset on the open market this year but maybe the most fruitful as well. Zegras, 22, has broken the 60-point mark in each of the last two seasons, though he has just seven points in 20 games this year. Still, the former top-10 draft pick offers amazing potential and would provide an instant boost to Seattle’s future lineup. A deal for Zegras will likely need top prospects attached to draft picks but could offer a blockbuster deal for Seattle to pursue.

2) Choose A Side – The Kraken are presently in a strange limbo, not far enough away from the playoffs to start thinking about next year but still too close to sell off a list of veterans. They will need to decide what direction they want to take the team in ahead of the Deadline – and their choice will help them decide how expendable players like Wennberg, Yanni Gourde, or even Jaden Schwartz are. The Kraken are slowly building a strong lineup, though they’re still missing a few key pieces and have a few years before high-impact prospects like Shane Wright will establish everyday roles. The opportunity to add future capital, either through young lineup pieces or draft picks, could be tempting for a Kraken team that’s seen their youth perform well. But too much selling this year could doom Seattle to a few more years of monotony. The Kraken are in the midst of an in-between year after their first two seasons sat on each extreme, and now face the challenging question of what they want their team’s direction to be. The 2024 Trade Deadline should give fans a full look at how Seattle’s top brass answers that question.