Kraken Looking To Add Impact Winger, Re-Sign Jaden Schwartz
The Seattle Kraken are searching for a balance between bolstering the lineup and not breaking the budget as the season goes on. Adding a top-six winger will be a top priority, but Seattle is taking a cautious approach with seven players headed for free agency, per David Pangotta of The Fourth Period on the latest episode of DFO Rundown. Of their free agents, re-signing winger Jaden Schwartz could be the fisrt to get something done, with Pagnotta adding that the two sides have already begun discussions that could ramp up in the Spring.
It is no surprise that re-signing Schwartz sits high on Seattle’s to-do list. The 33-year-old is a core piece of a young Seattle lineup. He has averaged over 17 minutes of ice time through 20 games this season and filled roles on both the power-play and penalty-kill. He’s recorded 15 points, 23 hits, and 40 shots on goal in the key role.
Schwartz’s performance is well in-line with what he’s offered Seattle through the last four seasons. He has challenged 40-point scoring pace in every year, and peaked with 26 goals and 49 points last season, his highest-scoring year since the 2019-20 season. He has held his role in Seattle’s lineup since he was selected by the club in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Before then, Schwartz filled a similar locked-in role through 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues. His career-year came in 2014-15, when he scored 28 goals and 63 points in 75 games, though Schwartz scored more than 50 points in half of his years with the Blues. He was also a key part of the 2019 Stanley Cup winning Blues, scoring 20 points in 26 playoff games that year.
His veteran presence offers major support to the Kraken’s young forwards, especially with ramped-up scoring this year. But while his next contract could carry him through the 169 games he has left to reach 1,000, it will also likely be Schwartz’s last.
That will ramp up Seattle’s need for another heavy imapct in the top-six. The team has plenty of value in their prospect pool to afford some major additions on the trade market. They promoted Tyson Jugnauth, Carson Rehkopf, Kaden Hammell, Caden Price, and Lukas Dragicevic to the AHL this season – while 21-year-old Jagger Firkus ranks third in the AHL with 18 points in 15 games. Many of those players are destined to support Seattle’s next era, but they could clear the overstock in a buyer’s market next year.
The trade market features strong veterans like Nazem Kadri and Boone Jenner, or youngsters like Brad Lambert and Nicholas Robertson. With the model set by vets like Schwartz and Jordan Eberle, a 10-5-5 record this season, and plenty of buying power – the Kraken could be a perfect candidate to make one of the year’s biggest deals.
Then again, they could opt to wait until free agency when they have roughly $35MM in cap space to make a big purchase, per Pagnotta. The 2026 free agency market has dried up with a wave of key extensions but high-impact forwards Alex Tuch, Nick Schmaltz, and Evgeni Malkin still remain on the market. The trio will each challenge a salary north of $9MM should they make a team-change, but an exodus of unrestricted free agents will give Seattle enough turnover to build a new star into the lineup.
The Kraken seem set on taking their time with a big move, but a big move seems a matter of when and not if. Seattle has allowed the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL this season, but ranks third-to-last in goals scored. They’re in desperate need of another spark, even amid a 4-1 record over their last five games. That will set them up to be major buyers as the Trade Deadline and free agency roll around.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports.
Canucks Still Searching For Impactful Second-Line Center
The addition of David Kampf hasn’t pulled the Vancouver Canucks off of the center market just yet. The club could be continuing their search for a stout, second-line center with Filip Chytil out and Lukas Reichel failing to live up to expectations, per Patrick Johnston of The Province.
Vancouver is certainly in a tricky spot with a quarter of the season gone by. Chytil appeared to be exactly what the team needed to start the year. He scored three goals in the first six games of the year, while adding 15 shots on goal and a 47.4 faceoff percentage. But he is now out for at least a bit longer with another upper-body injury – something the 26-year-old center has struggled with for the last three seasons. Reichel wasn’t able to pick up the slack after joining Vancouver via trade. He has posted one assist and a minus-six in 13 games with the club.
Those woes have pulled Vancouver back into a position of need. They are currently leaning on Kampf and Aatu Raty to operate behind top-center Elias Pettersson. Bringing in a trade option like Nazem Kadri, Pavel Zacha, or Alexander Wennberg would go far in giving Vancouver a bit more command over their top-six. The center position has proven to be highly sought after through the early year, which could drive up the price of any potential trades – but finding a better way to boost high-performing wingers like Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and Evander Kane could make the price worthwhile.
Johnston mentioned that Garland could be a candidate to be moved to a club looking for a veteran presence. Vancouver could also begin to tap into their prospect pool to swing a deal, potentially dangling high-upside prospects like Kirill Kudryavtsev, Danila Klimovich, or Anthony Romani. Any of the three, packaged alongside draft capital, should be enough to land Vancouver an impactful veteran who can step right into the top-six.
The Canucks don’t need it all from any new additions. Boeser is more than capable of handling the goal-scoring on the second-line, while Kiefer Sherwood or Linus Karlsson could bring a hard-nosed punch even if the team parts with Garland. They only need a semblance of consistency to help pull together the top of their lineup. Rebuilders like the San Jose Sharks could be a perfect trade partner to find that sort of impact before Vancouver slips further down the Western Conference standings. But with a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games, and no support in sight as things stand, Vancouver may need to step up as an aggressive buyer to make sure they can keep their year afloat.
Avalanche’s Gavin Brindley Out Week-To-Week
The Colorado Avalanche will be without one of their most recent signings for at least a few weeks. Rookie Gavin Brindley sustained a lower-body injury and has been designated as out week-to-week, per Corey Masisak of The Denver Post. Brindley didn’t travel with the club on a two-game road-trip that begins against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
This is a tough blow for Colorado’s most promising rookie in a few years. Brindley seemed to be finally finding his step at the NHL level, after a quiet start and a day-to-day injury earlier in the year. He scored six points, split evenly, in his last seven games before sustaining an injury two minutes into Thursday night’s game against the New York Rangers. That scoring brought Brindley up to seven points in 18 games this season – a mark that would have put him on pace for 32 points across the full season.
That’s an admirable scoring pace for the 5-foot-8 rookie. Even more, the comfort he showed throughout November was going far in solidifying his role as a reliable addition to a Colorado bottom-six that carries a high standard. He emphasized that impact with 19 hits and 22 shots on goal this season. But a hot streak will come to a close with this news, and put Brindley into the tough position of trying to rediscover his stride when the holiday season rolls around.
Brindley has averaged fewer than 10 minutes a night this season, making his lineup vacancy fairly easy to fill. The Avalanche recalled Jason Polin and could promote Tristen Nielsen into the lineup to address the hole in the short-term. Nielsen didn’t manage any scoring in the first two NHL games of his career earlier this season, though he does have 14 points in 16 AHL games. Polin hasn’t appeared in the NHL this season, but scored one goal in nine games with the Avalanche over the last two seasons combined. The duo will fight for a spot on Colorado’s fourth-line wing. If they can’t last, the Avalanche could recall Taylor Makar or Daniil Gushchin to fill a more routine role than they’ve received so far.
Pacific Notes: Oilers, Walman, Poehling, Parekh
It has been a consistently inconsistent season for the Oilers who have shown flashes of dominance at times and have struggled mightily at others. The end result has been a middling 9-9-5 record to start the campaign. Despite that, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that management isn’t quite ready to start making moves yet and would like to get closer to the 30-game mark which would allow them to ideally have a healthier roster to help them better assess what they need to do. More specifically, the better assessment might be what they can afford to do as they’ve been operating in LTIR all season and will have very limited cap space when the team is fully healthy, putting them in a money-in, money-out situation when it comes to the trade market.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with the Oilers, defenseman Jake Walman is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Tony Brar (Twitter link). Head coach Kris Knoblauch suggested that the blueliner should be back within a week, meaning an IR placement is unlikely. Walman is in his first full season with Edmonton after being acquired near the trade deadline last season and has been impactful, collecting 10 points in 17 games while logging a little more than 20 minutes per night of ice time.
- Ducks center Ryan Poehling took to the ice today for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury a week and a half ago. However, it will still be a little while before he’s cleared to return as head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters, including Derek Lee of The Hockey News, that the earliest that Poehling could return is next weekend. The 26-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim and had a goal and five assists in 16 games prior to the injury.
- Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, relays Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike (Twitter link). He has missed the last couple of weeks due to the injury and even if he’s cleared to return sooner than later, he won’t be with the team for long as he has already been confirmed to be going to the World Juniors if healthy by then. Parekh is in his first full professional season after recently surpassing the nine-game threshold and has an assist in 11 outings so far while averaging a little less than 15 minutes per night of playing time.
Devils And Flyers Seeking Depth Centers
Considering that we’re basically just at the one-quarter mark of the season, the trade market hasn’t really materialized aside from a handful of smaller moves. But that doesn’t stop teams from setting their respective wish lists and determining what areas they’d like to add to their rosters.
As is often the case, help down the middle is an area that a lot of teams will be targeting. Among them are a pair of Metropolitan Division teams. Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports that while acquiring a top replacement for Jack Hughes is unlikely, they’d like to add a depth center to the mix. Meanwhile, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Flyers are also looking for an extra depth middleman.
New Jersey had been looking to add a center last season. However, when Hughes suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, they pivoted from looking to make a big addition to more of a depth one in Cody Glass. Speculatively, that’s the type of depth addition they’d likely want to make, one that would add to the roster without costing too much to acquire.
The other element in play is the player’s actual cost. The Devils are deep into LTIR with Johnathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce currently on there while Hughes is eligible given that he’s out for the better part of two months. But eventually, when they’re all healthy, New Jersey is going to be right against the Upper Limit of the salary cap so if they go add someone to help at center, it ideally would be a lower-cost addition that’s easier to fit on their books.
As for the Flyers, they haven’t really replaced Jett Luchanko after he was assigned back to junior last month. Rodrigo Abols has been filling a role as a fourth-line center but the 29-year-old only has 36 career NHL games under his belt. In a perfect world, a more proven and impactful option would be a good way for them to go.
On the other hand, Philadelphia enters play today seventh in the Metropolitan Division and the expectation heading into the season was that they’d be a non-playoff team and a likely seller. Not enough has happened yet to change those expectations so taking a big swing on the trade front might not the prudent move. Instead, a smaller addition now that doesn’t cost a lot but could still help would make sense for GM Daniel Briere. Unlike the Devils, cap space isn’t a concern for the Flyers so they could have a bigger pool of players to potentially target.
The good news for these teams is that depth centers are a little easier to come by and the odd one finds their way onto the waiver wire as John Beecher did earlier this week. The bad news is that with the number of teams seeking center help, New Jersey and Philadelphia will likely be battling several suitors even for the types of depth upgrades it appears that they’re looking to make.
Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Dowd, Grebenkin
The Rangers will be without a key forward tonight against Utah as Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center J.T. Miller is listed as out day-to-day due to an upper-body injury. In his first full season back with New York following a midseason trade in 2024-25, the 32-year-old is logging 20:41 per game and taking a regular turn on both special teams units. However, as has been the case for a lot of the team so far, offense has been hard to come by as he has just six goals and six assists in 22 games despite seeing a lot of ice time on the top line.
Meanwhile, Baugh also noted that defenseman William Borgen remains listed as day-to-day with his upper-body injury which suggests he’ll miss a second straight game. He has been a regular on the second pairing for the Rangers this season, picking up three points, 24 blocks, and 26 hits in 19 outings.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Capitals center Nic Dowd was a full participant in practice today but will miss his third straight game tonight, relays Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. The 35-year-old has missed the last two contests due to an upper-body injury. Dowd has a goal and four assists in 19 games so far this season while logging over 15 minutes per night of playing time. Sonny Milano has played the last two games in Dowd’s absence and is expected to stay in the lineup for their game tonight against Tampa Bay.
- The hope was that Flyers winger Nikita Grebenkin would be able to grab a hold of a full-time spot in the lineup this season. However, he has been scratched in seven of 19 games so far and has played just 9:35 per night in the dozen appearances he has made. However, Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer mentions that the organization is okay with how the 22-year-old has been handled, even with the limited action. Grebenkin is waiver-exempt so if it’s decided that he could benefit from a bigger role and more ice time, they will be able to assign him to AHL Lehigh Valley to get him that opportunity.
Predators Activate Roman Josi Off Injured Reserve
With the Predators sitting at a 6-10-4 record through their first 20 games, it’s fair to say that things haven’t gotten off to a good start this season. There is some good news coming today, however, as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Roman Josi will return to the lineup tonight against Colorado and has been activated off injured reserve. The team had two open roster spots so corresponding moves were needed to activate him.
The 35-year-old has missed the last dozen games due to an upper-body injury sustained just under a month ago against Vancouver. He was off to a nice start as well, chipping in with five points and 15 blocked shots in his first eight outings while averaging a team-high 24:05 per night of playing time.
When healthy, Josi remains a legitimate top-pairing defender although staying healthy has been a challenge as of late. He missed the final 25 games last season and was later diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome but was cleared to return for training camp.
Arguably, Nashville’s biggest move over the offseason was the trade acquisition and subsequent signing of blueliner Nicolas Hague with the hopes that he and Josi could form the new top pairing. However, Hague missed the first eight games of the season with an upper-body injury of his own and his first game back was the first one that Josi missed. Now, more than six weeks later than expected, the Preds will get a chance to see that duo in action as they were paired together at today’s morning skate.
Olle Lycksell Clears Waivers
Saturday: Lycksell has cleared waivers for the second straight month, Garrioch reports. That will pave the way for him to be reassigned to AHL Belleville.
Friday: The Senators have placed winger Olle Lycksell on waivers, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. He hasn’t played since Nov. 8 and has been on injured reserve while in concussion protocol, so today’s news indicates he’s been cleared to return. Because he was on IR, he won’t count against Ottawa’s active roster while on waivers and will instead carry a non-roster designation for the next 24 hours.
Lycksell, 26, was a sixth-round pick by the Flyers back in 2017. He remained in the Philadelphia organization until last summer, when he became a Group VI unrestricted free agent and signed a two-way contract with Ottawa. In parts of three seasons on the Flyers’ NHL roster, he churned out a 1-10–11 scoring line in 45 appearances with a -6 rating. On the whole, he had underwhelming possession impacts with a 49.2 CF% at 5-on-5 and averaged 10:53 of ice time per game. Combined with a relative lack of physicality, he wasn’t much of a fit in a bottom-six role and struggled to land a consistent spot despite some high-end scoring numbers in the minors. Over his three seasons with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, he was nearly a point-per-game player with a 52-76–128 scoring line in 134 appearances.
Since he signed a two-way deal with the Sens and he wasn’t viewed as a threat to grab a top-nine job on the wings, many expected him to land on waivers during training camp. He did just that, but wasn’t assigned to AHL Belleville, at least not immediately. He’s remained on Ottawa’s active roster for the vast majority of the season, aside from a four-day demotion to Belleville in October and his recent IR placement.
Lycksell was used sparingly as an extra forward, though. He hasn’t appeared in more than two consecutive games this season and has just six total appearances, including just one since Oct. 28. His showing was a mixed bag. He did average a shot on goal per game and recorded his second career NHL tally, but his possession impacts weren’t good in sheltered fourth-line minutes. At 5-on-5 with Lycksell on the ice, the Senators have been outscored 4-2, outshot 33-23, and outchanced 34-30. That’s despite Lycksell receiving just one defensive zone start this year.
Given his minor-league success, Lycksell might generate some interest on the waiver wire, but his poor defensive impacts this season and lack of demonstrated upside at the NHL level point toward him clearing. Since they’re comfortable enough to expose him to waivers, he might be in line for a lengthier stint in Belleville, where he went without a point in two appearances last month.
Rangers Loan Talyn Boyko To Finnish League
The Rangers have seven goaltenders under contract following the recent signing of Spencer Martin to a two-year, one-way contract. When everyone’s healthy, that means someone is going to be a third-stringer which isn’t an ideal situation.
For now, at least, the Rangers have found a solution. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have loaned netminder Talyn Boyko to KalPa in Finland. It wasn’t specified if this is a rest-of-season loan or something more short-term with an eye on getting him some game action.
The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by New York back in 2021, going 112th overall. At the time, he was the backup with WHL Tri-City but a move to Kelowna the following season put him into the clear starting role, one he held for two seasons before turning pro in 2023-24.
Over his first two professional campaigns, Boyko played primarily at the ECHL level with Cincinnati in his rookie year and Tulsa last season, Anaheim’s affiliate. He posted a solid 2.66 GAA and a .913 SV% in 33 games with them, earning himself a five-game look with AHL Hartford.
This season, Boyko started off the campaign as the backup goalie with the Wolf Pack, playing behind Dylan Garand. He has made five appearances, putting up a 3.10 GAA and a .894 SV% but now with Martin in the fold (though he has yet to play since signing), he was set to be relegated to third-string status.
Instead of loaning him to a different AHL or ECHL affiliate (Callum Tung and Hugo Ollas comprise the tandem with ECHL Bloomington), the Rangers have found a different opportunity for Boyko with a look in Finland. A pending restricted free agent, it doesn’t seem likely that Boyko will be tendered a qualifying offer as things stand so this may be a chance for him to make a case for a contract overseas for 2026-27.
Senators Activate Thomas Chabot, Assign Lassi Thomson To AHL
The Senators have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against San Jose. First, the team announced that defenseman Lassi Thomson has been sent back to AHL Belleville. That opened up a roster spot which will be filled by blueliner Thomas Chabot who has been activated off injured reserve, per the NHL’s Media site.
Chabot has missed a week and a half due to an upper-body injury sustained against Dallas. Before the injury, the 28-year-old was his usual two-way self on the back end, picking up two goals and eight assists in 17 games while blocking 35 shots and averaging a little under 22 minutes per game of playing time, second only to fellow blueliner Jake Sanderson.
Chabot will likely play on the second pairing in his return and it would make sense for Nick Jensen to move back into the other spot on that duo, a pairing that has played a lot together in the early going. Whose spot Chabot takes in the lineup isn’t as certain though as Nikolas Matinpalo left Thursday’s game due to an injury. If he can’t play, then Chabot will take his place but if Matinpalo is available, it could be him or Jordan Spence being scratched.
As for Thomson, the 25-year-old was brought up earlier this week as injury insurance for the first leg of Ottawa’s road trip but didn’t see any game action. He last played in the NHL in the 2022-23 campaign and has five assists in 18 career NHL appearances. In 15 games with Belleville, he has three goals and an assist.