Pro Hockey Rumors

With training camps now less than a month away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective.  Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled.  Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason.  Next up is a look at Seattle.

When the Kraken promoted Dan Bylsma to take over as head coach last summer, Seattle was hoping that he’d be able to get them going back in the right direction after taking a big step back.  Unfortunately for them, they instead took another step back, prompting not only a coaching change again with Lane Lambert taking over but even a new front office structure with Jason Botterill being elevated to general manager.  His first summer at the helm saw the team make a few moves but the primary core of this group remains largely unchanged.

Draft

1-8 – F Jake O’Brien, Brantford (OHL)
2-36 – D Blake Fiddler, Edmonton (WHL)
3-68 – D Will Reynolds, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
5-134 – D Maxim Agafonov, Ufa (MHL)
7-205 – D Karl Annborn, HV71 (Sweden U20)
7-218 – F Loke Krantz, Linkoping (Sweden U20)

There’s a saying that a team can’t have enough centers.  Seattle’s draft history might yet put that theory to the test as the selection of O’Brien made it four middlemen taken with their top pick in five years, all of those coming no later than eighth overall.  O’Brien had a breakout season with OHL Brantford, finishing as one of the league’s top assist and point leaders, an impressive feat for a player in his draft-eligible season.  He has already signed his entry-level contract taking a possible NCAA detour off the table but he doesn’t have a lot left to prove in junior either.  He might not push for a spot with Seattle this season but next fall, he could legitimately get a look.

Fiddler was a nice pickup in the early second round as a player ranked by some in the late teens.  The son of long-time center Blake Fiddler, he’s a strong skater on the back end with a bit of secondary offensive upside and showed well at the World Under-18s back in May.  Size-wise, he’s already big enough to fit in on an NHL back end but he’s probably a few years away from getting that chance.  The Kraken stayed in the junior ranks with Reynolds, another big defender but whose profile is much different than Fiddler’s.  He’s more of a true physical shutdown player, a profile they don’t have a lot of in their system.

Among the late-round selections, Agafonov showed well at the Russian junior level last season with his mobility standing out in particular.  He’s someone who will need a couple of years to work up to the KHL and then likely a year or two from there before being NHL-ready.  Annborn, their fourth straight rearguard, got a brief taste of SHL action but spent most of the year at the Under-20 level where he notched 21 assists in 39 games.  Under contract through 2027-28 back home, he won’t be on the radar for a while.  The same can be said for Krantz, though not necessarily because of his contract.  He has a strong shot that made a big impact in Sweden’s Under-18 level but it didn’t translate to the Under-20 division.  He still has some work to do there and is a multi-year project as well.

Trade Acquisitions

F Frederick Gaudreau (trade with Minnesota)
F Mason Marchment (trade with Dallas)

With Dallas needing to free up some money this summer, Seattle was there to take advantage, acquiring Marchment and his $4.5MM contract for the low cost of a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round selection.  For a player who has put up 100 points over the last two seasons while also bringing some physicality to the table, that’s a nice bargain acquisition for them.  If things go well, he’s someone who plausibly could be offered a deal to stick around beyond this season.  If not, he’s someone that they should be able to flip closer to the trade deadline as a rental player for a return that’s better than what they gave up to get him.  Either way, the Kraken should come out of this trade a winner.

Very quietly, Gaudreau has put up solid offensive numbers for a secondary producer in recent years, tallying at least 14 goals and 37 points in three of the last four seasons while also being a regular killing penalties and respectable at the faceoff dot.  The Wild decided that they’d rather try someone else in that role and again, while Seattle has a lot of center depth already, the acquisition cost of a fourth-round pick is quite reasonable, especially since he has three years left on his contract.  That said, his role might be a bit lower on the depth chart than it was in Minnesota.

UFA Signings

D Cale Fleury (two years, $1.78MM)^
F John Hayden (two years, $1.55MM)^
D Ryan Lindgren (four years, $18MM)
D Josh Mahura (two years, $1.815MM)^
G Matt Murray (one year, $1MM)
F Ben Meyers (one year, $775K)^

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

For the second straight summer, Seattle’s biggest free agent splash came on the back end although Lindgren’s deal isn’t anywhere near as significant as the seven-year, $50MM contract given to Brandon Montour.  Lindgren has largely been the same player for most of his career, a second-pairing defensive-minded player whose possession metrics aren’t the prettiest while he doesn’t bring much to the table offensively; last season was the first time he reached 20 points.  His addition gives the Kraken one of the more expensive bluelines in the NHL for the upcoming season but with the team allowing an extra 30 goals compared to 2023-24, it’s not much of a surprise that their top signing was someone who they hope can help on the defensive side of things.

Most of their other three signings were more of the depth variety, aside from Mahura who spent most of the year on the third pairing and should be in that sixth or seventh battle once again.  Murray will be given a shot to battle for the backup job but could be ticketed to start the year with AHL Coachella Valley.  Fleury has seen NHL action in each of the last four years, albeit in a limited role as he spent the bulk of last season with the Firebirds, a role he’ll likely have once again.  As for Meyers, he had five recalls in 2024-25 although that only led to eight appearances with the Kraken.  He’s also likely heading for the minors where he’ll be one of their veteran recall options when injuries arise as will Hayden.

RFA Re-Signings

D Ryker Evans (two years, $4.1MM)
F Kaapo Kakko (three years, $13.575MM)
F Tye Kartye (two years, $2.5MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

Kakko had a rough start with the Rangers last season and New York decided that the time was right to move him.  As they did with their two trade pickups this summer, the Kraken were there to take advantage of a buy-low pickup.  The change of scenery certainly seemed to work as Kakko collected 30 points in 49 games following the swap, allowing him to set new career bests in assists and points.  After filing for arbitration back in July, the two sides settled on this deal soon after.  Considering his overall struggles in his young career, it’s a deal that carries some risk but if Kakko is able to keep up the same type of production he had following the swap, he could become an important part of their top six.

Seattle had enough cap space to try to do a long-term deal with Evans but they instead elected to do a bridge.  He impressed in his first full NHL campaign last season, notching 25 points in 73 games while logging over 19 minutes a night before getting a look with Canada at the Worlds in May.  He projects to be a big part of their long-term plans defensively but the big pay day will have to wait a little while longer.  Kartye made a name for himself when he debuted in the 2023 playoffs but since then, he has been limited to primarily fourth-line duty.  A short-term pact accordingly made sense for both sides as he’ll look to grab hold of a spot higher on the depth chart over the next couple of years.

Departures

F Brandon Biro (signed in Russia)
D Nikolas Brouillard (signed with San Diego, AHL)
F Andre Burakovsky (trade with Chicago)
F Michael Eyssimont (signed with Boston, two years, $2.9MM)
F Luke Henman (signed in Finland)
D Maxime Lajoie (signed in Russia)
D Gustav Olofsson (signed with Coachella Valley, AHL)
G Ales Stezka (signed in Czechia)

*-denotes two-way contract

After acquiring Marchment, the Kraken quickly moved out Burakovsky to Seattle, taking back Joe Veleno who was promptly bought out.  Brought in on the heels of a career year with Colorado that saw him score 61 points in 2021-22, Burakovsky only managed 92 points over his three seasons with the Kraken, two of which were plagued by a significant injury.  On top of that, he dropped under the 15-minute-per-game mark over the last two seasons, not ideal for one of their top-paid forwards.  Still, they managed to clear out his $5.5MM AAV with only needing to eat a $379K cap charge for the next two seasons with the Veleno buyout so with them deciding the time was right to part ways, it could have gone worse.

Eyssimont was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the return for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand and played well in limited action following the swap.  However, Gaudreau could ultimately wind up taking his place in the lineup.  Most of their other departures had at least a little bit of NHL experience over the years but those players were primarily regulars at the AHL level and in Olofsson’s case, he remains with the organization, just not on an NHL contract.

Salary Cap Outlook

By electing to do a bridge contract for Evans, Botterill has left himself plenty of flexibility heading into the season with the team projected to open up with just under $4.6MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  That gives them more than ample coverage should injuries arise while if they find themselves in the mix by the trade deadline, they’ll have more than enough room for a couple of additions.  On the other hand, if they’re not in the playoff picture, they’ll be able to retain on some of their pending unrestricted free agents or act as a third-party facilitator (which is still legal for this season before becoming much more restrictive for 2026-27).

Key Questions

Will Beniers Take The Next Step? When Seattle drafted Matty Beniers second overall in 2021, they thought they had their top center of the future in place.  After putting up 57 points in his rookie season, it looked like he was on his way to being that player.  But production has been harder to come by over the last two years with point totals of 37 and 43.  Those are still decent for a player who is still only 22 but they’re not top-end either.  Right now, he looks more like a second option than a first; if he can get to that top level, the trajectory of this offense changes considerably.

Can Grubauer Deliver NHL-Level Goaltending? Last season was an unmitigated disaster for goaltender Philipp Grubauer and frankly, that still might be an understatement.  He struggled out of the gate and never really got going after that.  The end result was him clearing waivers midseason and posting a career-worst .875 SV% in 26 starts, leading to some buyout speculation this summer.  With Murray in the mix now, Grubauer will simply be fighting to keep a roster spot in training camp, an outcome few thought possible when he signed a six-year contract with them back in 2021.

Will The Special Teams Improve? Botterill indicated recently that one of the goals for this season will be to improve on special teams.  Both units struggled last season with the power play checking in 23rd overall (18.9%) while the penalty kill came in 21st (77.2%).  Neither of those numbers are at the level of a playoff-caliber team and with the Kraken electing not to rebuild but merely to tinker with their core, it’s clear they envision themselves as a group capable of making the postseason.  Can they get the desired rebound on special teams?  If not, their goal of getting back to the playoffs is going to be even tougher.

Photos courtesy of Sergei Belski and Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.