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Frederick Gaudreau

Kraken Activate Frédérick Gaudreau, Place Kaapo Kakko On IR, Assign Ben Meyers

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The Seattle Kraken activated center Frédérick Gaudreau off of injured reserve before Saturday’s win over the San Jose Sharks. He came one day short of missing a full month of action, after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Seattle’s October 16th loss to the Ottawa Senators. In a corresponding move, the Kraken have placed winger Kaapo Kakko on injured reserve. He was designated as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury by head coach Lane Lambert, per Kraken broadcaster Alison Lukan.

Gaudreau was immediately folded back into the lineup. He played nearly 17 minutes of ice time on Saturday and recorded two shots and one block. Gaudreau recorded one assist and five blocks in five games prior to his injury. He has stepped up as a core piece of the Kraken bottom-six in his first season with the club. Gaudreau spent the last four seasons with the Minnesota Wild, where he posted 134 points in 307 games. That includes career years in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He posted his highest scoring seasons in those years, netting 44 and 38 points respectively.

It isn’t entirely clear when Kakko sustained his injury. He hasn’t played since leaving Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets in the first period. He appeared to sustain a non-contact injury – headed down the tunnel after an awkward stumble on a faceoff. Kakko missed the entirety of October with a broken hand that also required an IR placement. He returned for seven games, and managed no scoring, before falling out of the lineup once again.

Rookie Berkly Catton stepped back into the lineup in Kakko’s absence. The 19-year-old was an electric scorer through four years in the WHL, including back-to-back 100-point seasons over the last two years. Despite that, he has only recorded three assists through 13 NHL games this season. Catton should stick in the lineup as Seattle looks to continue developing their young stars, though Lambert has shown a preference for limiting the youngster’s ice time. He will continue operating behind Ryan Winterton, Jani Nyman, and Tye Kartye.

With Catton’s standing seemingly ensured, Seattle has also assigned Ben Meyers back to the minor-leagues. Meyers hasn’t appeared in the lineup since Thursday. He has three points, eight shots on goal, and 14 hits through nine games this season. He’s also recorded two goals and a minus-four in three games with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. Meyers scored 51 points in 57 AHL games last season, and will look to get back to that productivity with this transaction.

Kraken Issue Several Injury Updates

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The Kraken have had more than their fair share of injury issues over the first six weeks of the season.  Head coach Lane Lambert provided some updates on that front today, via team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link) and there is both good and bad news.

The good news is that center Frederick Gaudreau is getting close to returning from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for close to a month while winger Jared McCann (lower body) is making progress and could travel with the team on their upcoming road trip.  However, the bad news is that winger Kaapo Kakko is listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Gaudreau is in his first season with Seattle after being acquired from Minnesota over the offseason.  The 32-year-old was injured in the fourth game of the season and hasn’t returned since then.  Gaudreau had an assist in those four outings but struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 18 of 51 draws.  He has 61 goals and 92 assists in 414 career outings and should return to the bottom-six role he had last month once he’s officially activated off injured reserve.

As for McCann, he only lasted one more game than Gaudreau did, getting injured in the fifth game of the campaign.  He was off to a strong start before being sidelined after tallying three goals and an assist while logging over 17 minutes per night.  The 29-year-old has surpassed the 60-point mark in three straight seasons so getting him back potentially sooner than later would be a real shot in the arm to an offense that ranks 30th in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.

Kakko, meanwhile, has had a rough first full year with the Kraken.  After a solid showing in the second half of last season landed him a three-year deal over the summer, he broke his hand late in training camp, missing the first few weeks of the regular season as a result.  The 24-year-old has struggled since returning, notching just one point – a goal – in seven games with that tally coming in his last outing against Winnipeg before departing with this injury.  Now, he’ll be forced to sit for a while once again which certainly won’t help his chances of making Finland’s roster for the Olympics in February.  He remains on the active roster for now but will likely be shifted to IR once Gaudreau is ready to return.

Kraken Place Freddy Gaudreau On Injured Reserve

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Saturday: Gaudreau is set to miss some time as the team announced that he will miss four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury.

Friday: The Kraken announced that center Frédérick Gaudreau has been placed on injured reserve after leaving last night’s game with an undisclosed issue. Forward John Hayden has been called up from AHL Coachella Valley in the corresponding move.

The nature or severity of Gaudreau’s injury isn’t known, but it looms over what’s otherwise been an inauspicious start to his tenure in Seattle. He’s got one assist through four games and has been centering the Kraken’s fourth line between Tye Kartye and Jani Nyman while factoring in on the penalty kill. He has an even rating but has been tasked with difficult defensive matchups, only controlling 41.4% of shot attempts at even strength as a result.

It’s a small sample size, though, and the Kraken should still be expecting him to be the reliable bottom-six piece he was for the previous four years for the Wild aside from a brief nosedive in 2023-24. Gaudreau averaged a 15-21–36 scoring line per 82 games in Minnesota from 2021-25, winning 49.2% of his faceoffs and averaging 15:33 of ice time per game. His possession impacts have been trailing off for quite some time, though, culminating in a career-worst 44.2 CF% last year. Seattle acquired Gaudreau, who’s signed through 2027-28 at a cap hit of $2.1MM, for a fourth-round pick back in June.

With Gaudreau and Kaapo Kakko on IR, Seattle is already without a pair of lineup regulars up front four games into the young season. They haven’t let it affect them yet, though – they’re one of four teams left without a regulation loss and boast a 2-0-2 record with a +1 goal differential.

The question now is whether the veteran Hayden will replace Gaudreau in the fourth-line center slot, or if 2024 No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton will get a crack at making his NHL debut tomorrow against the Maple Leafs after sitting in the press box for all four games so far. It will likely be the former. If Catton is scratched for five consecutive games, he becomes eligible for a two-week conditioning stint in Coachella Valley. The 19-year-old isn’t yet eligible for a full-time AHL assignment and must be returned to his junior team, WHL Spokane, if he’s not on the NHL roster. A conditioning stint still counts against Seattle’s roster limit and is thus permitted. The Kraken took a similar approach with top-five pick Shane Wright in 2022-23 before subsequently loaning him back to juniors later in the year.

Hayden, 30, is now in his fourth year with the Kraken. He suited up 20 times for Seattle last year, his highest games played total since making 55 appearances with the Sabres in 2021-22. The bottom-six grinder has 18 goals and 39 points with a -30 rating in 269 career NHL games and has appeared in parts of nine consecutive seasons.

Seattle Kraken Acquire Frédérick Gaudreau

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11:17 a.m.: Both teams have confirmed the trade.

10:32 a.m.: The Seattle Kraken are making their forward core tougher to play against.. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Kraken have acquired forward Frédérick Gaudreau from the Minnesota Wild for a draft pick. Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff quickly added that the Kraken are sending their 2025 fourth-round pick (102nd overall) to the Wild.

For a second time since the Stanley Cup Final ended, the Kraken have taken advantage of a team looking to clear salary from their roster. Similarly to the trade that brought Mason Marchment to Northwest Washington, Seattle has procured a quality middle-six option on the cheap.

Gaudreau is coming to the Kraken on the heels of one of the better campaigns of his career. He finished the 2024-25 campaign fifth on the Wild in scoring with 18 goals and 37 points in 82 games. Although he’s best in a third-line role, Gaudreau spent much of the year in Minnesota’s middle-six due to injuries at the top of their forward hierarchy.

Although he showed more thump in his offensive output this past season, there is reason for pause. Gaudreau finished the campaign with a 16.4% shooting percentage, nearly double his career percentage leading up to the season.

On the defensive side of the puck, he was largely a net-zero. He had a dismal 44.2% CorsiFor% at even strength, but maintained a palatable 48.2% success rate in the faceoff dot with a 90.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength while starting 53.7% of his shifts in the defensive zone. It’ll be interesting to see if Seattle deploys Gaudreau as a center, given they’ve got Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Chandler Stephenson, and Joe Veleno down the middle already. Either they’re planning on shifting Gaudreau or one of the aforementioned players to the wing, or the Kraken are planning another trade from their forward core, similar to trading away André Burakovsky.

Meanwhile, the Wild’s take on the trade is fairly obvious. Trading Gaudreau relieves another $2.1MM from their 2025-26 salary cap table, giving them $17.7MM in available space leading up to July 1st. Now, even if they were to sign Marco Rossi for his asking price of $7MM per season, the Wild would have more than $10MM left to bring more quality pieces into the fold.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how they re-work their options down the middle if they were to trade Rossi. Top free agent options such as Brock Nelson and Matt Duchene have already been taken off the table, while John Tavares is still expected to re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. As of now, if they trade Rossi without acquiring a prominent center in return, they’d likely enter the season with Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman as their top two options down the middle.

Central Notes: Stars, McGroarty, Niederreiter, Wild

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Looking to clinch home-ice advantage through the Western Conference Finals tomorrow night against the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars will be without defenseman Jani Hakanpaa according to Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. However, in the same report, after being a full participant in practice this morning, forward Evgenii Dadonov will be a game-time decision.

Having already missed the last 13 games for the Stars due to a lower-body injury, the organization does not seem keen to rush Hakanpaa back and potentially reaggravate his injury before the playoffs. Even though he is one of the team’s better physical defensemen, Dallas hasn’t missed a beat in Hakanpaa’s absence, as they’ve produced a 10-2-0 record while limiting opponents to just a 1.92 goals against per game on average.

Unlike Hakanpaa, Dadonov has been out of the lineup for the last two months with a lower-body injury, which will cap him at only 51 games played this year if he can play in tomorrow night’s contest. With the team on the precipice of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Dadonov may find himself in the press box for much of the postseason but could add some offensive punch to the team’s fourth line.

Other Central notes:

  •  After his sophomore season came to an end on April 11th against the Boston College Eagles, Rutger McGroarty is opting to forego signing an entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets and will return to the University of Michigan next year according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Displaying a very mature sense of hockey IQ for his age, the 14th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft showed off with an elite playmaking season with the Wolverines. Helping his team make their third straight Frozen Four appearance, McGroarty scored 16 goals and 52 points over 36 games this year and should become a fixture of the Hobey Baker Award conversation next season.
  • Missing the last five games due to an Achilles injury, Nino Niederreiter should return to the lineup tonight against the Seattle Kraken (X Link). During the organization’s game against the Los Angeles Kings on April 1st, Niederreiter sustained a cut to his tendon, which required eight stitches to close. With the team still having two games left to play, Winnipeg will need only one point to clinch the second spot in the Central Division.
  • With their season set to come to an end on Wednesday evening, the Minnesota Wild will get forward Frederick Gaudreau back in the lineup as he has officially returned from personal leave according to Sarah McLellan of Star Tribune Sports. Unfortunately, it does not appear that Mats Zuccarello will return to the team before their final game, meaning he will finish the year with 11 goals and 62 points in 68 games.

Central Notes: Coyotes, Zuccarello, Gaudreau, Krug, Neighbours

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A relocation to Salt Lake City for 2024-25 seems the overwhelmingly likely end to a years-long solution to the Coyotes’ long-term future in Arizona. Reporting yesterday indicated significant progress had been made between Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, the NHL, and prospective Salt Lake owner Smith Entertainment Group on an agreement to sell the club. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also told PHNX Sports that a move to Utah had a “90 to 95 percent chance” of going through.

What’s less certain is a timeline. Speaking on “Insider Trading” on Thursday, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said an official announcement coming immediately after the Coyotes’ season ends next week is “a little hopeful.” Out of the multiple reports that circulated yesterday, a few suggested the sale to SEG could be announced as soon as April 18. When the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011, the most recent instance of NHL relocation, the sale wasn’t made official until late May. However, LeBrun says that’s too far down a potential timeline. If the league hasn’t confirmed a move to Salt Lake before then, it’s likely not happening this offseason, and another season in Arizona at Tempe’s Mullett Arena is likely in store.

Other news and notes from the Central:

  • Wild forwards Frédérick Gaudreau and Mats Zuccarello did not travel with the team on their West Coast road trip due to personal reasons and are both doubtful tomorrow against the Golden Knights, head coach John Hynes told Michael Russo of The Athletic. Considering there’s a possibility they may travel and join the team in Las Vegas tomorrow, it’s unlikely they’ll miss the entirety of Minnesota’s three-game road swing, their last of the season. Regardless of their availability, 2022 first-round pick Liam Öhgren will make his NHL debut, said Hynes, although it may impact where he plays in the lineup. He’s currently projected to occupy a third-line role at left wing alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Vinni Lettieri. Gaudreau, 30, has struggled mightily in the first season of a five-year, $10.5MM extension, limited to five goals and 15 points in 65 games while posting a team-worst -21 rating. Meanwhile, Zuccarello is chugging along in his age-36 season, still sitting just south of point-per-game territory with 62 in 68 appearances.
  • The Blues could be without defenseman Torey Krug and winger Jake Neighbours tomorrow against the Hurricanes due to upper-body injuries. Krug is listed as questionable, while Neighbours has already been ruled out, interim head coach Drew Bannister told Lou Korac of NHL.com and The Hockey News. The former has missed a couple of games recently, sitting out last weekend’s contest against the Sharks due to illness and missing a late-March contest against the Senators with a lower-body injury. He’s been hot lately when in the lineup, recording three points in his last three games. He’s got 39 in 77 appearances, tying last season for his worst points-per-game rate since 2015. It’s been a more successful campaign for the 22-year-old Neighbours, who’s broken out for 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games in his sophomore campaign.

West Notes: Saros, Gaudreau, Pospisil

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Earlier this season, Predators general manager Barry Trotz shut down any trade rumors involving star netminder Juuse Saros, stating he had full intent to re-sign him before his contract expires in 2025. That remains the case, but TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes Trotz may at least listen to offers he receives for the 28-year-old, he said in his latest for The Athletic.

It would, of course, take a gargantuan offer for the Predators to part with the third cog in their string of superstar netminders that links back to the days of Tomáš Vokoun in the early 2000s. LeBrun says a trade offer centered around draft picks won’t do the trick – rather, Trotz would require a young but established NHLer with first-line-caliber skills.

Further decreasing the likelihood of a Saros deal is a trade market that LeBrun says, later in the same article, is facing an increased level of parity this year. The Stanley Cup contention field is much more open than in recent seasons, and most teams at the top of the standings have a clear weakness that needs addressing. LeBrun that could lead to just a few teams going “all-in” at the deadline, with most preferring to hold onto their assets. That’s also because buyers will have a smaller market to choose from – many fringe playoff teams are expected to avoid being full sellers on March 8 and could hold onto their high-value assets and pending UFAs in hopes of squeaking into the postseason.

Saros’ .903 SV% this season isn’t terribly impressive, but it’s quite easy to see that it’s an outlier. He’s finished within the top eight of Vezina Trophy voting over the last three seasons and, prior to this year, had never posted a SV% south of .914 in a full season.

Elsewhere from the Western Conference:

  • Wild forward Frédérick Gaudreau is doubtful for tonight’s game against the Panthers, said The Athletic’s Joe Smith. The 30-year-old skated over nine minutes in last night’s 7-3 loss to the Lightning before leaving with an upper-body injury early in the third period. Per Smith, the Wild don’t yet have a timeline for Gaudreau’s return to the lineup, and he’ll continue to undergo evaluation today. The veteran has three goals in 34 games this year after notching double-digit goal totals in his first two seasons with the Wild. The lack of production is concerning in the first season of a five-year, $10.5MM contract, especially without the aging curve on his side. Winger Adam Raska will return to the lineup in Gaudreau’s absence after being scratched for three straight games.
  • Flames rookie Martin Pospisil will avoid a long-term absence after taking a scary fall into the boards last night versus the Maple Leafs, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. The 24-year-old will miss roughly two weeks, though, and will likely return soon after the All-Star break. He sustained an upper-body injury after his skates came together with those of Toronto superstar Auston Matthews, causing him to trip and fold awkwardly (video via Sportsnet, viewer discretion advised). The 2018 fourth-round pick has 4-7–11 in 33 games since being recalled from AHL Calgary in early November. In Pospisil’s absence, 23-year-old Adam Klapka (who stands at a hulking 6-foot-8 and 236 pounds) will make his NHL debut at home in tomorrow’s Battle of Alberta.

Wild Place Frédérick Gaudreau On LTIR, Recall Jesper Wallstedt

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The Minnesota Wild moved forward Frédérick Gaudreau to long-term injured reserve on Monday, according to a team statement. Additionally, the team recalled top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt to accompany the team as their third goalie for upcoming games in Sweden for the NHL Global Series.

Teams are permitted to carry a third goalie for international games, meaning Wallstedt will not count against the salary cap nor the 23-man roster limit but is eligible to enter a game if both Marc-André Fleury and Filip Gustavsson become injured while the team is overseas. The 2021 20th-overall pick is off to a breakneck start with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, recording a 2.01 GAA, .932 SV%, two shutouts, and a 6-2-0 record through eight games.

Meanwhile, Gaudreau has been moved to LTIR to increase the Wild’s salary pool. The 30-year-old winger/center has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury and has not played since October 14 against the Edmonton Oilers.

Gaudreau has missed the 28-day requirement for LTIR but not the ten-game requirement, meaning Gaudreau cannot be activated until after the first of Minnesota’s two games in Sweden against the Ottawa Senators. Given he will not travel with the team to Sweden, the earliest Gaudreau can conceivably return to the Wild lineup is November 24 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Before sustaining the injury, Gaudreau was off to a slow start, failing to record a point in six games and posting a -2 rating. It’s not the beginning he (or the Wild) envisioned after he inked a five-year, $10.5MM extension with trade protection to remain in the State of Hockey last April.

If Wallstedt is forced into action for the Wild while in his home country, it will be the 20-year-old’s NHL debut.

Wild Move Jared Spurgeon To LTIR, Recall Jujhar Khaira

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The Minnesota Wild have moved captain Jared Spurgeon to long-term injured reserve retroactive to the beginning of the season, per a team release. In a corresponding transaction, Minnesota recalled forward Jujhar Khaira from AHL Iowa. The Wild also announced that forward Frédérick Gaudreau is out with an upper-body injury and did not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip.

Spurgeon, 33, has missed all of Minnesota’s six games this season with an upper-body injury sustained late in training camp. Listed as week-to-week, the LTIR placement automatically rules Spurgeon out of the Wild’s next four games. The earliest possible date the defenseman can make his season debut is November 4 against the Rangers.

He’s been a cornerstone of the Wild blueline for more than a decade now, racking up 110 goals, 269 assists, 379 points and a +112 rating in 851 games in the State of Hockey, holding the franchise record for defenseman in all of those categories except assists. Spurgeon has largely avoided major injuries, too, never playing less than 60 games in a full campaign during which he was a full-time NHLer.

For Gaudreau, this is another bump in the road in what’s been a rocky start to 2023-24. Fresh off signing a five-year, $10.5MM extension last April, the 30-year-old forward is pointless through six games and has a -2 rating while averaging 14:53 per game. With Gaudreau out of the lineup, it’s likely that Brandon Duhaime will slide into the top nine for the Wild’s three-game road swing through Philadelphia, Washington and New Jersey. The 26-year-old has become a staple on the Wild’s fourth line in recent years and has two goals through his first six games this season.

That gives Khaira the chance to make his Wild debut tomorrow, presumptively on a fourth-line centered by Connor Dewar and Vinni Lettieri on his opposite flank. Khaira, 29, joined the Wild on a two-way deal late in the summer and has started the season with four assists in four games in the minors after clearing waivers. He has 336 games and eight seasons of NHL experience to his name, putting up six goals and 14 points in 51 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season.

Minnesota Wild Sign Frederick Gaudreau To Extension

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The Minnesota Wild announced that they’ve taken care of some offseason business early as they have inked forward Frederick Gaudreau to a five year $10.5MM extension. Gaudreau was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, but his extension will keep him with the Wild for the next five seasons.

Gaudreau originally signed a two year $2.4MM contract with the Wild in July 2021 after spending a single season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While that contract carried some risk, it turned out to be an absolute bargain for Minnesota. The 29-year-old has put up 80 points in 157 games for Minnesota and added some cheap depth scoring.

Minnesota has been hamstrung by the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The veterans buyout will account for nearly $15MM of the Wild’s salary cap space next year. Despite the cap issues, GM Bill Guerin has been able to bargain shop on multiple occasions and hit more often than he misses.  Even more impressive for Guerin is that he’s been able to build a competitive team without cap space and while also not mortgaging the future. Minnesota has all their first and second round draft picks for the near future.

While getting the Gaudreau contract done early is a tidy piece of business for the Wild, they do have some other pending free agents who will be much more difficult to extend and just $6.8MM in cap space to do it. John Klingberg, Matt Dumba, Gustav Nyquist and Oskar Sundqvist are all unrestricted, while defenseman Calen Addison and goaltender Filip Gustavsson are restricted free agents. Minnesota will likely have to make some tough decisions this summer, but with one of the best farm systems in the NHL, they should be able to remain competitive while getting younger and cheaper.

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