Offseason Checklist: Seattle Kraken
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Seattle.
After another coaching change last year, the Kraken were hoping that they’d turn things around this season. While they were technically in the race for a playoff spot in the final few games, they wound up on the outside looking in once again, resulting in the departure of Ron Francis and an organization-wide audit of their processes. While a rebuild or roster retooling might be the more prudent move for the team, it doesn’t appear they’ll be going in that direction. With that in mind, their checklist focuses on moves to help the team now.
Take Care Of Pending Free Agent Forwards
Since Seattle was still within striking distance of a playoff spot, they went from being likely sellers at the trade deadline to improbable buyers. As a result, instead of moving some core rental veterans for future help, they held onto those and added another one for good measure. Now, it’s time to figure out which ones they want to keep.
We’ll start with the newcomer Bobby McMann. The 29-year-old was in the middle of a breakout performance with Toronto before finding a new gear following his acquisition by the Kraken. McMann potted 10 goals in 18 games with his new team, bringing him to 29 on the season. That puts him fourth in tallies among all pending UFAs, putting him in a position to command a long-term deal at possibly four (or more) times his current AAV of $1.35MM. With the team carrying over $28MM in cap room for next season per PuckPedia, it certainly stands to reason that GM Jason Botterill will be trying to keep him around.
Meanwhile, decisions need to be made on two more wingers, Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen. Schwartz has been with Seattle for all of its five NHL seasons and sits fifth in franchise scoring despite a long list of injuries, including this season. He has shown flashes of top-six performance but his injury history makes him a little less likely to return, meaning he’ll need to be replaced. Tolvanen’s case is a little less certain. He has 35 goals and 71 points over the last two seasons but saw his role be reduced down the stretch. Still, for a team with minimal firepower, letting a decent scorer walk would be risky. Also up front, though Jared McCann isn’t a pending unrestricted free agent, he becomes extension-eligible in July and is someone the team should be looking to lock up to a long-term deal.
Make A Decision On Wright
When the Kraken selected Shane Wright with the fourth overall selection in 2022, they hoped that he could be their future top center or at least a core second liner. Four years later, that outcome doesn’t seem quite as certain. The team evidently felt the same way as back in January, they reportedly made the youngster available if they were going to land the impactful forward they were seeking.
Unfortunately for Seattle, that move didn’t materialize and Wright’s value has likely dipped since then. After putting up a very respectable 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 games in his first full season in 2024-25, his sophomore numbers took a turn in the wrong direction. Wright managed just 12 goals and 15 helpers in 74 appearances last season and struggled considerably after the Olympic break, notching just one goal and four assists in 18 outings.
On the one hand, it seems as if he’s trending in the wrong direction. On the other, he’s a young center who is signed for one more year on his entry-level deal at a cap charge not far above the minimum salary. He still has five seasons of team control remaining, too. Even if his value isn’t as high as it once was, there would still be plenty of suitors for his services.
On top of that, the Kraken are well-stocked down the middle. Matty Beniers is entrenched as one of their top two middlemen while Berkly Catton, an eighth-overall selection, is a natural center, as is prospect Jake O’Brien, a number pick himself. Meanwhile, veteran Chandler Stephenson is still signed long-term and bottom-sixer Frederick Gaudreau has a couple of years left as well. While there is no elite piece (at least at the moment), they’re not in bad shape depth-wise and could afford to part with Wright.
Botterill will need to decide if he’s better off giving Wright another look in the hopes of him rebounding or at least helping his trade value at the risk of a slow start further lowering his value. But if the team is still open to moving him, Wright is one of their better trade chips.
Add More Firepower
Over the years, the Kraken have tried more of a by-committee approach with their offense. Several of the players from that approach are still around but more often than not, that hasn’t worked out well. In three of their five seasons, they have been in the bottom five of the league in terms of goals scored, including 2025-26 when they were 28th. (They were fourth and 16th the other two seasons.)
This is why they were willing to pay a significant premium in terms of salary to try to land Artemi Panarin from the Rangers in the hopes of making him the centerpiece of their offense. They’re believed to have tried to make some big offers in the past to free agents as well but haven’t had a ton of success on that front and the market this year isn’t likely to bring significant improvements up front.
That’s where the idea of moving Wright makes some sense. With Brandon Montour in the fold, perhaps Vince Dunn could be a trade chip to add a core forward. They could also pull from their prospect pool (though that’s risky for a non-playoff team). But with three subpar offensive seasons from this core group, Botterill needs to find a way to add at least one if not two more threats up front.
Upgrade Defensive Depth
Seattle has one other unrestricted free agent of consequence this summer in veteran Jamie Oleksiak. However, with Dunn, Ryan Lindgren, and Ryker Evans in the fold, they should be able to fill his spot without too much difficulty so they don’t necessarily need to get into a bidding war to try to keep him.
However, they could stand to upgrade on their depth options. If they want to give their prospects a bit more time in the minors with Coachella Valley, their internal replacements for Oleksiak are Josh Mahura and Cale Fleury. Both players have been around the NHL for a few years now but are better seventh options than a full-time sixth.
Fortunately, there will be better options available on the open market. While there aren’t a ton of top-four players set to reach free agency, there are a lot of third-pairing pieces who have had more success than Mahura and Fleury. Ideally, the addition would be a right-shot option to balance out the pairings but an upgrade is an upgrade. They likely only need a short-term player with Ty Nelson, Tyson Jugnauth, Caden Price, and Ville Ottavainen having some success in the minors with the Firebirds and presumably, one of them could break through to full NHL readiness within a year.
But while that prospect depth is promising, a short-term veteran addition to replace Oleksiak and be an improvement on Mahura and Fleury would be worthwhile. More importantly, it’s one that should be realistic to achieve, unlike their forward needs which will be much harder to accomplish.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Poll: Which Active Players Will Become An NHL GM?
The connection between NHL playing careers and front office roles has existed for nearly as long as the league itself. Some of the most highly-regarded executives – from Glen Sather in the 1980s to Jim Nill today – began their journeys with a decade-or-more in NHL lineups. Looking at the league in 2025-26, there seems to be no shortage of potential NHL executives currently putting on the pads. The question is, which of them will make it to the big chair first?
A clear top candidate would be Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby – the face of the NHL for much of the last 20 years. Crosby has become synonymous with North American hockey through his historical playing career, while learning from player-turned-owner and fellow all-time-great Mario Lemieux. That leadership could soon be invaluable. Crosby will face the question of if he should play on, or if now is the time to call it quits, in the second half of next season. If he wants to prolong his time on an NHL payroll beyond his time in the lineup, he could have a great chance to learn under Kyle Dubas and alongside Jason Spezza in the Penguins front office.
Another strong candidate for a GM role will be Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. Former NHL GM Brian Burke recently said as much on The Sheet With Jeff Marek while speaking to how much he admires Landeskog’s professionalism. There is no doubt about the Avalanche star’s commitment to the game, most notably highlighted by his triumphant return from a severe knee injury. Landeskog played through that injury during Colorado’s run to the 2022 Stanley Cup. On the other side of his return, he continues to serve as a versatile and effective playmaker who can shine off without top-line minutes. He is currently part of a three-way tie for second on the Avalanche in playoff scoring with seven points in six games. With that kind of impact, there will be plenty of hockey ahead for the 33 year old, who is signed through the 2028-29 season. But when his career nears its end, a door to team management could quickly open.
Prior playing experience could also open the door for more European representation in front office roles. Landeskog would become the second Swedish GM in NHL history, while a player like Anze Kopitar could shoot to become the first from central Europe should he choose that path. Kopitar is hanging up his skates after the Los Angeles Kings’ exit from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He had the third-most games played of any active NHL player this season. Every single one of those games came in a Kings’ jersey, with Kopitar captaining the team through the final 10 seasons of his career. All-time goals record holder Alex Ovechkin has also spent the entirety of his career with one team and could wield the experience needed to become the league’s first Russian GM.
Of course, playing success does not create a top exec – and many of the league’s top leaders could also have a chance. Longtime pros Jaccob Slavin, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O’Reilly, and Aleksander Barkov have all been recognized for their sportsmanship with the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The trophy was also handed out to former Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and soon-to-be-former Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis. Its recognition of on-and-off-ice impact would stand out on any resume, especially next to the Stanley Cup precedent that MacKinnon, O’Reilly, and Barkov boast. It is also a feat managed multiple times by Kopitar, who could win the trophy again this season.
Many players around the league could put together a strong case for a managerial role. Who will do it first? Who will find another long career in the role? Vote for your choice below and use the comments to make a case for other players!
Which Active Players Will Become An NHL GM?
Seattle Kraken Assign Jake O’Brien To AHL
The Seattle Kraken are continuing the trend of moving prospects in the Canadian major junior system to the American Hockey League for the Calder Cup playoffs. According to the AHL transaction log, the Kraken have reassigned forward Jake O’Brien to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
O’Brien, 18, is only a year removed from being selected with the eighth overall pick by Seattle. He was coming off an exceptional year with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, scoring 32 goals and 98 points in 66 games with a -2 rating. Although he was nearly 40 points shy of the league’s leading scorer, O’Brien’s final scoring line placed him in the top 10 of scorers in the OHL and was an impressive season by all accounts.
This season, O’Brien took a step forward in nearly every metric. As the new captain of the Bulldogs, O’Brien finished his age-19 season with 28 goals and 93 points in 55 games with a +34 rating. In the postseason, despite falling short in the OHL Conference Final, O’Brien was exceptional, scoring six goals and 23 points in 15 games.
Obviously, the Kraken feel that his offensive game is at the point where he won’t look out of place in professional hockey. He may not play for the Firebirds in the postseason, but being around the team and participating in practice will make his transition easier.
If his progress continues positively, becoming a top scorer at all levels would be the best outcome for Seattle. Partially due to coaching schematics and the team on the ice, the Kraken have desperately needed a high-production forward. This season, Jordan Eberle finished as the team’s highest scorer with 26 goals and 55 points in 80 games. Additionally, the team finished 28th in the league in total scoring.
As O’Brien progresses through his professional career, it’ll be important to pair him with a pure goal scorer. His vision on the ice is his greatest strength, as he can easily pass through defenders to find open teammates. Fellow prospect Jani Nyman has shown flashes of elite goal-scoring at the AHL level, though the Kraken may want to find someone with a higher ceiling to pair with their top prospect.
Kraken Prospect Blake Fiddler Commits To Denver
- Seattle Kraken prospect Blake Fiddler has announced his commitment to the University of Denver. He will join a strong cohort of young defensemen headed to the National Championship winners, alongside top 2026 draft prospect Ben MacBeath and Ryan Lin. Fiddler offers a confident bit of puck-movement and physicality, blending well with Lin’s dynamo offense and MacBeath’s strong defensive presence. Their additions will give Denver more than enough to make up for the loss of Hobey Baker Award finalist and San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp. Fiddler, a Texas native, racked up 11 goals and 36 points in 63 games with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings this season. He carved out a second-pair role and posted a career-high plus-23.
Kraken’s Jessica Campbell To Explore Options This Summer
The Seattle Kraken could have a bench spot to fill this summer. Assistant coach Jessica Campbell is set to be a free agent for the first time since being promoted to the NHL in 2024. She is expected to take the chance to explore other options around the league, per a press release from Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. Botterill said:
Jessica has been an important member of our coaching staff for the past four years, demonstrating deep knowledge and a unique ability to connect with, and develop, players.
While this could likely result in Campbell moving on from the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t appear Seattle has closed the door to bringing Campbell back next season, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan adds that Campbell has generated interest from across the NHL.
Campbell became the first woman to fill a full-time, assistant coach role in the NHL. She accomplished the same feat in the AHL when she joined Dan Bylsma‘s staff on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Campbell already had an extensive hockey resume at the time, with one World Championship silver medal, three NCAA conference championships, and one season as an assistant coach for the DEL’s Nurnberg Ice Tigers, part of Germany’s top pro league, under her belt. Coachella Valley raced to the Calder Cup Finals in both seasons under Bylsma and Campbell’s reign, though they lost to the Hershey Bears both times.
A pair of appearances in the championship series was still enough to earn Bylsma and Campbell a promotion to the NHL. It was a reunion for Bylsma, who spent seven seasons as an NHL head coach between 2009 and 2017. Unfortunately, that reunion quickly turned sour, with Bylsma being dismissed after leading Seattle to a 35-41-6 record and bottom-12 finish in both goals-scored and goals-against in the 2024-25 season. The Kraken opted to retain Campbell despite firing their top coach, a bode of confidence in the former professional skills coach.
Now one season later, the Kraken are continuing to speak praise towards Campbell’s ability to lead at the top level. She could be an intriguing candidate for teams looking to bring a bit more finesse to their lineup. The Columbus Blue Jackets recently fired two assistant coaches, opening the door for the NHL’s oldest head coach, Rick Bowness, to hire his own bench staff. The New York Islanders also recently parted with head coach Patrick Roy, in favor of free agent Peter DeBoer. Both clubs could use a jolt of offense after impressive seasons that still fell short of the postseason. Campbell, once a dynamic and intelligent playmaker at Cornell University and for Sweden’s SDHL Malmo Redhawks, could bring that jolt with an extra focus on developing some of the club’s burgeoning stars.
Blake Fiddler Commits To University Of Denver
Seattle Kraken prospect Blake Fiddler has committed to the University of Denver, shared in a post by College Puck NXT earlier today. The reigning National Champions (their third title since 2022) will bring in the 2025 second round selection out of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
Saarinen Assigned To Firebirds
- The Kraken have reassigned goaltender Kim Saarinen to AHL Coachella Valley, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent the season on loan to HPK in Finland and played quite well at the Liiga level. In 38 starts during the regular season, Saarinen posted a 2.11 GAA with a .916 SV% and put up even better numbers in nine playoff appearances at 1.68 and .944, respectively. Saarinen was under contract with Seattle this season but since he didn’t get into ten NHL games, his deal is eligible to slide and will still have three years left on it heading into 2026-27.
The Kraken Need To Choose A Path This Summer
The Kraken missed the playoffs once again this spring, finishing with the sixth-worst point total in the NHL. They had the luxury of playing in the much weaker Western Conference, but still missed the postseason by 11 points, finishing with a 34-37-11 record and a -37 goal differential.
Seattle has made the playoffs just once in its short five-year history, and none of those appearances have come in the past three seasons. Now, with a team largely set to return next season, aside from a couple of veteran unrestricted free agents, it’s become a moment for general manager Jason Botterill to reflect and decide what direction he wants to take a club that looked lost this past season.
A perfect example of the Kraken’s lack of direction is Mason Marchment’s run with the team. Marchment was dealt to Seattle last June in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and the Stars’ 2025 fourth-round pick.
It was a decent little move for the Kraken and showed they were looking to make additions. Fast-forward six months (plus a day), and the Kraken sent Marchment to the Blue Jackets for a 2027 second-round pick and the New York Rangers’ 2026 fourth-round pick.
It was a decent turn of events for the Kraken, as they upgraded one pick from a third to a second and got a look at Marchment for a few months. It would have been a tidy piece of work had it ended there.
A few months later, at the trade deadline, Seattle acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027 and a 2026 fourth-round pick. The deal, in a vacuum, was good.
McMann has been a steady scorer over the past couple of years and added a lot to the Kraken lineup. However, he is a pending UFA and is set to cash in big time this summer. Seattle likely believed he could help with a playoff push, but with the Kraken’s underwhelming lineup on paper, it was a bit of a fool’s errand and could leave the team holding the bag if he jumped ship in July.
What could be a worse outcome for Seattle is if McMann re-signs long-term. The Kraken already have a number of undesirable long-term deals with veteran players, and McMann is sure to be overpaid when he hits free agency. Seattle has to resist the urge to extend McMann, but it’s hard to say whether they will, given the team’s lack of direction in recent years.
That being said, there is a glimmer of hope for Seattle and a fairly obvious direction the team should take. The Kraken have the seventh-ranked prospect system in the NHL (according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) and should be able to rebuild their roster sooner rather than later if they can avoid the urge to sign overpriced veterans, or, in the case of McMann, trade for them when they aren’t playoff-bound.
Ultimately, the Marchment/McMann fiasco cost the Kraken only mid-tier draft picks, which is forgivable given that the Kraken thought they had a playoff push, though it ultimately flopped. But the work in free agency needs to be scrutinized and scaled back if Seattle wants to have any hope of building and keeping a core.
In the past two summers, the team has signed UFAs to deals that were panned at the time and look even worse in hindsight. Ryan Lindgren was signed last summer to a four-year deal worth $4.5MM per season and has not been a good fit with the team.
The Kraken were outplayed whenever Lindgren was on the ice this year, and he was a turnover machine, coughing up the puck more than ever before in his NHL career. He also toned down his hitting dramatically, which didn’t really correct some of the other issues with his game.
If the Lindgren deal was bad, the Chandler Stephenson contract from 2024 is atrocious. On the surface, it looks fine, as he put up 49 points (16 goals and 33 assists) last season in 80 games.
But he has five years left on the deal at $6.25MM per season and gets absolutely crushed at even strength, posting a 40.8 CF%, meaning he is a drag on his teammates from a possession perspective. Sure, he takes a lot of the tough defensive assignments, but there is an argument that he could be among the worst 5-on-5 forwards in the entire NHL, and, in turn, one of the worst contracts in the league as well.
There is also the signing of defenseman Brandon Montour in July 2024. That deal hasn’t been a disaster, and Montour has been fairly productive offensively while continuing to struggle defensively.
Heading into year three of a seven-year, $50MM contract, the back half of his deal could be a huge problem for the Kraken as they enter the competitive window with the young group of players they have drafted and developed. At 32, Montour hasn’t shown an obvious decline, but if his skating begins to deteriorate, there will be major issues with his game both offensively and defensively.
With such a weak UFA market and so many teams with a pile of cap space, this could be the best opportunity for Seattle to commit to a short rebuild and start trimming some of the older, more expensive players, such as Lindgren, Stephenson, and Montour, from their roster, in the hopes of not boxing themselves in when they are ready to contend with the elite young players in their system.
Time will tell whether they have the stomach for the short-term pain, but if they do, they could create the kind of flexibility in two to three years that teams dream of when they try to tear down and recalibrate their rosters.
Jared McCann To Undergo Surgery
- Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann told the media today at the team’s exit day that he had a surgical procedure yesterday to “clean some things up” and address the injury that he had been managing over the course of the 2025-26 season. He added that the surgery was related to something he has been also dealt with last offseason, and noted that he expects to be available for the start of next season. Injury took its toll on McCann, who is typically Seattle’s top scorer. The 29-year-old was still productive, scoring 40 points, but was limited to playing in just 52 games. Next season is the final year of his $5MM AAV contract, placing greater stakes on his recovery and ability to author a healthy, productive platform season before potentially hitting unrestricted free agency.
Kraken Recall Jani Nyman; Reassign Two
The Seattle Kraken are making a slight change to their forward corps with two games remaining in the regular season. The Kraken announced that they’ve recalled forward Jani Nyman from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds and reassigned Jacob Melanson and Oscar Fisker Molgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Nyman has already spent a decent chunk of the season in Seattle. The 21-year-old was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Kraken and has spent the last two years playing in the organization.
He’s been fairly engaged during his appearances this season. Nyman has registered four goals and six points in 26 games with 22 hits, averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. Additionally, his possession and defensive metrics rank well on the team. However, it’s important to note that Seattle is currently one of the league’s poorest teams in controlling shot attempts at even strength this season.
Still, despite his less-than-ideal scoring output in the NHL so far, there is plenty of hope that Nyman will become a consistent contributor in the near future. He’s been one of the Firebirds’ best forwards the past two years, scoring 49 goals and 77 points in 96 games with a +22 rating.
Meanwhile, unlike Nyman, Melanson has played more games with the Kraken this year than the Firebirds. Still, he has almost exclusively been a fourth-line player with Seattle, scoring two goals and five points in 36 games, averaging 9:22 of ice time. He’s understandably performed better in the AHL, albeit in fewer games, registering seven goals and 16 points in 26 games this season.
Lastly, Fisker Molgaard has spent most of the year in the AHL, where he has performed quite well. In 46 games, the 21-year-old has scored 10 goals and 32 points, good for seventh on the team in scoring in his first professional season.