AHL Assignments: 3/6/25
Today’s trade deadline also has minor-league implications. Players must be on an AHL roster at 2:00 p.m. Central in order to be eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. As such, teams will be ferrying a large number of waiver-exempt players to the minors this morning and afternoon before recalling them before the end of the league day for cap counting at 4:00 p.m. That allows them to bypass the new rule that players must play at least one game in the minors after being reassigned before they’re eligible for a recall again.
Here’s the rundown of today’s reassignments that will be announced during the blizzard of other moves today:
- The Flames will ferry winger Matvei Gridin to the Calgary Wranglers, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reports. The 2024 #28 overall pick is in his first professional season and is already beginning to look like a natural fit in the Flames’ top nine, posting seven points through his first 18 NHL games while averaging 14:18 of ice time per night. Gridin’s 4.17 shot attempts per game are fourth on the team after Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar were traded away. He’s also got 10 goals and 29 points in 36 games for the Wranglers, but with the Flames’ roster thinning out as they sell pieces off, he’ll be up in the NHL for the stretch run before returning to the playoff-bound Wranglers after the regular season ends.
- The Jets announced they’ve sent winger Walker Duehr and defender Isaak Phillips to AHL Manitoba. Both may find their way back down to Manitoba on a full-time basis before the end of the season as Winnipeg gets some of its IR-bound players back in the lineup, but for now, they’ll serve as depth pieces for the Jets as they potentially subtract more talents from their roster today.
- The Mammoth sent defenseman Dmitriy Simashev to Tucson, per PuckPedia. The 2023 sixth overall pick got into the Utah lineup for the first time since December last night. The rookie has been exceptional in the minors but has just one assist with a -9 rating through his first 25 career NHL outings.
- The Blackhawks assigned defender Ethan Del Mastro to Rockford, per PuckPedia. He’ll be back up after being recalled earlier in the week to replace Connor Murphy on the roster after he was dealt to the Oilers.
- The Penguins have sent down winger Avery Hayes to make him post-season eligible, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 23-year-old rookie has two goals through his first six NHL contests over the past several weeks, both of which came in his debut.
- The Avalanche have demoted winger Gavin Brindley to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Brindley is in his first full NHL season after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, scoring six goals and 12 points in 47 games, averaging 9:51 of ice time per game.
- The Rangers are making sure that AHL Hartford has reinforcements for the playoffs. New York has reassigned forwards Jaroslav Chmelar and Juuso Pärssinen. The former scored the first goal of his NHL career in a lopsided victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have reassigned netminder Nikita Tolopilo and defenseman Cole Clayton to AHL Abbotsford. Tolopilo has been a mainstay between the pipes for Vancouver over the last little while, managing a 3-5-2 record in nine starts this season with a .901 SV% and 3.27 GAA.
- Unlikely to make the playoffs this season, the Panthers are making sure the cupboards are stocked for the Charlotte Checkers’ playoff run. The Panthers have reassigned Tobias Björnfot and Sandis Vilmanis, allowing them to remain eligible for the postseason.
- The Kraken have reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ryan Winterton to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. The pair have combined for four goals and 19 points in 82 games for Seattle this season.
- According to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, the Buffalo Sabres have assigned Zach Metsa to the AHL’s Rochester Americans in a paper transaction. Metsa, 27, is in his first full NHL season, scoring two goals and four points in 31 games, averaging 9:45 of ice time per game.
- The best team in the AHL may be even better during the playoffs. To maintain their eligibility for the postseason, the Grand Rapids Griffins announced that captain Dominik Shine and defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka have been reassigned in a paper transaction.
- According to Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, the Flyers have reassigned Denver Barkey and Adam Ginning to AHL Lehigh Valley. Barkey has been an encouraging story of late, scoring two goals and 10 points in his first 26 games of NHL action.
- Murat Ates of The Athletic confirmed that the Winnipeg Jets reassigned defenseman Elias Salomonsson to retain his postseason eligibility. Salomonsson has been relatively disappointing for AHL Manitoba this season, registering one goal and nine points in 29 contests.
- Pushing back on the earlier report today indicating that the Canucks had recalled Ty Mueller, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet shared that he won’t be joining the Canucks. Vancouver will run with a bare-bones roster tonight against the Blackhawks.
- Missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade, the Maple Leafs are making sure AHL Toronto has additional firepower for their postseason run. According to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, the Maple Leafs have reassigned Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan in a paper transaction. Despite being a higher-regarded prospect, Cowan only has two games of AHL experience.
- As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have reassigned forward Josh Samanski to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to ensure his postseason eligibility. Samanski has been exceptional for AHL Bakersfield this year, registering eight goals and 31 points in 43 games with a +6 rating.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Seattle Kraken To Acquire Bobby McMann
The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Bobby McMann to the Seattle Kraken, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The return heading to Toronto is a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-rounder in the upcoming 2026 draft, according to Frank Seravalli of Victory+.
The move ends McMann’s nearly six-year tenure with the Maple Leafs, a tenure in which he emerged a real developmental success story for the organization. He signed with the team as an undrafted player out of Colgate University, began in the ECHL, and worked his way up the professional ladder to the NHL, where he became a 20-goal scorer.
With his contract set to expire, McMann has been widely reported to be seeking a significant pay raise from his current $1.35MM cap hit. The recent signing of a comparable player, San Jose Sharks winger Kiefer Sherwood, to a five-year, $5.75MM AAV contract may very well have pushed the price tag on a McMann extension past where the Maple Leafs were comfortable going.
With Toronto likely to miss the playoffs for just the second time since drafting Auston Matthews, collecting some assets for McMann became an important goal for the team’s deadline work.
Toronto may have been hoping to receive a first-rounder for McMann, who has 19 goals and 32 points this season, rather than a second-rounder. McMann is widely considered a more valuable player than Minnesota Wild center Michael McCarron, who net the Nashville Predators a second-round pick earlier this week. But it seems as though no team was willing to part with a first-rounder for McMann, and with the deadline looming, the Maple Leafs seem to have decided that a package for McMann that is lighter than they may have hoped is better than retaining him beyond today.
More to come…
Kraken Sign Jordan Eberle To Two-Year Extension
The Seattle Kraken are signing captain Jordan Eberle to a two-year, $5.5MM AAV contract extension, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal has a full no-trade clause in each of its two seasons. The Kraken have confirmed Eberle’s new extension.
Eberle, 35, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer at the expiration of the two-year, $4.75MM deal he signed in March 2024. The veteran winger, who is repped by Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management, has been a key top-six contributor for the Kraken over the course of his time there.
An expansion draft selection by the team, Eberle ranks No. 3 in the all-time scoring rankings of the team’s brief history, and No. 2 in goals.
Despite aging deeper into his mid-thirties, Eberle has kept up his reliable levels of production. Contributing regularly on the power play, he’s scored 22 goals and 42 points in 59 games this season, which is a 31-goal, 58-point pace. If he keeps up his pace, those numbers would be Eberle’s best since 2022-23.
While there is likely some concern that Eberle might decline over the course of this extension – he will be 38 at the expiry of this extension – he has already shown an ability to keep up his high standard of play as he’s gotten older. As a result, there should be a reasonable level of confidence in Seattle that he’ll be able to remain a productive contributor deeper into his thirties.
The conversation surrounding the Kraken related to this deadline has been largely centered around the team’s pursuit of a high-end scoring winger. Eberle isn’t that kind of player, and is extremely unlikely to become one as he ages. But he’s a crucial veteran leader for a team that is desperate to make a return to the playoffs, and could very well end up on a line with any high-end scorer the Kraken eventually acquire.
Eberle’s re-signing ensures a degree of continuity in the Kraken’s forward corps, a group that could very well see some turnover, perhaps even within the next few hours.
The Kraken have reportedly been interested in trading 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright in their pursuit of a star forward, and he’s unlikely to be the only name the team is willing to part with as part of that chase. In the event the Kraken do make a franchise-altering trade, today’s re-signing of Eberle ensures they’ll be able to keep around a familiar face and leader to help guide their group through the changes.
Photos courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images
Kraken Interested In Mackie Samoskevich
The Kraken have contacted the Panthers about the availability of winger Mackie Samoskevich, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
While Seattle has been shopping around a young forward of their own in Shane Wright, they’re not looking to leverage him in these talks, Friedman adds. They’re still putting him forth in discussions with other clubs but prefer to use him as part of a package for a more established scoring threat, not in a one-for-one swap.
It’s hard to see why Florida would be chomping at the bit to make Samoskevich available unless there’s a concern they won’t be able to sign him this summer. The Kraken have made clear their intentions to add, not subtract, at this year’s deadline as they find themselves in playoff position, so it doesn’t appear they’d be shipping a roster player back to the Panthers in the deal, either.
While Samoskevich likely hasn’t had the year the Cats hoped for, he still has the highest ceiling of any under-25 player in their system. Selected 24th overall in 2021, the 5’11” righty is now 23 years old in just his second NHL season. The high-energy winger ended up as mostly an extra forward on their Cup run, but was an excellent depth contributor in the regular season, tallying 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games.
Florida looked to give Samoskevich more minutes this year, especially with Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov absent from their top six to start the year. While he’s gotten a small bump in ice time to over 14 minutes per game, his production has actually taken a step back. He’s clicking with a 6-15–21 scoring line through 59 appearances, a dropoff from 0.43 points per game last season to 0.36. A lot of that has to do with a string of horrid finishing. He’s already topped last year’s shots on goal total but is shooting at just 4.7%, so there’s serious positive regression potential there.
The Panthers already had fits trying to get a new deal done for Samoskevich last summer after his entry-level pact expired. He accepted a one-year, league-minimum pact with no leverage – he was a 10.2(c) RFA who was ineligible to receive and sign offer sheets. That’s no longer the case this summer, though, and he’ll be eligible for arbitration as well. Florida has nearly $15.5MM in cap space for this summer, with the rising upper limit, but that’s with five roster spots to fill and both of their goaltenders heading for unrestricted free agency. That’s limited enough to make Samoskevich an offer sheet threat.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Cats are setting what Friedman calls a “high price.” Florida doesn’t have a first-round pick again until 2028, so unless they offload a significant asset in the meantime, they won’t be getting a young forward of his caliber back in the system anytime soon. With Seattle boasting four first-round picks in the next two drafts, they’ve got the draft capital to dangle, plus one of the league’s better prospect pools, to help the Cats restock their cupboards while helping Seattle push the envelope in developing some higher-ceiling scoring options.
Kraken Sign, Reassign Gustav Olofsson
March 3: Olofsson has cleared waivers, per Friedman. The team confirmed he’s been sent back to Coachella Valley
March 2: The Seattle Kraken have continued their run of new contracts by signing defenseman Gustav Olofsson to a one-year, $775K contract. Olofsson is currently playing in the first year of a two-year, AHL contract signed with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in July 2025. This deal will bump him back up to an NHL, two-way contract – mirroring the contract details of his last deal with the Kraken: a two-year, two-way, league-minimum contract signed in 2023. Olofsson’s last NHL contract paid him $350K in minor-league salary. He will earn a bump in pay – up to $460K – in minor-league salary on this deal per PuckPedia.
With his promotion from an AHL deal to an NHL deal, the 31-year-old Olofsson will have to clear NHL waivers. He has been placed on the waiver wire per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Olofsson has served as an alternate captain with Coachella Valley for the last four seasons. Unlike in previous years, he has found a new scoring touch this season, racking up 16 points in 29 games played – third-most on the Firebirds defense behind Tyson Jugnauth and Ty Nelson. A chunk of that scoring has come over Olofsson’s last eight games, where he’s racked up five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five.
Seattle has not recalled Olofsson since the 2023-24 season. Prior to his time in Seattle, Olofsson earned extended looks in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, including 41 games in the 2017-18 season. In total, Olofsson has racked up no goals and 11 assists in 63 games and six seasons in the NHL. His role has often been focused on the defensive side of the puck, where his long reach and big frame help close off opponents breaking into the zone. The Kraken will ensure a bit more defensive depth with this move, though it’s not likely to change Olofsson’s role in the Coachella Valley lineup for the foreseeable future.
Kraken Not Planning To Trade Tolvanen, Pending UFAs
The Seattle Kraken are “not planning” to trade winger Eeli Tolvanen or their other pending UFA players before the trade deadline unless it is an “overpayment,” according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Per Pagnotta, the Kraken are “focused on making the playoffs and adding.” Sharks Hockey Digest’s Max Miller added to Pagnotta’s report, writing that Tolvanen and his representatives are expecting to begin talks with Seattle on a contract extension this week.
Tolvanen is not the only notable pending UFA player on Seattle’s roster. Included in that group alongside Tolvanen are three notable veterans: winger Jaden Schwartz, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, and captain Jordan Eberle.
Together with Tolvanen they form a quartet of players who would each likely receive considerable interest on the trade market, but based on Pagnotta’s report, that isn’t a path the Kraken are willing to go down.
Through 59 games this season, Seattle has amassed a 28-22-9 record with a -6 goal differential, good for 65 points and the Western Conference’s second Wild Card spot. They are three points ahead of their closest rival, the San Jose Sharks, who have 62 points and a game in hand. They are also just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division, and hold two games in hand there. In other words – the Kraken have multiple routes they can take to reach the playoffs.
With that said, their form since returning from the Olympic break has been mixed. They dropped games against the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues by a combined 9-2 score, but managed a win over the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. In order to stand the best chance of not only making it to the playoffs, but also surviving beyond the first round if they do, they may need to reinforce their roster with additional veteran talent.
Pagnotta reports that the Kraken are interested in doing so, which matches up with what has been previously reported. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast Friday that the Kraken offered north of $14MM AAV to try to sway Artemi Panarin to choose Seattle. He elected to be dealt to the Los Angeles Kings instead. But the Kraken’s pursuit of a difference-making scoring forward has persisted, including to the point where they would be willing to deal 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright.
Friedman said on 32 Thoughts that the Kraken “are serious about getting a player that can electrify them offensively,” and pointed to a sense of pressure that exists in Seattle to get the organization back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022-23. He even referenced the NBA’s stated interest in considering expansion cities – of which Seattle would be a strong contender – as a factor contributing to the importance of the Kraken finding a way back to the playoffs this season.
Whether the Kraken are best served retaining four pending UFAs for a stretch run that could end up concluding in a first-round matchup against the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche is a matter of debate. There are business considerations, as Friedman suggested, that the team may be wrestling with, and the reality of the NHL playoffs is that an element of randomness is guaranteed. The Kraken have pulled off an upset before, after all. So it’s not entirely unreasonable for the Kraken to bet on, and invest in, their current team.
But for a team that has largely lacked star power in its brief existence as an NHL franchise, is investing significant hockey assets in this capable, but flawed, 2025-26 Kraken team the most sensible long-term decision? That will be the question the Kraken’s hockey operations leaders will have to interrogate this week, and it will be interesting to see what path president of hockey operations Ron Francis and GM Jason Botterill elect to take.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Kraken Sign Ryden Evers
March 1st is the first day of the league year that teams can officially sign players to future deals that begin the following season. Seattle is among the teams that had a deal ready as the team announced that they’ve signed center Ryden Evers to a three-year, entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a $1.075MM AAV and will break down as follows:
2026-27: $922.5K NHL salary, $102.5K signing bonus, $85K AHL salary
2027-28: $967.5K NHL salary, $107.5K signing bonus, $85K AHL salary
2028-29: $1.0125MM NHL salary, $112.5K signing bonus, $85K AHL salary
Evers was not drafted and was expected to play at Clarkson University next season, having committed to play there a little over two months ago. However, he evidently had a change of heart when the Kraken put this deal on the table.
Evers has spent the last two seasons with the Penticton Vees, playing in two separate leagues. The Vees were in the BCHL in 2024-25 and he finished 13th in league scoring with 24 goals and 36 assists in 54 games. This season, that team is part of the WHL and Evers has been a bit more productive, tallying 31 goals and 38 helpers in 60 games, good for 17th in league scoring.
It would be surprising to see an undrafted free agent make the jump to the NHL right away next season so Evers is likely ticketed for AHL Coachella Valley. Seattle has some strong organizational depth down the middle so he should get a chance to slowly acclimated to what will be his third straight year of playing in a different league in 2026-27.
Trade Deadline Primer: Seattle Kraken
With the Olympic break now over, the trade deadline is almost a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with teams in the fight for a playoff spot, next up are the Kraken.
Coming into the season, expectations weren’t particularly high for Seattle. They were coming off missing the playoffs and didn’t do much to shake up their roster. However, a significant improvement defensively under new head coach Lane Lambert has them squarely in the race for a playoff spot. But with some prominent veterans on expiring contracts, will they run the risk of letting them walk in free agency to bolster their playoff hopes or weaken those postseason odds to ensure they get a good return for some of those players?
Record
27-22-9, 4th in the Pacific (55.5% playoff probability, per MoneyPuck)
Deadline Status
Wild Card, could buy, sell, or some of each
Deadline Cap Space
$22.07MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: SEA 1st, TB 1st, SEA 2nd, ANA 4th, NYR 4th, SEA 4th, SEA 6th, NJ 7th, SEA 7th
2027: SEA 1st, TB 1st, CBJ 2nd, SEA 2nd, WPG 2nd, SEA 3rd, SEA 4th, SEA 5th, SEA 6th, SEA 7th
Trade Chips
Let’s talk about the veterans first. Up front, captain Jordan Eberle has already reached the 20-goal mark for the ninth time in his career and leads Seattle in scoring with 38 points. The captain has a full no-trade clause but his $4.75MM cap charge for a second-line winger is quite reasonable while he has a solid track record in the playoffs with a point-per-game average that’s rather close to his regular season averages.
Forward Jaden Schwartz has been a capable top-six player in recent years but, like many Kraken players this season, his output is down a bit in 2025-26. Still, with his track record and ability to play center in a pinch, there would be a market for his services, even at a $5.75MM cap charge. That said, his injury history might limit his potential return compared to another UFA winger in Eeli Tolvanen. Tolvanen brings a lot of physicality to the table with a bit of an offensive punch, although it’s highly unlikely he gets back to the 20-goal mark this season as he did a year ago. For teams looking to add some grit to their third line, his $3.475MM price tag will be appealing. Also worth noting is that Tolvanen doesn’t have any trade protection in his contract.
Perhaps their most appealing rental player is on the back end, however. Two elements that playoff-bound teams are consistently looking to add are grit and size to their blueline. Jamie Oleksiak brings both of those to the table. While he’s only a third-pairing player at five-on-five, he can log heavy penalty killing minutes, block plenty of shots, and play in late-game situations. His $4.6MM AAV for that role is on the high side but it stands to reason that Seattle would retain the maximum of 50% to maximize their return; a $2.3MM cap charge is much more affordable for contenders. Even though he’s having a bit of a down year, Oleksiak’s market will be strong if he’s put in play.
Over the last couple of months, center Shane Wright’s name has come up in a discussion of players who are believed to be available. The fourth overall pick in 2022 is a regular third-liner for the second straight season, although his offensive numbers are down from his rookie campaign when he potted 19 goals and 44 points in 79 games. Given the high demand for centers and the fact he’s easily affordable on the salary cap given that he’s on his entry-level deal, the Kraken would be well-positioned to command a quality return should they opt to trade from their center depth.
If Seattle opts to be a light buyer, one prospect to keep an eye on is Logan Morrison. A prolific scorer in junior, he’s having a strong season with AHL Coachella Valley, checking in at just under a point per game. Still, his NHL opportunity has been limited to just four games last season. He’s in his final year of waiver exemption and there could be a few teams that would have interest in giving him an NHL look down the stretch.
Team Needs
Offensive Firepower: While Seattle is much-improved defensively this season, it has come at the expense of some scoring as they’ve gone from a mid-pack team to one barely ahead of the bottom five in scoring. No player has hit 40 points yet (though Jared McCann would easily be there had he been healthy all season) and only Eberle has reached 20 goals. While the Kraken have a by-committee approach offensively, a legitimate top-six addition could go a long way toward bolstering their playoff odds, should GM Jason Botterill decide to be a buyer.
Penalty Killing Help: For all of the improved defensive play (and goaltending), one goal prevention area that still needs work is the penalty kill. They’re down nearly 6% from last season, checking in at just 71.4%, narrowly better than Vancouver who sits dead last. They’ve yet to score at four-on-five and generate the fewest shot attempts of any team in the league and the sit-back approach hasn’t quite worked. Given the importance of special teams in the playoffs, upgrading a player or two on the penalty kill – even if it’s their fourth-line or third-pairing options – could be enough of an improvement to see some legitimate improvement on that front.
Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.
Rangers Claim Tye Kartye From Kraken
1:45 p.m.: The Rangers announced that winger Brennan Othmann, not Morrow, is the roster casualty for Kartye. Othmann heads to Hartford after scoring once in 11 games on his most recent call-up.
1:03 p.m.: The Rangers have claimed winger Tye Kartye off waivers from the Kraken, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. New York does not have an open roster spot and will need to make a corresponding move.
Kartye, 24, was an undrafted free agent signed by the Kraken in 2022. He ended up on waivers yesterday after slowly slipping out of regular fourth-line deployment over the past two years. The OHL Sault Ste. Marie product is in his third NHL season but has been limited to eight points and a -6 rating through 40 games, serving as a healthy scratch in 10 of Seattle’s final 13 games before the Olympic break. He’s two years removed from a rookie season that saw him notch 11 goals and 20 points in 77 games for the Kraken, though.
With another year left on his contract at a $1.25MM cap hit, he’ll now look for more opportunity to contribute in the Rangers’ patchwork bottom-six forward group. He has a career 20-21–41 scoring line with a -21 rating in 180 career appearances. He’s primarily played left wing in his pro career, but has some versatility down the middle if needed. He’ll add another element of physical depth, averaging 2.79 hits per game for his career, while contributing a bit of scoring upside in Manhattan.
The Rangers are carrying eight defensemen, so it stands to reason that the waiver-exempt Scott Morrow, who was a healthy scratch in yesterday’s overtime loss to the Flyers, will be on his way to AHL Hartford to make room for Kartye on the active roster.
Kraken Could Make Jamie Oleksiak Available
The Kraken have at least mulled the possibility of flipping pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Jamie Oleksiak ahead of next week’s deadline, as evidenced by his placement on TSN’s latest Trade Bait board released today. Oleksiak briefly appeared in trade speculation at this time last season, too, but ultimately remained in Seattle, armed with a 16-team no-trade list.
Seattle’s in a tough spot in the standings. They’re hanging onto the last wild-card spot in the West by two points. They’re in a rather crowded group, though, with only six points of separation between fifth place in the conference (Oilers, 66) and 10th (Kings, 60). They’re not in a clear position to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, but will likely do a little bit of both with long-term success in mind.
What’s clearer, though, is the lack of fit for Oleksiak in Seattle past this season. He’s already been forced to play a decent chunk of time on his off side due to Seattle’s excess of lefties. Of their group, Oleksiak is the only one on an expiring deal. Vince Dunn and Ryker Evans are signed through next year, while Ryan Lindgren is under contract through 2028-29.
The Kraken have strong enough playoff odds (55.8%, per MoneyPuck) that they could justify keeping Oleksiak down the stretch as an in-house rental before letting him walk in July. But even if they make the playoffs, their lowly offense will likely keep them from going anywhere. It would make sense, if there’s any interest, for Seattle to subtract Oleksiak from a position of relative strength if they can help convert his trade value into landing an impact forward.
Seattle would likely have to retain up to half of Oleksiak’s $4.6MM cap hit to make him of true interest to anyone, but that’s something they’re in a position to do with over $20MM in space by deadline day. That’s more because of his deployment, the 33-year-old is now more of a natural bottom-pairing fit after being a top-four option for several years, but he’s still provided some positive value outside of his desirable 6’7″, 252-lb frame. The Ontario-born big man has nine points and a +6 rating in 56 outings this season while featuring on the Kraken’s second penalty-killing unit. His possession numbers aren’t near the top of Seattle’s leaderboard, but don’t paint him as a liability, either, especially in primarily defensive-zone deployment. He also carries a low injury risk for a player of his size and playstyle; he hasn’t missed a contest due to an injury since November 2022.
Still, Oleksiak’s remaining trade protection is expansive enough to cause some problems. That’s just over half the league he can block a move to, but with his new club likely only being a temporary stop on his way toward free agency this summer, he may be willing to waive that protection for the right situation.