Kraken Buy Out Joe Veleno
June 30: Veleno has cleared unconditional waivers and will be bought out, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
June 29: The Kraken announced Sunday they’ve placed newly acquired center Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for a buyout.
If a team wants to pick up the final year of Veleno’s contract at a $2.275MM cap hit, they can do so over the next 24 hours, in which case the Kraken would not be on the hook for the salary cap implications of a buyout. Waiver priority is still determined by reverse standings order from the 2024-25 season. In the more likely event he clears waivers, the 25-year-old’s buyout won’t carry as much of a salary cap penalty as usual. Players under 26 years old receive only one-third of their remaining base salary in a buyout, instead of two-thirds.
Veleno was due to earn $1.775MM in base salary in 2025-26, so the total cost of the buyout will be $592K spread over the next two seasons. He was owed a $500K signing bonus on July 1 that is protected from a buyout, though. That means the Kraken will carry a $796K cap charge in 2025-26 and a $296K cap charge in 2026-27, according to PuckPedia. Even with the increased buyout penalty next season, they’re still opening roughly $1.5MM in space compared to his initial cap hit.
Seattle acquired Veleno from the Blackhawks in a one-for-one swap for winger André Burakovsky last weekend. They initially opened $3.225MM in cap space for 2025-26 with the move, but that number jumps to $4.7MM with Veleno’s pending buyout. The 2018 first-rounder seemed like he may have been an awkward fit on a Seattle roster already teeming with natural centers, particularly after they also acquired Frédérick Gaudreau from the Wild a few days ago.
It’s clear now he wasn’t in their plans moving forward and was only taken back in the deal to take a contract off Chicago’s books. Assuming he’s indeed bought out, he’ll hit unrestricted free agency for the first time following one of the more underwhelming seasons of his brief NHL career. 2024-25 was the fourth season for Veleno as a full-timer with the Red Wings, who drafted him 30th overall seven years ago, but he only managed 10 points and a -14 rating in 56 games as their fourth-line center before being traded to the Blackhawks at the deadline for Petr Mrázek and Craig Smith.
Veleno had a decent end to the campaign in Chicago. He put together a 3-4–7 scoring line in 18 games, ranking eighth on the team in scoring from the trade deadline until the end of the season. All of that production came at even strength while averaging a relatively conservative 12:38 per game. His historically underwhelming possession impacts remained in the gutter, though. He posted a 41.1 CF% and 37.9 xGF% at even strength, along with a minus-nine rating for the Hawks, although it’s worth noting he did face a difficult workload with 64.2% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end.
That end to the season, combined with his draft pedigree, means it won’t be surprising if Veleno lands an NHL contract as a UFA. It won’t be in the neighborhood of his previous $2.275MM cap hit, though. Players of that caliber who get bought out – think defenseman Adam Boqvist last offseason – usually settle for a league-minimum contract in hopes of landing in the best environment to get their career and development back on track.
Seattle now has just over $18MM in cap space with six open roster spots, according to PuckPedia. Three of those spots will presumably be filled by pending RFAs Ryker Evans, Kaapo Kakko, and Tye Kartye. That trio will likely consume between $8.5MM and $10.6MM of cap space, depending on whether it’s a long-term or bridge deal for Evans, per AFP Analytics’ projections.
Image courtesy of David Banks-Imagn Images.
Grubauer Won't Be Bought Out This Summer
- Kraken GM Jason Botterill confirmed to reporters including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times that the team will not be buying out goaltender Philipp Grubauer by Monday’s deadline. The 33-year-old had a rocky performance this season, posting a 3.49 GAA with a .875 SV% in 26 starts, resulting in a stint with AHL Coachella Valley after clearing waivers. Grubauer has two years left on his contract that carries a $5.9MM cap charge and while Seattle would have been able to open up nearly $4MM in room this summer with a buyout, Botterill instead will keep him around with the belief that he’ll be able to bounce back next season.
Seattle Kraken Acquire Frédérick Gaudreau
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.
Maple Leafs, Kraken To Pursue Andrew Mangiapane
The 2025 free agent market is beginning to wear thin. That could push teams to take aggressive runs at the few impactful lineup pieces available. One name already generating interest is Washington Capitals winger Andrew Mangiapane, who both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken are expected to pursue if and when he reaches the open market, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The rumor was later confirmed from a Leafs perspective by Sporstnet’s Nick Alberga, who points out Mangiapane’s past relationship with Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.
The winner of the growing Mangiapane sweepstakes will be landing a very interesting player. Mangiapane has played far above his 5-foot-10 frame for much of the last seven seasons. He earned his place in the league with a pair of 32-point performances in 2019-20 and 2020-21, then broke out in a big way with 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games of the 2021-22 season. Even as he fell back to Earth in the wake of a career-year, Mangiapane continued to post strong numbers, reaching or crossing the 40-point mark in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
All five of Mangiapane’s strong scoring seasons came in a Calgary Flames jersey. He seemed to have secured a career role in the team’s middle-six, but that thought was extinguished when Mangiapane was traded to the Washington Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick last summer. The move instantly sparked questions of if and how Mangiapane could maintain his scoring with a new club. Those concerns were warranted when he posted just 28 points, split evenly, through 81 games of Washington’s season this year. He fell to a clear bottom-six role that continued on through the postseason, when he scored two points in 10 games.
But such a drop-off in scoring could indicate a return to admirable play could come with the a change of scenery. Mangiapane is one of the best value draft picks in Treliving’s managerial career, having gone from a sixth-round selection in 2015 to nearly-500 games in the NHL a decade later. That connection could make a move to the Toronto Maple Leafs – who are desperately in need of a scoring punch down their left-wing side – a natural next step. If not the Leafs, Mangiapane could also move to Seattle, who already have a track record of supporting his undersized, shoot-first style.
Mangiapane carried a lofty, $5.8MM cap hit through the last three years on his last deal. That mark is likely far north of what he’s set to earn this summer, but it could be enough to pull his price tag higher than expected – especially if a bidding war begins. Mangiapane’s final deal will be interesting to follow, and could precede the role he earns in his next team’s top-nine.
Blackhawks Acquire Andre Burakovsky
The Kraken and Blackhawks have made a swap of underperforming forwards. Chicago has acquired winger Andre Burakovsky from Seattle in exchange for center Joe Veleno in a one-for-one move. Both teams have confirmed the trade.
Burakovsky became a key secondary scorer when he was acquired by Colorado back in 2019. Over three seasons with the team, he had two seasons of more than 40 points while his last one with them saw him record a career-best 61, allowing him to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time while being one of the better options available on the open market.
That helped him land a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Kraken in 2022 and the deal has not gone particularly well thus far. The 30-year-old produced at a similar rate in 2022-23 from a points per game perspective but while he had 39 points in 49 games, missing 33 outings due to injury made for a disappointing year. 2023-24 was more of the same on the injury front as he once again missed 33 games, but to make things worse, his output fell considerably, down to just seven goals and nine assists.
This past season, Burakovsky was able to rebound a bit. For starters, he was able to play in 79 games, one shy of his career best in that regard. Meanwhile, while he didn’t get back to the type of production he had back in Colorado, he was able to chip in with 10 goals and 27 assists.
Last summer, Chicago added wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen in free agency, giving themselves some upgrades up front and some veterans to work with their young forward core. This move appears to follow that same idea while they’ll be taking on the final two seasons of Burakovsky’s deal at a $5.5MM price tag to make that happen.
As for Veleno, he’s on the move for the second time in a matter of months. The 25-year-old spent parts of five seasons with Detroit after being a late first-round pick by the Red Wings back in 2018 but he was moved to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline in exchange for goaltender Petr Mrazek.
This past season, Veleno played in 74 games between the two teams, notching eight goals and nine assists in a little over 12 minutes per night of playing time. It was the first time in three years that he failed to reach the 20-point mark with his career high in that regard coming in 2023-24 when he had 28. While he was a productive scorer at the junior level, Veleno has been more of a checker at the professional ranks.
Veleno has one year left on his contract at a $2.275MM cap charge and joins a center group that is starting to become a bit crowded. They already have Matty Beniers, Chandler Stephenson, and Shane Wright down the middle while Jared McCann, a natural center, is already on the wing. Top prospect Berkly Catton is expected to push for a roster spot in training camp as well. While the Kraken solved one logjam by moving out Burakovsky following the recent acquisition of Mason Marchment, they’ve created another with this move.
Speculatively, Seattle has a relatively easy way to solve it. If they’re primarily looking for cap flexibility and can’t move Veleno in the coming days, he could become a buyout candidate. Since he’s still 25, the cost of buying out that final year would only be one-third, not the standard two-thirds. That would cost the Kraken a cap charge of $795.8K next season and $295.8K in 2026-27, allowing them to effectively remove the majority of Burakovsky’s $5.5MM cost from their books. Alternatively, they could give Veleno a chance to lock down the center spot on the fourth line as he has shown himself to be useful in that role for several years now and see what happens from there. Either way, their early offseason shakeup continues.
Photos courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz (Burakovsky) and David Banks (Veleno)-Imagn Images.
Kraken Sign Cale Fleury To Two-Year Extension
The Kraken will be keeping a depth defender in the fold for a little while longer. The team announced that they’ve signed Cale Fleury to a two-year contract extension. The one-way deal will carry a price tag of $890K per season, representing a small increase on the $800K on his current contract which will expire at the end of the month. GM Jason Botterill released the following statement:
Cale’s been an important player in our organization. He’s developed into a steady and reliable defenseman, and we’re happy to have him under contract for the next two years.
The 26-year-old has been with Seattle for the past four years after being selected from Montreal in their expansion draft. However, despite Botterill’s comments above, Fleury’s development hasn’t been enough to secure a foothold at the NHL level during that time; he played in more NHL games in one season with the Canadiens (41) than in the last four years with the Kraken combined (36).
This season, Fleury got into 14 games with Seattle, his highest single-season total with them. In those outings, he had an assist along with 28 blocks and 30 hits in a little under 13 minutes per night of playing time. However, he was much more impactful in the minors with AHL Coachella Valley, registering 26 points in just 39 games, earning himself an All-Star nod in the process.
It’s likely that Seattle will be relying on Fleury to play a similar role as he has in recent years, being a key piece for the Firebirds and a serviceable option when needed at the top level. While he will have to clear waivers to be sent down next season, he has done so multiple times now and the one-way guarantee for two years could help dissuade any potential claimers.
Seattle Kraken Acquire Mason Marchment
As expected, the Dallas Stars have opened up additional salary cap space leading up to the offseason. According to a team announcement, the team has traded forward Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken for a 2026 third-round pick and Dallas’s 2025 fourth-round pick, which was previously sent to the New York Rangers and later acquired by the Kraken.
The trade is a beneficial arrangement for both teams. The Stars free up $4.5MM in cap space, which was given to Matt Duchene earlier today, while the Kraken add more goalscoring and physicality into their forward core.
Unfortunately for Dallas, trading Marchment without retaining salary doesn’t solve all of their financial issues. According to PuckPedia, the Stars have $4.95MM in cap space and either need to re-sign or add four to five more forwards to carry a full roster.
If Dallas can trade defensemen Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin, without retaining any salary, they’ll have just under $12MM in cap space, which would give them much more flexibility. Still, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Stars’ roster doesn’t come out worse off compared to the one they finished their 2025 Stanley Cup playoff race with.
For Seattle, one team’s junk becomes another team’s treasure. Marchment has proven a capable 20-goal scorer over the last few years and can generate more than 100 hits in a season. The Kraken struggled in both areas during the 2024-25 season, finishing with five players recording 100 or more hits, and only four players scoring 20 or more goals.
The one interesting part of this trade by the Kraken is ascertaining where Marchment fits into the lineup. A natural winger, Marchment should expect to play in Seattle’s middle-six. Unfortunately, the team is already fairly crowded with wingers, given that Jaden Schwartz, Kaapo Kakko, Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, André Burakovsky, and Eeli Tolvanen are all expected back next season.
At any rate, the team is excited to have him, as General Manager Jason Botterill said, “I think Mason has a unique combination of size, skill and strength. He works well down in the corners and around the net and that’s an element we want to continue to add to our group here.”
Ales Stezka Signs Three-Year Deal With Czechia’s HC Kometa Brno
After spending the last two seasons with the Kraken, goaltender Ales Stezka is headed back to his native Czechia. The Extraliga’s HC Kometa Brno announced a three-year contract for the netminder on Wednesday.
Stezka, 28, was set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He was a fourth-round pick of the Wild back in 2015 but never signed with them, spending his entire professional career in Czechia until landing an entry-level contract with Seattle in 2023.
The 6’4″ netminder spent his first season on the West Coast as the No. 4 option on the depth chart and the backup in AHL Coachella Valley to veteran Chris Driedger, logging a strong 2.48 GAA, .914 SV%, two shutouts, and an 18-6-2 record in 27 appearances. While he could have been a UFA last summer as well, the Kraken liked what they saw and wanted to keep him around for another season, especially since they didn’t plan to re-sign Driedger. He accepted a rather rich two-way extension for 2024-25 as a result, paying him a $300K minors salary.
2024-25 wasn’t as smooth a campaign for Coachella Valley as a whole, particularly in the goaltending department. Stezka’s numbers regressed to a 3.07 GAA, .899 SV%, and 9-12-9 record in 26 games as he lost the starter’s crease to 21-year-old Niklas Kokko. He still got his first NHL start, though, and spent a couple of weeks on the roster while veteran Philipp Grubauer was sent to the minors in an effort to jumpstart his game. He allowed three goals on 23 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning on Feb. 23, which will likely stand as his lone career NHL appearance when all is said and done.
With some other young goalies in the Seattle system looking for more AHL time next season, there wasn’t a logical fit for Stezka moving forward. He’ll return to the Extraliga, where he was named the league’s best goalie in 2022-23 following a 2.14 GAA and .924 SV% with HC Vítkovice in 39 games, instead of pursuing another NHL contract. He has a career 2.45 GAA, .913 SV%, six shutouts, and a 49-42-0 record in 92 games in the top Czech league.
Free Agent Focus: Seattle Kraken
Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Kraken.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Kaapo Kakko – After joining the Kraken in a mid-season trade from the New York Rangers, Kakko seems to have found his stride in Seattle. While he recorded just 14 points in 30 games with the Rangers, he flourished in 40 games with the Kraken, scoring 10 goals and totaling 30 points. That level of production over 82 games would equate to a 50-point season. Given that the former second-overall pick is still just 24 years old, he may be finally finding his footing in the league. A continued partnership appears to make good sense for both parties.
F Tye Kartye – If the Kraken and new head coach Lane Lambert prioritize bottom-six forwards with a physical presence, bringing Kartye back into the fold would be a logical move. While the forward saw his offensive numbers slightly dip from his rookie campaign, Kartye finished second on the team with 175 hits despite skating in just 63 games. The 24-year-old put up 11 goals and 20 points during the 2023-24 season, showcasing some offensive upside.
D Ryker Evans – While there weren’t many positives for the Kraken during the 2024-25 season, the emergence of Evans as a bona fide NHLer was one of them. Frequently paired with veteran Brandon Montour, Evans posted solid numbers in his first full NHL season, registering 25 points, 123 hits, and 106 blocked shots. His hit total ranked first among the team’s defensemen and third overall, while his blocked shots also finished third. A long-term deal could pair Evans and Montour for years to come.
Other RFAs: D Cale Fleury, D Peetro Seppala
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Michael Eyssimont – Acquired by the Kraken as a part of the Yanni Gourde trade, Eyssimont made a moderate impact in Seattle. In 20 games, he contributed four goals and six points while averaging 10:26 of ice time per game. Eyssimont, 28, has skated in over 200 NHL games and will provide whichever team he lands with a reliable bottom-six depth piece. However, he was simply a secondary addition to the first-round picks Seattle received the Gourde deal. A veteran of four NHL seasons, Eyssimont has already played for four different franchises and could add a fifth when free agency begins. He represents the team’s only non-roster player set for unrestricted free agency.
Other UFAs: F Brandon Biro, F Luke Henman (Group6), D Gustav Olofsson, D Maxime Lajoie, D Nikolas Brouillard, G Ales Stezka
Projected Cap Space
With minimal players set to hit free agency, the Kraken, president of hockey ops Ron Francis and GM Jason Botterill find themselves with plenty of spending room. According to PuckPedia, Seattle has nearly $20MM in cap space. While some of that will likely go towards retaining restricted free agents like Kakko and Evans, Botterill and company should still have plenty of wiggle room to make a splash in free agency if they choose to do so. Now that the team has finalized its coaching staff, they can turn their attention to the future of the roster. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recently said on his 32 Thoughts podcast that he feels the Kraken could play a factor in outbidding other teams for restricted free agents.
“I think Seattle is really eager to take a step this year. They have a lot of cap room, a lot of draft picks, and a lot of flexibility. I don’t know how Jason Botterill or Ron Francis feel about offer sheets, but it was pointed out to me that Seattle has the flexibility to go down that route if they wanted to. So, that’s another team people should be watching,” he said.
Seattle Kraken Announce Assistant Coaching Hires
The Seattle Kraken are no longer one of the few remaining teams with numerous vacancies on their coaching staff. The Kraken announced they’ve hired Aaron Schneekloth and Chris Taylor as assistant coaches, and Colin Zulianello as the team’s new goaltending coach.
Schneekloth’s hiring comes with little surprise, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman linked him to the Kraken’s assistant coaching vacancy a few days ago. Schneekloth was serving as the head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, taking over as the main bench boss upon Greg Cronin‘s departure after the 2022-23 campaign. He coached the Eagles to an 83-46-10-5 record over two years, guiding the team to become regular season champions of the Pacific Division and advancing to the Division Finals in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Unlike Schneekloth, Taylor won’t be a rookie coach at the NHL level. After spending eight years as the assistant coach and head coach of the AHL’s Rochester Americans, Taylor was hired by the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach ahead of the 2020-21 season under then-head coach, Lindy Ruff. Taylor survived New Jersey’s transition from Ruff to Travis Green, and then from Green to Sheldon Keefe.
Ultimately, the Kraken decided to hire their next goaltending coach from within the organization. Zulianello has been in the same role for the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for the last three years. He had plenty of experience with Seattle’s current starting netminder, Joey Daccord, from the 2022-23 season, and aided in the Firebirds allowing fewer than 200 goals against in two out of his three years as the team’s goaltending coach.