Kraken Forward John Hayden Out 12 Weeks
The Seattle Kraken have announced forward John Hayden will be sidelined for 12 weeks. Hayden was injured in the Kraken’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, following a fight with Klim Kostin. Hayden underwent surgery on Monday for a lower-body injury and will miss the remainder of the season, but should be back training around the time the Stanley Cup in handed out in June.
The 28-year-old center has split this season with the Kraken and their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He has played just seven NHL games this season, scoring two goals for the Kraken. It is his first season in Seattle after stints with the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres in his seven year pro career.
Hayden was producing offence in his AHL tenure. He scored 17 goals and 33 points in 47 games with the Firebirds, helping them achieve the best record in the AHL by points percentage. He was just called up again on March 15 and was playing his second game with the Kraken since being recalled when he was injured.
The Kraken are sitting in the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They have a bit of breathing room as they are six points up on the Calgary Flames who are the top team sitting outside the current playoff picture. In just their second year of existence, the Kraken have a great chance to make the postseason, but will have to reach down to Coachella Valley for another depth piece with Hayden out so long.
Seattle Kraken Sign Ville Ottavainen
7:17 PM: The Kraken have now officially announced Ottavainen’s signing.
5:22 PM: According to CapFriendly, the Seattle Kraken have signed 2021 99th-overall pick Ville Ottavainen to a three-year entry-level deal set to begin next season. The contract reportedly carries a $876k cap hit with up to $57.5k in yearly performance bonuses. The contract also allocates Ottavainen minor-league salaries of $80k in the first year of the deal and $75k in the following two seasons.
Ottavainen had spent much of his younger days developing as a member of Karpat’s youth system, before choosing to spend his draft season in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. Scoring just 15 points in 53 games, the OHL wasn’t the best fit for Ottavainen’s development and he ultimately went undrafted in his first year of eligibility at the 2020 draft.
As an August birthdate, though, there was always the possibility that Ottavainen was simply somewhat of a late bloomer, and upon his return to Finland with JYP he began to take some steps forward.
He was chosen in his second go-around at the draft, landing inside the 2021 class’ top-100 selections, in large part thanks to his big six-foot-five frame and the fact that he got into games with JYP at the Liiga level, a major step up from Kitchener.
Ottavainen established himself as a regular for JYP last season, and scored 14 points in 44 games, averaging just under 16 minutes of ice time per game. This season, he played in he scored 16 points in 51 games and averaged a similar amount of minutes per game.
Now that Ottavainen has more thoroughly filled out his big frame, he’s become a viable two-way defenseman in Liiga with some physicality to boot. While Ottavainen’s presence hasn’t stopped JYP from struggling considerably as a whole over the past few years, he has made himself into a legitimate NHL prospect for the Kraken.
Armed with this entry-level deal, Ottavainen could be in the mix to play for head coach Dan Bylsma’s AHL juggernaut Coachella Valley Firebirds and would give Kraken fans a big, interesting six-foot-five right-shot blueliner to pay attention to.
Seattle Kraken Recall Joey Daccord Under Emergency Conditions
The Seattle Kraken have called up netminder Joey Daccord from the minors under emergency conditions, the team announced Monday midday.
Daccord presumably comes up to the Kraken roster to relieve Philipp Grubauer, who left the Kraken’s Saturday loss to the Edmonton Oilers with an undisclosed illness. Grubauer allowed three goals on 10 shots before leaving the game early in the second period.
With Seattle in a battle for playoff positioning, don’t expect Daccord to see much action during his third recall of the season. Considering that Grubauer’s absence appears to be a short one, Martin Jones should see all of the starts until Grubauer is ready to return.
That’s unless Jones falters mightily, which isn’t out of the picture. He’s made just three appearances in the month of March, recording a .807 save percentage and two losses. However, Daccord has only gotten into game action once for the Kraken this year, saving 36 out of 40 shots in a 5-4 win against the Calgary Flames back on November 1, 2022. It will likely take some serious missteps for the more experienced Jones to sit for Daccord at such a critical point in the season.
With that being said, Daccord’s numbers in the AHL have been strong for a second consecutive season. In 34 appearances with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the 26-year-old Daccord has a 2.43 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, three shutouts, and a 24-6-3 record.
Seattle Recalls John Hayden
- The Seattle Kraken have recalled John Hayden from the AHL, as they hit the road for a game in San Jose tomorrow night. The Kraken are coming off consecutive losses to the Dallas Stars and have now slipped below the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division playoff race. Hayden, 28, has just two points in five NHL games this year.
Afternoon Notes: Quick To Make Vegas Debut, Bjorkstrand Practices
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Jonathan Quick is set to make his team debut tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, according to NHL.com.
Just as the hockey world began trying to envision Quick in a Columbus Blue Jackets jersey, he was flipped again to Vegas, a team the Los Angeles Kings likely would not have dealt him to. Quick will provide veteran leadership for rookie goalie Logan Thompson, who has shined this season in the absence of Robin Lehner. Thompson carries a .914 save percentage and 2.66 GAA with 20 wins in 36 games for Vegas, earning his first All-Star nod.
Quick has had a bit of a fall from grace in recent years, and has struggled this season, with a 3.50 GAA and .876 save percentage in 31 games, a far cry from his days as the stalwart for a defensively stingy Kings team.
“I can’t get into his head and what it means to him, but he’s here because he still wants to play,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy told NHL.com on Saturday. “He feels he can help the team win. I do know that, 100 percent. He’ll get that opportunity this little bit.”
More notes from around the NHL this afternoon:
- Seattle Kraken winger Oliver Bjorkstrand participated in the morning skate on Sunday after leaving Friday’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury, according to Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times. Bjorkstrand recorded an assist in his return to Columbus on Friday for the first time since being traded to the Kraken. Bjorkstrand has 33 points in 62 games for Seattle, as the Kraken head toward their first playoff appearance in franchise history.
Kraken To Push Contract Talks For Dunn And Borgen To Offseason
The Kraken started contract extension talks with pending RFA defensemen Will Borgen and Vince Dunn but agreed to push those until after the season, notes Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times. Borgen is in his first season as a regular and has 16 points in 62 games while logging over 16 minutes a night. Arbitration eligible, the 26-year-old should be able to more than double his $945K qualifying offer this summer.
As for Dunn, he leads all Kraken rearguards in scoring this season with 11 goals and 36 assists in 62 games; his 47 points put him tenth in the league for points by a blueliner. He’s also arbitration-eligible this summer with one year of team control remaining. Dunn is well-positioned to land quite a bit more than the $4MM he has made in each of the last two seasons while a long-term agreement will likely be coming his way as well.
Lower-Body Injury For Oliver Bjorkstrand
- Kraken winger Oliver Bjorkstrand’s return to Columbus last night was shortened as Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times relays that the veteran suffered a lower-body injury in the third period and did not return. No update was available following the game. Bjorkstrand got off to a slow start this season but has been better since the calendar turned to 2023, collecting 17 points in 28 games since the beginning of January.
Trade Deadline Roundup: Western Conference
While trade deadline day was largely a dud in itself, that was because so many moves were made in the days leading up to March 3rd. With that in mind, here is a recap of the trades made in the Western Conference in the ten days leading up to deadline day to show who all moved where in what was a busy trade period overall. Players and picks that were acquired and then flipped are only noted for their final destination.
Anaheim Ducks
Acquired: F Brock McGinn, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Chase Priskie, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, D Andrej Sustr, 2024 third-round pick (PIT), 2024 third-round pick (SJ), 2025 fifth-round pick (MIN)
Traded: F Hunter Drew, F Max Golod, D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Austin Strand, D Henry Thrun
Arizona Coyotes
Acquired: D Michael Kesselring, D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber, 2023 first-round pick (OTT), 2023 third-round pick (EDM), 2023 sixth-round pick (CBJ), 2024 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 third-round pick (NYR), 2023 fifth-round pick (VGK), 2026 third-round pick (CAR), 2026 sixth-round pick (OTT)
Traded: F Nick Bjugstad, D Jakob Chychrun, D Cam Dineen, G Jon Gillies, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Dysin Mayo, F Nick Ritchie, D Vili Saarijarvi, D Troy Stecher
Calgary Flames
Acquired: F Dryden Hunt, F Nick Ritchie, D Troy Stecher
Traded: D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Radim Zohorna
Chicago Blackhawks
Acquired: F Joey Anderson, F Anders Bjork, F Hunter Drew, D Andreas Englund, G Anton Khudobin, F Pavel Gogolev, F Max Golod, D Vili Saarijarvi, F Austin Wagner, D Andy Welinski, D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 second-round pick (NYR), 2023 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 first-round pick (TOR), 2025 second-round pick (DAL), 2025 fourth-round pick (NYR), 2026 second-round pick (TOR), 2026 fourth-round pick (OTT)
Traded: F Max Domi, D Jack Johnson, F Patrick Kane, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, G Dylan Wells, D Cooper Zech, 2024 fifth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick
Colorado Avalanche
Acquired: F Lars Eller, D Jack Johnson, G Keith Kinkaid, F Gustav Rydahl
Traded: F Anton Blidh, F Shane Bowers, D Andreas Englund, 2025 second-round pick
Dallas Stars
Acquired: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Max Domi, F Scott Reedy, G Dylan Wells
Traded: F Denis Gurianov, G Anton Khudobin, F Jacob Peterson, 2025 second-round pick
Edmonton Oilers
Acquired: F Nick Bjugstad, D Cam Dineen, D Mattias Ekholm, F Patrik Puistola, 2024 sixth-round pick (NSH)
Traded: D Tyson Barrie, D Michael Kesselring, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick
Los Angeles Kings
Acquired: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, F Zack MacEwen, G Erik Portillo, F Nate Schnarr
Traded: D Frederic Allard, F Brendan Lemieux, G Jonathan Quick, F Austin Wagner, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick
Minnesota Wild
Acquired: D John Klingberg, F Marcus Johansson, F Gustav Nyquist, F Oskar Sundqvist, 2023 second-round pick (VGK), 2024 fifth-round pick (BUF)
Traded: F Jordan Greenway, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Andrej Sustr, F Andrei Svetlakov, 2023 fourth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick
Nashville Predators
Acquired: F Rasmus Asplund, D Tyson Barrie, D Cal Foote, F Isaac Ratcliffe, F Austin Rueschhoff, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick (EDM), 2023 second-round pick (PIT), 2023 third-round pick (TB), 2023 fourth-round pick (TB), 2023 fifth-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (WPG), 2024 fourth-round pick (EDM), 2025 first-round pick (TB)
Traded: D Mattias Ekholm, F Mikael Granlund, F Tanner Jeannot, F Nino Niederreiter, 2024 sixth-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick
San Jose Sharks
Acquired: D Arvid Henrikson, F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Nikita Okhotyuk, D Henry Thrun, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (NJ), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT), 2024 second-round pick (NJ), 2024 fourth-round pick (PIT), 2024 seventh-round pick (NJ), 2025 fourth-round pick (WPG),
Traded: F Nick Bonino, G Zacharie Emond, F Michael Eyssimont, D Scott Harrington, D Santeri Hatakka, F Timur Ibragimov, F Timo Meier, D Tony Sund, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick (COL), 2024 fifth-round pick
Seattle Kraken
No trades made
St. Louis Blues
Acquired: F Zach Dean, F Jakub Vrana
Traded: F Ivan Barbashev, F Dylan McLaughlin, 2025 seventh-round pick
Vancouver Canucks
Acquired: F Josh Bloom, D Filip Hronek, F Vitali Kravtsov, 2023 third-round pick (TOR) 2023 fourth-round pick (DET), 2024 fourth-round pick (NJ)
Traded: D Wyatt Kalynuk, F Curtis Lazar, F William Lockwood, D Luke Schenn, D Riley Stillman, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick
Vegas Golden Knights
Acquired: F Ivan Barbashev, F Teddy Blueger, D Dysin Mayo, G Jonathan Quick
Traded: F Zach Dean, F Peter DiLiberatore, G Michael Hutchinson, D Shea Weber, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick
Winnipeg Jets
Acquired: F Nino Niederreiter, F Vladislav Namestnikov
Traded: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick
Kraken Among Teams To Inquire About James Van Riemsdyk
Johnston adds that the Golden Knights, Jets, and Kraken are among the teams that have inquired about van Riemsdyk so far. Notably, none of those teams have enough cap space to take on his contract outright while Vegas would need either a third team to get involved to be able to add him. The veteran has nine goals and 14 assists in 41 games this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Francis: Deadline Moves, If Any, Likely Tinkering Around The Edges
- Seattle’s second season has gone quite well as the Kraken find themselves holding down the second and final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference heading into tonight’s action. However, in an appearance on 93.3KJR today (audio link), GM Ron Francis indicated that he isn’t planning any major changes and that if anything happens, it would probably be “tweaking around the edges”. Seattle is projected to have the ability to add someone making nearly $4MM on deadline day, per CapFriendly, so it’s possible that they look to add a rental or two to give themselves some more depth for the stretch run without making any changes to their core.