Jordan Eberle scores in 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs vs. Colorado (photo by Jenn G, courtesy of Emerald City Hockey).
The Seattle Kraken upstart 2022-23 season ended with a disappointing Game 7 loss to Dallas in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Semi-Finals. That shouldn’t take away from the team’s 100-point regular season performance or opening round playoff victory over Colorado.
After the elimination, Kraken management held their end-of-season exit interviews with the players before they went home for the summer. According to our Jonathan West, the players were somber but hopeful for the future when they spoke to the media.
Now, General Manager Ron Francis has some hard decisions to make. He must evaluate his roster and decide who should be part of the 2023-24 squad before adding anyone new.
This is who we think should stay and who should take their skills elsewhere.
These players are ones the Seattle Kraken need to keep long-term and/or consider franchise cornerstones:
Andre Burakovsky, Wing, 28 years old
Contract Status (going into 2023-24): 4-years, $5.5M (no movement clause).
2023-24 production: 49 Games, 13 Goals, 26 Assists, -9, 19 Power Play Points.
Comment: When Andre Burakovsky is on the ice, he’s a game-changer. How much different would the Seattle Kraken playoff run have been if he’d been healthy?
Jared McCann, F, 26
Contract Status: 4-years, $5M.
2023-24 production: 79 games, 40 G, 30 A, +18, 16 PP.
Comment: In 2022-23, he put up a 70-point breakout season. With all that Jared McCann does aside from scoring, he is a bargain at two-thirds of that production.
Matthew Beniers, C, 20
Contract Status: 1-year, $897K (entry level).
2023-24 production: 80 games, 24 G, 33 A, +14, 10 PP.
Comment: Matty Beniers is untouchable. As a matter of fact, the Kraken should be negotiating a long-term extension with him right now.
Shane Wright, C, 19
Contract Status: 2-years, $950K (entry level).
2023-24 production: 8 games, 1 G, 1 A, +4, 0 PP.
Comment: Shane Wright has all the tools to be a dominating point producer. Seattle Kraken fans will see more of what he can do next season.
Adam Larrson, D, 30
Contract Status: 2-years, $4.M (no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 82 games, 8 G, 25 A, +27, 0 PP.
Comment: The ideal stay-at-home top pair defenseman. His contract is a bargain.
Yanni Gourde, F, 31
Contract Status: 2-years, $5.17M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 81 games, 14 G, 34 A, +23, 4 PP.
Comment: I’ve come around on Yanni Gourde. He’s a better second line wing than third line center.
Vince Dunn, D, 28
Contract Status: RFA (made $4M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 81 games, 14 G, 50 A, +28, 15 PP.
Comment: Vince Dunn and Larsson make a great top pair. By all accounts, the Kraken want him to stay, and he wants to be in Seattle. A 4 to 5-year extension short of outrageous should lock him in.
Brandon Tanev, W, 31
Contract Status: 2-years, $3.5M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 82 games, 16 G, 19 A, +21, 0 PP.
Comment: Brandon Tanev is Mr. Intangable Spark Plug. Seattle Kraken fans would riot if the team moved on from Turbo now.
Eeli Tolvanen, W, 24
Contract Status: 1-year, 1.45M, RFA after contract.
2023-24 production: 48 games, 16 G, 11 A, +10, 7 PP.
Comment: After Nashville waived Eeli Tolvanen, he came to Seattle with a chip on his shoulder. Tolvanen is the type of depth scorer successful teams need, and they have him at a very reasonable price.
Daniel Sprong, W, 24
Contract Status: RFA (made $750K last year)
2023-24 production: 66 Games, 21 G, 25 A, +13. 14 PP.
Comment: See Tolvanen (without the Nashville part).
Morgan Geekie, F, 24
Contract Status: RFA (made $1.4M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 69 games, 9 G, 19 A, +14, 1 PP.
Comment: When all else fails, count on Morgan Geekie to do something good. He’s Francis’ pet project, so unless another team signs him to a ridiculous contract, Geekie will be back.
Philipp Grubauer, G, 31
Contract Status: 4-years, $5.5M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 39 games, 17-14-4 Record, 2.85 GAA, .895 SV%.
Comment: After injuries derailed him early in the season, Gru picked up his performance in the latter months. I still think his production a disappointing, but the Seattle Kraken are stuck with him for the near future.
No one will be trading for Philipp Grubauer and Seattle won’t find anyone better on the free agent market right now.
Chris Driedger, G, 29
Contract Status: 1-year, $2.375M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 5 games, 2-1-1 Record, 3.14 GAA, .900 SV%.
Comment: Chris Driedger is the ideal number two goalie. The Seattle Kraken are fortunate to have him.
Max McCormick, LW, 31
Contract Status: 1-year, $763K.
2023-24 production: Did not play for Seattle.
Comment: A good leader for the AHL Firebirds, McCormick is signed through next year. Keep him.
Jesper Froden, W, 28
Contract Status: UFA (made $750K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 14 games, 0 G, 4 A +4. 0 PP.
Comment: If the Seattle Kraken can get Froden for close to the same money, make it happen.
Tye Kartye, W, 22
Contract Status: 2-years, $859K (entry level).
2023-24 production: Playoffs Only, 10 games, 3 G, 2 A, +6, 0 PP.
Comment: Tye Kartye succeeded beyond the organization’s highest expectations while making his NHL debut in the pressure cooker known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His future in the Emerald City looks bright.
Jaden Schwartz, LW, 30
Contract Status: 3-years, $5.5M (no movement clause).
2023-24 production: 71 Games, 21 G, 19 A, -17, 8 PP.
Comment: I put Jaden Schwartz on the go side, but in reality, his no movement clause makes it almost impossible for the Seattle Kraken to trade him away over the summer. His $5.5M salary would be put to better use elsewhere. Maybe a buyout.
Alexander Wennberg, C, 28
Contract Status: 1-year, $4.5M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 82 games, 13 G, 25 A, -7, 9 PP.
Comment: Alexander Wennberg has been a huge disappointment during his two years in Seattle. A change of scenery might help his career. He’d make a decent secondary scorer for a team with a good shot at winning the Stanley Cup.
Jamie Oleksiak, D, 30
Contract Status: 3-years, $4.6M, (no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 75 games, 9 G, 16 A, +13, 0 PP.
Comment: His Game 7 screw-up against Dallas in the WCSF is enough for banishment. But the reason “Big Rig” needs to leave the Seattle Kraken is that he isn’t worth the money. Jamie Oleksiak is far from a lockdown defender and contributes little offensively.
Carson Soucy, D, 28
Contract Status: UFA (made $2.75M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 78 games, 3 G, 13 A, +18, 0 PP.
Comment: Carson Soucy leaves the Seattle Kraken, not because he is a bad player. It’s the opposite; as an unrestricted free agent, Soucy will get more money than Seattle is willing to pay.
Joonas Donskoi, W, 31
Contract Status: UFA (made $3.9M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: Did not play for Seattle.
Comment: After an unfortunate collision with Seattle Kraken teammate Kole Lind, Donskoi missed the entire season with concussion symptoms. The injury time probably saved him from getting cut, because Donskoi was the 13th or 14th best forward going into the season. He collected his full $3.9M while on the injured list.
Kole Lind, RW, 24
Contract Status: RFA (made $850K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: Did not play for Kraken.
Comment: For all his potential, the Seattle Kraken are the second team Lind couldn’t make. Maybe Europe is an option.
John Hayden, W, 28,
Contract Status: UFA (made $750K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 7 games, 2 G, 0 A, +2, 0 PP.
Comment: In baseball, guys like Hayden are referred to as Quad-A players. He’s better than most minor leaguers, but not good enough to be an NHL regular. They are easily replaced.
Cale Fleury, D, 24
Contract Status: RFA (made $750K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 12 games, 0 G, 1 A, 0, 0 PP.
Comment: Fleury is the defensive version of Lind.
Jaycob Megna, D, 30
Contract Status: 1-year, $763K.
2023-24 production: 6 games, 0 G, 0 A, -3, 0 PP.
Gustav Olofsson, D, 28
Contract Status: UFA (made $750K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 3 games, 0 G, 0 A, +1, 0 PP.
Comment: Megna and Olofsson are Quad-A players.
Martin Jones, G, 33
Contract Status: UFA (made $2M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 39 games, 27-13-3, 2.99, .886.
Comment: It was Martin Jones that kept the Seattle Kraken above water early on. His numbers weren’t stellar, but he played good enough to win. Now that Driedger is healthy, Seattle can let Jones leave as an unrestricted free agent.
Carsen Twarynsky, Alex True, and Joey Daccord are Group 6 free agents. Each hasn’t played enough NHL games by age 26 to keep any status, so they become unrestricted free agents. Out of the three, the Seattle Kraken might try to keep Dacord as their third goalie and AHL starter.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, W, 28,
Contract Status: 3-years, $5.4M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 81 Games, 20 G, 25 A, -1, 10 PP.
Comment: Not enough bang for the buck, and sub-par defensively. Oliver Bjorkstrand is overpaid for a guy that broke 50 points one time in eight years. With $16.2M left on his deal, Bjorkstrand is hard to move.
Jordan Eberle, RW, 33 years old
Contract Status: 1-year, $5.5M (modified no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 82 Games, 20 G, 43A, +6, 15 Power Play points.
Comment: There is some divide when it comes to Jordan Eberle. Some see that he’s a leader and mentor to a young Seattle Kraken locker room. I’m in the camp of he’s 33 and has only a year left on his contract. After scoring 63 points last season, Eberle’s trade value is at its highest point.
Ryan Donato, F, 27
Contract Status: UFA (made $1.2M in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 71 games, 14 G, 13 A, +16, 2 PP.
Comment: Ryan Donato tried his luck in free agency last year and didn’t find many takers. Maybe it works out better for him this summer.
Luke Hennman, F, 23
Contract Status: 1-year, $792K, RFA after contract.
2023-24 production: Did not play for Kraken.
Comment: The Seattle Kraken saw enough in Hennman to make him their first free agent signing. So far, he hasn’t made it to the NHL. Do they give him one more shot? Probably, or Hennman gets included in a trade.
Justin Schultz, D, 32
Contract Status: 1-year, $3M.
2023-24 production: 73 games, 7 G, 27 A, +4, 13 PP.
Comment: Although he wore down toward the end of the season, Justin Schultz is a good second pair puck mover for Seattle, unless they find someone better.
Will Borgen, D, 26
Contract Status: RFA (made $900K in 2022-23).
2023-24 production: 82 games, 3 G, 17 A, +11, 0.
Comments: Anything less than 1.7M and Borgen stays. If Francis doesn’t think that can happen, Seattle will renounce his rights.
Which Seattle Kraken players do you think should stay, and which ones should go?