Seattle Kraken Top 6 tradeable assets
1. Mark Giordano, D
Contact: The 2019 Norris Trophy winner is in the final year of a deal that pays him an AAV of $6.75M for 2021-22.
Why he’ll be traded
As soon as the Seattle Kraken selected Mark Giordano from Calgary in the expansion draft, there was speculation that he wouldn’t last an entire season in the Emerald City. Some prognosticators even had Francis trading the 38-year-old defenseman before the season started.
Instead, the Kraken held on to Giordano and made him the franchise’s first captain. That was despite the fact he can leave as a free agent at the end of the season.
Seattle’s strategy with him has been to wait until the trade deadline approaches and ship him out to a team desperate for a quality veteran defenseman. As a whole, Seattle has greatly underperformed. Giordano is by no means exempt from criticism.
He’s never seemed to accept that Calgary left him exposed or embraced being part of the Kraken. His slow start of 4 goals, 8 assists (0 on the power-play), and -15 are concerning. And while Giordano isn’t the production machine he was in 2018-19, when he put up 79 points and a +39, he’s still a capable defender and puck mover.
Giordano’s skill set, experience, and leadership will go a long way on a contender. That’s why he’s so valuable and why the Kraken can pull in a big haul for him.
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