The Seattle Kraken Trade Deadline – What We Can Expect
The Seattle Kraken enter this Friday's trade deadline outside of the playoff race, officially being classified as a "seller". The main question that remains is, "who will be on the move?"
For the third time in franchise history, the Seattle Kraken are being looked upon as “sellers” at the upcoming NHL trade deadline. With 21 games remaining, the Kraken are nine points outside of the final wildcard position. Pending a miracle, the season will end for this team in just over six weeks. However, this will not necessarily be the case for some individuals that will be traded away by 12:00pm PST on Friday. As teams prepare for their post-season push, they will make trades to acquire the best available players in hopes of improving their odds to win the Stanley Cup. Below are my predictions for where players will end up at the end of this week.
1. Brandon Tanev goes home.
It is no surprise that Brandon Tanev is likely on the move. The 33-year-old forward plays a gritty game that is perfect for playoff hockey. There is no doubt that teams will be knocking on the door of GM Ron Francis to find out how they can get snag Tanev. However, there is one team that has been tied to Tanev rumors for almost a year now: the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tanev is a Toronto native and his brother, Chris Tanev, is one of the Leafs’ best defensemen. A chance to help the storied franchise hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Given he is a pending Unrestricted Free Agent, the Kraken could let him go at the deadline and then sign him back to the team through free agency.
My prediction? Tanev gets traded to Toronto in exchange for Nick Robertson and a 4th round draft pick. Seattle retains 50% of Tanev’s $3 million cap hit.
2. Yanni Gourde gets the band back together.
Yanni Gourde is another pending free agent who is likely to be sought after. He has two Stanley Cup rings to his name, winning back-to-back cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. During his time in Tampa, he was a fan favorite (just like his time so far in Seattle). Tampa has made a number of changes to their roster over the past few years – and this is an opportunity to get a familiar face back. Gourde is not likely to be too costly, as he is currently on injured reserve. This could work out well for Tampa, who is routinely struggling with salary cap space. They are all too familiar with having a player stay on the Long Term Injured Reserve until playoff time. After all, it worked for them both years they won the cup with Nikita Kucherov, so why not try it again?
My prediction? Gourde goes to Tampa Bay in exchange for defensive prospect Dyllan Gill and a 5th round draft pick. If Gourde is healthy by Friday, Seattle retains 50% of the cap hit and their draft pick becomes a 4th rounder. If he remains on LTIR, Tampa takes the whole salary.
3. Big Rig goes Wild.
While most playoff teams target pending UFAs, there are times when players with term remaining in their contract can be moved for the right cost. The Kraken have an opportunity to move Jamie Oleksiak while getting younger on defense. The Minnesota Wild are in a tough division, battling against the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars for the Central division title. They have a strong top-four defense, but need depth. They will also likely be unable to retain pending Restricted Free Agent defenseman Declan Chisholm after signing Brock Fader to an eight-year extension with an average value of $8.5 million per year.
My prediction? Kraken trade Oleksiak to Minnesota Wild in exchange for defensemen Declan Chisholm and a 5th round pick. If Seattle retains the cap hit, the pick becomes a 3rd rounder.
4. Bjorkstrand goes east.
Oliver Bjorkstrand has been linked to numerous trade rumors due to his consistent play. He is on pace for his sixth 20-goal season in the last seven years. He has one year remaining on his existing contract valued at $5.4 million. Columbus is in the middle of a surprising season, where they currently hold the first wildcard spot in the Eastern conference. They have a whopping $18 million in cap space, so will have no problem in acquiring a larger contract with no retention needed. Columbus only has eight forwards in their current lineup signed to contracts for next season, so acquiring a player with some term should be a necessity. They have some attractive young assets as well. Forward Jordan Dumais is a 21-year-old former CHL player of the year for the Halifax Mooseheads, where he notched 140 points in 64 games during the 2022-’23 season. Additionally, Daemon Hunt is a young defenseman with some NHL experience.
My prediction? Oliver Bjorkstrand moves to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Jordan Dumais, defenseman Daemon Hunt, and a 4th round draft pick.
5. More players on the move?
It is highly likely that some other Kraken players are discussed over this week – or leading into this season’s entry draft. Players like Jaden Schwartz, Andre Burakovsky, and Philipp Grubauer are the first on my list. I do not expect them to be moved at the deadline, but won’t be disappointed if we bid them a fond farewell.
At the end of the day, the NHL is all about results. The Seattle Kraken is simply not producing at an acceptable level. Now is the time to sell off assets and give the young guns an early audition prior to training camp. Get ready to see some new names in the lineup starting next week – and be ready to have some of the bobbleheads of the past become collector’s items.