Salary Cap Deep Dive: Seattle Kraken

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2022-23 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Seattle Kraken

Current Cap Hit: $81,489,166 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Matthew Beniers (two years, $897.5K)
F Shane Wright (three years, $950K)

Potential Bonuses
Beniers: $925K
Wright: $3.0625MM
Total: $3.9875MM

Beniers was the second-overall selection last year and had a dominant year at Michigan before making the jump to the pros where he averaged just shy of a point per game down the stretch.  He should become their top center within the next couple of seasons and with it, a long-term deal in the $8MM range could be on the table based on recent comparable signings.  With his expected role, he should reach his bonuses this season which will need to be factored into their cap plans.  Wright slipped to fourth overall last month after being the consensus number one for a lot of the last two seasons but has been billed as being NHL-ready.  They’ll be able to ease him in which could result in some lower production at the beginning although it shouldn’t affect his second contract that much unless he’s in a limited role longer than expected.

Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level

D William Borgen ($900K, RFA)
F Ryan Donato ($1.2MM, UFA)
F Joonas Donskoi ($3.9MM, UFA)
D Vince Dunn ($4MM, RFA)
F Morgan Geekie ($1.4MM, RFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, UFA)
F Karson Kuhlman ($825K, UFA)
G Martin Jones ($2MM, UFA)
F Kole Lind ($825K, RFA)
D Carson Soucy ($2.75MM, UFA)

Donskoi was one of Seattle’s higher-profile pickups in expansion but struggled considerably last season, scoring just twice in 75 games.  While it’s likely that he’ll rebound to an extent, he’ll be hard-pressed to get more than about two-thirds of his current cost unless he has a career year.  Geekie’s first full NHL season was a decent one as he acquitted himself in somewhat of a limited role while being their best player at the faceoff dot.  Even in a bottom-six role, there’s some room for him to pass the $2MM mark next summer.  Donato returned after being non-tendered to avoid salary arbitration and while he is coming off a career year, the fact he wasn’t able to do better than this on the open market doesn’t bode well for his odds next summer.  Lind, Kuhlman, and Hayden will be battling for the final forward spot or two on the roster but are unlikely to command much more than their current rates unless one of them can step into a legitimate full-time role.

GM Ron Francis felt that Dunn would be able to stand out more with a bigger role and he did just that, tying his career-high in points while setting a new benchmark in assists.  Another showing like that could push him past the $5MM mark next summer in his final season of RFA eligibility.  Soucy wasn’t able to land in Seattle’s top four very often last year but that didn’t stop him from showing off an improved offensive element to his game as he scored ten goals which is two more than the previous two years combined.  With the size he also brings, a repeat performance could allow him to generate a strong market that could push his AAV into the $3MM range despite being a third-pairing piece which is an area teams often try to save money in.  For Soucy, they might make an exception.  Borgen was a frequent healthy scratch last season which certainly wasn’t the Kraken debut he was hoping for.  A similar role could have him in non-tender territory next summer while if he does lock down a spot on the third pairing, a one-year deal at a small raise might be the route Seattle opts to take.

Jones is coming off another quiet year with the Flyers and has failed to post a save percentage above .900 over the last four seasons.  Despite that, Seattle opted for him as their backup goaltender for the upcoming campaign but at some point, it stands to reason that another below-average performance will push him down closer to the $1MM mark next summer.

Signed Through 2023-24

G Chris Driedger ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Jordan Eberle ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Justin Schultz ($3MM, UFA)
F Alexander Wennberg ($4.5MM, UFA)

Eberle’s first season with Seattle saw him play a similar role to the one that he had with the Islanders so it’s not surprising that his production was largely in line with his performance with New York.  It’s an output that isn’t quite worth $5.5MM but if he can stay around the 20-goal mark for the next couple of seasons, he should be able to land somewhat close to this on his next deal.  Wennberg wasn’t quite able to replicate the production he had with the Panthers but his output at the center position is worth close to his current rate compared to the open market.  However, with Beniers and Wright around, can he get those numbers again?  That will dictate a lot when it comes to his next contract as to whether a small raise could be had or a sizable drop.

Schultz comes over from Washington where he’s coming off a quiet year offensively by his standards which made this commitment a bit surprising.  He should have an opportunity to play a bigger role offensively which could help but even so, he’ll be 34 when his next contract starts so it’d be hard to foresee a big raise on the horizon.

Driedger had a tough first season with the Kraken although he still managed a save percentage of .899, the best on the team.  His second year will be even tougher as an ACL tear suffered at the Worlds will cost him the majority of next season.  Suffice it to say, there will be a lot at stake in 2023-24 when it comes to determining his next contract.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Yanni Gourde ($5.167MM, UFA)
D Adam Larsson ($4MM, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($3.5MM, UFA)

After a couple of quieter seasons with Tampa Bay, Gourde had a golden opportunity with Seattle last season as he was their all-situations top center.  While his best success came in a lower role with the Lightning, Gourde adapted quite well to being a go-to player and finished second on the team in scoring.  Again, Beniers and eventually Wright will cut into his playing time but for now, this contract is one of Seattle’s better ones.  Tanev was limited to just 32 games last season due to a knee injury but was quite effective over the first couple of months of the season.  His contract has long been viewed as above-market after Pittsburgh signed him for six years at his current price but if he stays near that half a point per game mark while playing his usual strong defensive and physical game, the Kraken will do well with this contract.

Larsson was one of two veteran defensemen to eschew a chance at testing the open market last summer to instead sign a long-term deal with Seattle.  In his case, he received a much bigger role than he was accustomed to with Edmonton which helped him set a new career-best in points.  In the process, he established himself as still being capable of being a second or third defender.  That’s not the most optimal role for him and he wouldn’t be in that role on a top team but any time a team can get a second or third blueliner for this much money, it’s one that they’re going to be quite happy with.  That said, even if he stays in that role for three more years, it’s unlikely the open market will view him at that level.

Signed Through 2025-26 Or Longer

F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5.4MM through 2025-26)
F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM through 2026-27)
G Philipp Grubauer ($5.9MM through 2026-27)
F Jared McCann ($5MM through 2026-27)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6MM through 2026-27)
F Jaden Schwartz ($5.5MM through 2025-26)

When healthy, Schwartz is a capable top-six winger who produces at close to a $5.5MM value.  The issue has been his ability to stay healthy, or lack thereof.  Seattle’s return on this deal hinges on him staying in the lineup and producing and unfortunately for them, that’s unlikely to happen.  Burakovsky was brought over this summer from Colorado.  He’s coming off a career year offensively (he would have led the Kraken in scoring by 11 points last season with his 61 points) but it will be interesting to see if he can bring that while playing against tougher competition in an elevated role.  That will go a long way towards determining if he’s a core piece or just another higher-priced winger.

Bjorkstrand came over for cheap from Columbus who had to move him out to fit in Johnny Gaudreau’s addition.  He’s also coming off a career year with 57 points and has really taken some strides in his offensive game the last few seasons.  He should at least add some offensive pop to a team that struggled to score last season.  McCann had long shown flashes of top-six upside but couldn’t put it together consistently.  That changed in 2021-22, paving the way for them to sign him midseason to this contract extension.  He’s a candidate to be shifted to the wing on a more regular basis as the young first-rounders work their way up the lineup which will lessen the value of this contract but if he hovers around the 25-goal mark, they’ll do fine with this contract.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Donato
Worst Value: Grubauer

Looking Ahead

Francis opted to emphasize cap flexibility in expansion, resulting in some underwhelming selections.  He has quickly spent a lot of that short-term flexibility to bring in a set of higher-priced wingers that aren’t likely to propel them to the playoffs.  Driedger will be able to go on LTIR which will alleviate any short-term issues if injuries arise and as they’re likely to be sellers, they should be able to finish under the Upper Limit to avoid any bonus carryover.

But while there isn’t much short-term flexibility left, things aren’t looking too bad long-term.  There is a reasonable number of expiring contracts in each season and with only two players signed for longer than four years, their future cap situation is relatively clean although Beniers’ expected second contract will change that in the near future.  As it should be for a second-year team, their books are a lot cleaner than many others around the NHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.