- The Kraken and winger Jordan Eberle were discussing a two-year deal with a cap hit of $4.5MM, relays Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. However, Eberle is believed to be seeking a third year which is the hold-up in discussions. The 33-year-old has seen his numbers dip this season but still has 14 goals and 23 assists through 58 games. The expectation is that Eberle will either be signed or traded by the 2 PM CT deadline. If it’s the latter, Seattle will almost certainly need to retain on his current $5.5MM price tag.
Kraken Rumors
More Trade Notes: Eberle, Oilers, Laughton
The Seattle Kraken remain open to trading veteran forward Jordan Eberle, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, with the Edmonton Oilers emerging as one team interested in a trade. The Kraken have prioritized signing Eberle to an extension, though Seravalli reports that term has become a hangup in negotiations. Eberle has been effective once again in Seattle, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 58 games this season. He’s on pace to once again score 20 goals on the season – a feat he’s managed in each of his three years with the Kraken, after not achieving it since the 2017-18 season with the New York Islanders. Eberle has totaled 144 points in 219 games with Seattle, ranking as the team’s third-highest scorer of all time and bringing his career totals up to 695 points in 998 games. While Seattle is still hoping to complete an extension, the heat of the Trade Deadline could be enough to see Eberle play his 1,000th game with a new team.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Edmonton Oilers are searching for an inexpensive, veteran defenseman says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Oilers have already made a splash this Trade Deadline, acquiring Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. They now have just $1.0MM in cap space remaining, limiting their ability to upgrade much more. They’ll have to act quick if they want to bring in a veteran defender with the market dwindling, as Joel Edmundson has already been traded and both Zach Bogosian and Nick Seeler each signed extensions with their clubs. Remaining options could include Montreal’s David Savard or Buffalo’s Erik Johnson. Edmonton carries a healthy mix of left-handed and right-handed defensemen, giving them the flexibility to choose whichever player fits their style better.
- The Philadelphia Flyers are planning to revisit a Scott Laughton trade after bigger names have come off the board, per The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco, who shares that the price for Laughton remains a first-round pick. Laughton has become a cornerstone piece in Philadelphia, thanks to his impacts in all three zones. He has 10 goals and 32 points in 63 games this season, after scoring a career-high 18 goals and 43 points in 78 games last year. He’s spent all 11 years of his career in Philadelphia, totaling 231 points in 582 games.
New York Rangers Acquire Alexander Wennberg
3:11 pm: The Rangers have made the trade official, announcing that Wennberg will be headed east to New York.
2:18 pm: With a flurry of trade activity today, the New York Rangers have decided to enter into the madness. Emily Kaplan of ESPN is reporting that the Rangers are working on a deal with the Seattle Kraken that would land Alexander Wennberg in the Big Apple.
TSN’s Pierre Lebrun is reporting that the deal is done, indicating that the Kraken will be receiving the Rangers 2024 second-round pick, as well as New York’s fourth-round pick in 2025. Seattle will also be retaining 50% of Wennberg’s remaining salary, bringing his AAV down to $2.25MM with the Rangers.
Ever since the Rangers lost center Filip Chytil back in November due to a concussion, the team has been looking to fill the void for nearly the entire season. The organization has tried both Nick Bonino and Jonny Brodzinski in this role but had their eye on a bona fide forward to add down the middle.
Not as much of an offensive threat as he was during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the addition of Wennberg should help in multiple areas of the Rangers lineup. Initially, he is readily available to center the team’s third line, and will also be able to serve on the team’s penalty kill unit as well.
Coming over to Seattle as an unrestricted free agent in the 2021-22 offseason, Wennberg is in the last year of a three-year, $13.5MM contract. Throughout his tenure in Seattle, Wennberg has played in a total of 142 games for the expansion franchise over the last three years, scoring 22 goals and 63 points in the process.
Although Wennberg doesn’t have the amount of success in the dot teams might be expecting out of their bottom-six centers, his possession metrics show that he brings solid defensive awareness to the table. Wennberg will also be able to help a New York penalty kill unit that is already top five in the league, recording an 83.15% success rate being a man down.
The General Manager of the Kraken, Ron Francis, is using a similar deadline strategy as he used two years ago, as he went on to acquire 10 total draft selections leading up to the deadline in 2022. In this deal, Seattle will now have five total selections in the first three rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft, and 17 total selections over the next two years.
Trade Notes: Eberle, Kraken, Blues
The Seattle Kraken are making their decisions ahead of the Trade Deadline, now preferring to sign forward Jordan Eberle to an extension, rather than trading him, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared the same in the latest 32 Thoughts article, adding that the team could continue extension talks with Eberle beyond the Deadline, pouring cold water on trade rumors surrounding the 14-year pro. Eberle was previously linked to the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Eberle is having yet another productive season, scoring 14 goals and 35 points in 56 games. He’s once again scoring at a 20-goal pace, a feat he’s managed in each of his last two seasons with the Kraken. Eberle also managed 63 points last year, the most he’s scored since the 2014-15 season in Edmonton, and ranks third in all-time scoring for the Kraken with 142 points in 217 games. He offers great complementary value in the top six, a strong power-play presence, and the experience of a 1,000-game veteran – all highly-coveted assets on the trade market. But with teammate Alexander Wennberg generating plenty of trade interest of his own, the Kraken are seemingly opting to hang on to Eberle for now.
Other trade notes from around the league:
- Kraken general manager Ron Francis is reportedly content with standing pat outside of Wennberg and Eberle, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts. Friedman adds that there has been modest interest in Adam Larsson and Yanni Gourde, though Francis isn’t eager to mess with the team’s core pieces. Seattle has generally refrained from making much of a deadline splash, though they did sell off Mark Giordano, Marcus Johansson, and Calle Jarnkrok at the 2022 Trade Deadline.
- St. Louis Blues defensemen Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, and Marco Scandella are both still available, reports The Fourth Period. The Blues attempted to move Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers this summer but he invoked his no-trade clause, halting the deal. There’s no shortage of teams in need of defensive help this Spring and the Blues have something for everyone – offering stout defense in Parayko, strong offense in Krug, and good all-around play in Scandella. But salary cap will be a likely concern in any negotiations, as both Krug and Parayko carrying a $6.5MM cap hit and Scandella set at $3.275MM. All three carry either full or modified no-trade clauses.
Kraken Scratch Alexander Wennberg For Trade-Related Reasons
Kraken center Alexander Wennberg will be held out of tonight’s game against the Flames for trade-related reasons, head coach Dave Hakstol said (via Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times). Wennberg, 29, had been generating interest as far back as last month and was linked to the Rangers a few weeks back. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta added Monday that the Bruins have demonstrated interest, while Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports the Avalanche have also called about the veteran center.
Carrying a cap hit of $4.5MM on an expiring deal, Wennberg may potentially veto a deal to any of these teams if they appear on his 10-team no-trade list. He has nine goals, 16 assists and 25 points in 60 games this season, his third with the Kraken after he signed a three-year, $13.5MM contract with them in free agency before their inaugural season in 2021.
It’s a bit of a down year for him offensively, but not by much. His 0.42 points per game aren’t far south of his 0.48 career average, although his possession metrics have taken a tumble. He’s posted a 46.7 CF% at even strength, a career-low by a country mile for the normally defensively responsible center.
That hamstrings his value at his cap hit, but with all three retained salary slots open, Kraken GM Ron Francis will likely retain half his salary to make him a $2.25MM player for the acquiring team. Adding in a third party could decrease his cap hit by another 50% to $1.125MM.
The Rangers’ courtship of Wennberg has been discussed at length, while the Bruins have been in the conversation for added depth down the middle since the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí last summer. The Avalanche, on the other hand, are likely in on Wennberg as a backup plan if they can’t land the Ducks’ Adam Henrique, who Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported has been linked to Colorado. If Wennberg is being held out days before the deadline, though, he may not be available by the time Colorado leans their fate on their offer for Henrique.
Trade Deadline Primer: Seattle Kraken
With the All-Star break in the rearview, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than two weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Seattle Kraken.
The Seattle Kraken’s ship is leveling out after an inaugural season that saw them fail to reach 30 wins, and a 2022-23 season that saw them outscore most of the league en route to the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the middle ground between one dismal season and one electric season hasn’t produced much. The Kraken are in the midst of a fairly boring season, ranked as the fifth-lowest-scoring team in the league and one of six teams caught up in the Western Conference Wild Card race. It hasn’t been a necessarily bad year for the Kraken, but they’ll need to find a spark if they want to push for the playoffs once again. Luckily, the 2024 Trade Deadline should offer plenty of opportunity for Seattle to bring in high-impact players and build a lineup that can compete into the Spring.
Record
25-22-11, 6th in the Pacific Division
Deadline Status
Reluctant Buyers
Deadline Cap Space
$4.93MM of cap space on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: SEA 1st, SEA 2nd, SEA 3rd, TOR 3rd, SEA 4th, SEA 6th, SEA 7th, CGY 7th
2025: SEA 1st, SEA 2nd, SEA 3rd, SEA 4th, SEA 5th, SEA 6th, SEA 7th
Trade Chips
The Kraken has managed to draft phenomenally well in their few years of existence, already promoting two top picks into routine NHL roles in Matthew Beniers and Ryker Evans. The team also boasts the acclaimed Shane Wright, Jagger Firkus, and Jani Nyman in their pool – among a long list of talented names. Their strength at the draft helps Seattle in a menagerie of ways – but most notably, it makes their future draft picks a bit more expendable. While the next three drafts each carry talented top-ends, the Kraken shouldn’t pass up the chance to make a splash just because it’d cost them high draft picks. A first-round pick has been the starting point of many rumors this winter and the pricier players on the market could cost upwards of two first-round picks. That’s a lot of capital to send off, but the Kraken has already built a robust prospect pool that should survive a couple of years without top picks.
If Seattle isn’t ready to move draft capital, their best trade value will come from marketing veterans like Jordan Eberle. Eberle has provided value in all three zones this season, boasting 14 goals and 35 points through 54 games this season. He’s been a focal piece of Seattle’s power play, scoring nine points on the man advantage this season, and ranks atop the team with a 54.44 CF% (Corsi-For Percentage). What’s best – Eberle carries a quant $5.5MM cap hit this season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s a short-term rental that could fill a lot of different roles for contending teams. If teams aren’t interested in Eberle, Seattle also offers similar value in the likes of Brandon Tanev and Tomas Tatar. The team could also see interest in Alexander Wennberg, who has taken on a prominent utility role in Seattle – playing on both special teams and operating as a go-to option on the faceoff. Seattle will have to ask themselves which veterans are expendable, with the team still wanting to keep enough together to push for a successful Spring, but their long list of options gives Seattle plenty to entertain this Deadline.
Other trade candidates: Justin Schultz (D, $3MM cap hit until 2024), Brian Dumoulin (D, $3.15MM cap hit until 2025), Chris Driedger (G, $2.35MM cap hit until 2024)
Team Needs
1) Swing For The Fences – The Seattle Kraken offense has not been good this season. They rank 27th in the league in goals and have only seen three players – Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, and
Oliver Bjorkstrand – even top 40 points through their first 58 games this season. It’s clear that the Kraken need a spark to breathe life below their first line. Luckily, St. Louis has made star winger Pavel Buchnevich available. Buchnevich is a fantastic option for teams looking for a difference-maker, with the 28-year-old winger boasting 22 goals and 46 points in 55 games this season, and 189 points in 191 career games with the Blues. He’s scored at least 20 goals in five of his eight years in the NHL, including each of the last four seasons. And what’s best – Buchnevich carries a manageable $5.8MM cap hit through the end of next season. That means any trade will provide benefits through the end of next year, which could be a saving grace for a Kraken team at the tail end of the playoff race. Unfortunately, St. Louis could be asking for as much as two first-round draft picks in exchange for Buchnevich. That’s a tall ask, especially considering Seattle currently only has two first-round picks in the next two years. A strong prospect pool, and luck in the later rounds of the draft, could be enough to convince Seattle to pay the price. Though, if the Kraken are willing to spend big this Deadline, they could also pursue Trevor Zegras, likely the most expensive asset on the open market this year but maybe the most fruitful as well. Zegras, 22, has broken the 60-point mark in each of the last two seasons, though he has just seven points in 20 games this year. Still, the former top-10 draft pick offers amazing potential and would provide an instant boost to Seattle’s future lineup. A deal for Zegras will likely need top prospects attached to draft picks but could offer a blockbuster deal for Seattle to pursue.
2) Choose A Side – The Kraken are presently in a strange limbo, not far enough away from the playoffs to start thinking about next year but still too close to sell off a list of veterans. They will need to decide what direction they want to take the team in ahead of the Deadline – and their choice will help them decide how expendable players like Wennberg, Yanni Gourde, or even Jaden Schwartz are. The Kraken are slowly building a strong lineup, though they’re still missing a few key pieces and have a few years before high-impact prospects like Shane Wright will establish everyday roles. The opportunity to add future capital, either through young lineup pieces or draft picks, could be tempting for a Kraken team that’s seen their youth perform well. But too much selling this year could doom Seattle to a few more years of monotony. The Kraken are in the midst of an in-between year after their first two seasons sat on each extreme, and now face the challenging question of what they want their team’s direction to be. The 2024 Trade Deadline should give fans a full look at how Seattle’s top brass answers that question.
Rangers Have Shown Interest In Alexander Wennberg
With Filip Chytil (concussion) out for the season and on LTIR, there has been plenty of speculation that the Rangers would look to make a move to add to their center depth heading into the playoffs. It appears they’re looking to do just that as Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported earlier this week that the team has shown some interest in Kraken middleman Alexander Wennberg.
The 29-year-old is in the third and final season of a contract that carries a $4.5MM AAV. Considering he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, he’d fit New York’s plans of a short-term addition while keeping their cap space open if Chytil can return as planned next season.
Wennberg has recorded eight goals and 14 assists so far this season in 56 games, a level of production that is slightly below his first two seasons with Seattle. However, Wennberg isn’t known for being a true offensive threat but rather more of a two-way secondary option. He’s a frequent member of their top penalty killing unit which could help what is already a strong Ranger penalty kill that sits sixth in success rate heading into tonight’s action.
Of course, it’s worth remembering that the rental center market is quite thinned out following the trades of Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan so this will be a case where more teams are looking for one than there are rental centers available. That means the cost for Wennberg’s services could be relatively high should Seattle opt to sell closer to the trade deadline; as they’re three points out of the last Wild Card, there’s no guarantee GM Ron Francis will move out his rentals.
At the moment, the Rangers have a little under $4.4MM in full-season LTIR space, per CapFriendly. While they could add a bit more to that by sending a player down which would then free up enough space for Wennberg, it stands to reason that New York – or pretty much any interested team – would want the Kraken to retain up to the maximum 50% of that. Of course, that should only increase the asking price from Seattle’s end.
The trade deadline is now just two weeks away so teams still have a bit of time to decide what direction they’re going to go from a buyer and seller perspective. It’s safe to say that the Rangers and several other teams will be keeping an eye on Seattle to see if they make Wennberg or any of their other expiring veterans (including Jordan Eberle, Tomas Tatar, and Justin Schultz) available. If they don’t sell, that thin center market is going to get a whole lot thinner.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kraken Activate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Off The IR
The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.
Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill’s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.
In other Pacific Division notes:
- Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
- Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
- The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.
Justin Schultz Returns To Team, Likely To Play Monday
- Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz took part in Monday’s morning skate after missing Saturday’s game against the Flyers for personal reasons, Alison Lukan of Root Sports reports. As such, he’s expected to return tonight against the Devils, placing rookie Ryker Evans alongside Brian Dumoulin on the team’s bottom pairing. The 22-year-old Evans has been the far superior two-way player this season, but the Kraken’s 28th-ranked offense needs Schultz’s puck-moving ability and power-play expertise to help get the team on the scoresheet. Now in the second season of a two-year, $6MM deal, the 33-year-old Schultz has 16 points and a -11 rating in 42 contests this season while averaging 15:58 per game.
Kraken Receiving Interest In Jordan Eberle, Alexander Wennberg
The Kraken are receiving interest from multiple teams regarding winger Jordan Eberle and center Alexander Wennberg ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports.
Both players are again top-six fixtures for Seattle, who have yo-yoed their way in and out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference all season long. They’re pending UFAs with hefty cap hits of $5.5MM and $4.5MM, respectively, but the Kraken have all three salary retention spots open and could keep money on the books for the rest of the season to facilitate a deal if they do intend on selling at the deadline.
The Oilers have already been linked to Eberle in their pursuit of a complementary top-six winger, with Pagnotta reporting another one of his former teams, the Islanders, as well as the Maple Leafs, have demonstrated interest. The Bruins and Avalanche have called about Wennberg, who’s one of the few quality centers remaining on the deadline rental market.
Whether the Kraken will decide to sell off assets at the deadline is an entirely different question. A recent 3-6-1 stretch now has them six points out of playoff position, but there’s still a shot for Seattle to squeak in for their second consecutive playoff appearance. With a quickly aging group still comprised primarily of expansion draft selections, however, they’d likely do well to recoup value for some veterans and retool around Vince Dunn, Matthew Beniers, and Jared McCann.
Eberle would presumably fetch more value than Wennberg, and rightfully so. He’s having a down season in the goals department – just nine in 49 games, but his 28 points are fifth on the team, and he leads all Kraken players in even-strength Corsi share. He’s been their best two-way skater this season – not just forward – and with eight 20-goal seasons under his belt, he carries immense breakout potential if paired with the skill level of a contending team’s top six.
Thus, a reunion with Edmonton makes the most sense out of the three teams listed. There’s no better breakout potential for Eberle at right wing than alongside Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers’ second unit, and he could do wonders for Draisaitl-anchored lines that have struggled defensively without Connor McDavid.
Wennberg is more of a depth add than an impact pickup for a contender – he’s likely not suited for anything above a third-line role on a team with contending aspirations. He has leveraged major minutes since joining Seattle, logging 18:23 per game over the last three seasons.
Like Eberle, he’s struggled on the scoresheet with eight goals and 21 points in 51 games. Unlike Eberle, he’s shooting above his career average and has some of the worst possession metrics on the Kraken – only Brandon Tanev has a worse Corsi share at even strength among full-time members. His expected -3.6 rating is the worst on the team, and he’s won less than 50% of his faceoffs for the 10th time in 10 NHL seasons. As such, he’s likely a complement to the Bruins’ and Avs’ cast of middle-six centers that lack punch, not a significant upgrade. Even at a half-retained $2.25MM cap hit, his disappointing season might be too much to swallow and a third team may need to retain another 50% of his salary to facilitate a trade.