The Seattle Kraken are fading away in the Western Conference playoff race, and currently sit a full 11 points back of the final wildcard berth with 25 games left.
As the campaign continues to go off the rails in the Emerald City, the Kraken could completely shake up the roster before the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported earlier this week.
That shakeup could involve a plethora of forwards getting a change of scenery, including Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde, Jaden Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky.
“There’s a lot of noise around the Kraken right now and that isn’t often the case because they like to keep a big lid on things. But there are so many players that they’re listening on right now that more word is starting to really come out,” Pagnotta said on Tuesday’s episode of ‘The Latest’ on TFP.
“[That includes] Bjorkstrand, Brandon Tanev, who’s a pending unrestricted free agent. There is a high expectation that (Tanev) will be traded between now and the March 7th trade deadline. He’s got a $3.5 million cap hit. Another player that’s also out there, Jared McCann. McCann’s got two more years left on his contract. He’s got a 10-team, no trade list, but there is a lot of noise surrounding him and almost at the same level of Tanev that there is an expectation that he could be moved by the deadline.”
On the back end, general manager Ron Francis has also reportedly been taking calls on defenseman Josh Mahura. All of Gourde, Tanev and Mahura are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
Are Kraken willing to trade their best player?
The most surprising move would be McCann, who leads the team with 42 points on the 2024-25 campaign. He’s been a staple in Seattle over the last few seasons, and the organization moving on from him would likely signal a change in direction for the franchise.
“There is a very good chance, based on chatter around the league and talking to people around the league, that McCann could be on the move,” Pagnotta continued. “Both him and Tanev may be the likeliest suspects to go. (Gourde’s) out there. They’ve got a lot of other assets that they’re willing to listen on. Seattle could be a very busy club between now and March 7th.”
As well, Schwartz and Bjorkstrand have both been effective players for the Kraken. The former owns a 16-team no-trade list and is third on the team with 36 points, while the latter has a 10-team no-trade list and has managed 35 points.
With the playoff aspirations all but gone for the 2024-25 iteration of this club, it makes sense that Francis would look to flip a couple of players for draft capital as he looks toward the future.
It’ll be interesting to see how many of these players are actually moved before March 7, and how the rest of the season fares for a consistently mediocre Kraken club.
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