This is going to be a wild week in the hockey world, kicking off Monday with a rare Stanley Cup Final Game 7. This will only be the second Game 7 in a Final in the last 10 years. There are numerous storylines: Connor McDavid could cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats by potentially bringing the Cup back to Edmonton and to Canada, while the Florida Panthers are aiming for their first championship in franchise history. It’s going to be a remarkable story, regardless of the outcome.
In addition to the Stanley Cup Final, there will be at least one more Calder Cup game, the NHL Awards show, the NHL Entry Draft, and if all that wasn’t enough, free agency will begin next Monday, July 1. Here are some thoughts on the coming week.
Will there be any more trades?
There’s a lot of buzz right now about trades leading up to the NHL Draft, but we hear this every year. So it’s hard to tell if this is just hype or if this year will be different. There was a flurry of trades last week, highlighted by the Kings and Capitals making a one-for-one swap of Pierre-Luc Dubois for Darcy Kuemper and the Flames sending Jacob Markstrom to the Devils for Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick. Is that the end of the pre-draft fireworks, or are there more coming?
Every time names get floated as potential trade candidates, I get about 10 text messages either asking for my opinion or individuals sharing their opinions with me on whether the Seattle Kraken should make a play for them. The hottest names in the trade rumor mill are Trevor Zegras, Martin Necas, and Patrik Laine.
All three come with some inherent risk. Necas, a pending restricted free agent, would be the best fit in Seattle, but what would it cost to get him, and how will his next contract look? Evolving-Hockey estimates Necas’ contract at close to $9 million per year. The Kraken have cap space, but such a contract would consume a lot of it, leaving several holes to fill in the forward group with few dollars available.
I might be in the minority here, but I think Trevor Zegras would be a great addition for the Kraken. He has immense skill and had a rough season due to ankle surgery followed by a groin injury. Zegras’ cap hit is more manageable at $5.75 million per year, and the Kraken could potentially acquire him at a lower cost. The question is whether the 2023-24 season was just a blip or if that’s the player Zegras will be.
I don’t think Laine makes sense for the Kraken to pursue unless Columbus retains salary and/or sweetens the pot to make the risk associated with his $8.7 million cap hit worthwhile. The Kraken need goals, which Laine can provide, but that’s all he can do, and this team might not be able to afford his deficiencies in other areas. Despite the rumors, I don’t see this as a fit.
If I were the Kraken, I’d look at Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers and Tampa Bay’s Tanner Jeannot. Both players have been mentioned as potential trade candidates but aren’t getting a lot of headlines right now. They are very different players, but both could fill a need the Kraken had last season. Ehlers can reliably score 20 or more goals in a season, and Jeannot has the physical edge that seemed to be missing from Seattle’s lineup last season.
The Kraken have been among the top teams in terms of quantity of draft picks over the last few years. With one first-round pick, two second-round picks, and two third-round picks this draft, the team doesn’t need all those picks. Given their quantity of picks and solid prospect pool, the organization is well-positioned to package some of those chips together for talent that can help next season.
Draft thoughts
Assuming no trades, the Seattle Kraken will be drafting in the eighth position on Friday night when the NHL Draft kicks off. The top 10 of the draft class is loaded with defensemen, and the Kraken’s prospect pool lacks high-end blueliners. It’s not guaranteed, but I anticipate the Kraken drafting a defenseman with their first selection at eighth overall. I’ve been fascinated by Zeev Buium and Zayne Parekh, but that’s based on reading a dozen articles and getting caught in a YouTube vortex. No matter how much research we do, the Kraken scouting staff will have logged thousands more hours in preparation for this draft. They know what they are doing. Regardless of who they pick, they should get a great player at eighth overall.
Here is a look at the Kraken’s draft history:
Expect a ton of draft content coming to Sound Of Hockey this week, including a live blog for day two of the draft.
Other musings
- It sure would be nice to know what Matty Beniers’ and Eeli Tolvanen’s contracts will look like next season before free agency begins to see how much budget the Kraken have to play with on July 1. Hopefully, they are close and have a good idea where they might land.
- A couple of people have asked if the Kraken might be interested in Winnipeg’s prospect, Rutger McGroarty. Of course, they would be interested, but I just don’t think he is what the Kraken need right now. Based on all post-season availabilities from the Kraken front office, they are trying to get better now, not seasons from now. McGroarty would be a great prospect, but he doesn’t fit that agenda.
- Another circulating rumor is the possible trade of Brandon Tanev to Ottawa. This would make a lot of sense from the Seattle Kraken’s side. If they are looking to get better, they need to clear additional cap space and roster spots to repurpose those slots with more scoring. Fans love Brandon Tanev, but this is the truth.
- The 2023-24 NHL season will go down as having the most games ever played in a single season, with 1511 total games. Last season had 1508. This record will be instantly broken the next time the NHL expands.
- I really hope Chris Driedger gets a shot in the NHL next season. He has been solid all year for the Coachella Valley Firebirds and was narrowly beaten out by Joey Daccord at the beginning of the 2023-24 season as the second goalie in Seattle. He deserves another shot.
- Ryan Winterton is having a great Calder Cup Final. He has five goals in the first six games of the series and has been generating a lot of shots. I wonder where the Kraken brass will have him penciled in next season. Based on his late-season call-up games, I thought he needed another year of development in Coachella Valley, but now I’m not so sure.
- Watching Coachella Valley through the playoffs, I realize that the Seattle Kraken don’t have a bona fide third goalie they can count on in a pinch if either Grubauer or Daccord gets hurt for an extended amount of time next year. Only Niklas Kokko and Victor Ostman are under contract for next season, and I am not sure they would be ready to step in to a prolonged stint in the NHL. They have used three goalies in each of the last three seasons, so this leaves me to expect the Kraken to sign a goalie who can move between the AHL and NHL next season.
- Although not Kraken-related, I am interested to see where Ivan Demidov gets selected. He is said to have elite skill but hasn’t been battle tested, since he spent the season in the MHL, which is a large gap to the NHL. I think Demidov will end up being one of the big stories of the first round.
- I expect the 2024-25 schedule to be released this week. Word around the campfire is that for the first time in franchise history, the Seattle Kraken will open at home. If I am a betting man, I would put money on Oct. 8.
- It is extremely unlikely that the Kraken would be able to take him in the second round, but I’ve been obsessed with Michael Brandsegg-Nygård ever since someone sent me this video.
Goals of the week
The Calder Cup Finals have given us some great goals including this one from Shane Wright, but the setup from Cale Fleury at center ice was incredible.
We also saw this amazing Ryker Evans goal from his knees.
This is going to be a wild week of activity, and I anticipate the Kraken making moves to bolster the team for next season. We already have a ton of content planned and will keep you abreast of any breaking news. If you have any thoughts or questions, let us know in the comments section below.
Enjoy Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals, and then buckle up for what will surely be a busy week for the Seattle Kraken.