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How the injury to Jordan Eberle impacts the Seattle Kraken

Blaiz Grubic

Update Nov. 22: Since this article was written, Jordan Eberle has undergone successful pelvis surgery and is expected to miss at least three months. Sound Of Hockey‘s Darren Brown has the details on that here.

Kraken captain, Jordan Eberle, sustained an injury in the second period of Seattle’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 14. Despite his absence, the Kraken went on to secure a 3-1 victory that night and have won two of three since then. Still, losing Eberle for an extended period would be a significant blow to the leadership core.

Eberle was tangled up with Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and slammed violently into the end wall, landing back-first. The Kraken have classified it as a lower-body injury. While I’m not a medical professional, the impact looked severe, and coach Dan Bylsma has used the word “traumatic” when talking about the collision. Given the nature of the incident, injuries to Eberle’s shoulder, back, neck, head, or knee all seem plausible. It’s worth noting Eberle previously required surgery for a shoulder injury in 2015.

The right winger initially managed to skate off under his own power. However, footage from the tunnel showed a trainer assisting him on his right side while he braced himself on the glass with his left arm. This supports the classification of a lower-body injury. Furthermore, after the Kraken’s win over the New York Islanders on Nov. 16, Eberle was seen at Climate Pledge Arena using crutches.

Eberle was still producing before his injury

As of Nov. 21, Jordan Eberle has played 256 games for the Seattle Kraken, the most by any Kraken forward and second only to Adam Larsson, who has appeared in 264 games. Eberle started the season red-hot, scoring nine points in his first 10 games—his best start since his rookie season in 2013, when he tallied 10 points in the same span. However, the 33-year-old winger has cooled off in his last seven games, managing just two points. While not an excuse for the team’s play as a whole, Eberle’s dip in production coincided with a rough stretch for the Kraken, who won just one of eight games between Oct. 22 and Nov. 5.

Eberle has a reputation for playing through pain, exemplified during the 2023-24 season. On Oct. 17, 2023, he dropped the gloves with Logan O’Connor of the Colorado Avalanche. During the fight, Eberle broke his hand—reportedly his right hand. For a right-handed player, this injury is particularly significant, as the lower hand on the hockey stick generates power for shots. Despite this, per Kraken GM Ron Francis, “He continued to play for the next six weeks with a broken hand.” For Eberle to sit out for an extended time indicates he is experiencing a significant injury.

Long-term injured reserve?

Jordan Eberle has not been placed on injured reserve (IR) or long-term injured reserve (LTIR), as of Nov. 21. With Vince Dunn currently on LTIR, there is no immediate cap pressure requiring a move. Once Dunn is activated, though, the Kraken could retroactively place Eberle on LTIR, starting the 10-game and 24-day timer for when he would be eligible to return. While there’s no indication Eberle is headed for LTIR, if he were to land there, the earliest he could return would be Dec. 10 against the Florida Panthers, since the first game he missed was Nov. 16 against the Islanders.

Head coach Dan Bylsma has maintained throughout the week that Eberle and the team are still waiting on results from various tests that will give an idea of timeline.

Kraken GM Ron Francis also offered a brief update during an interview on 93.3 KJR, saying, “We saw a doc on Monday, we’re getting a couple of other opinions, and we should probably have more in the next 24 hours — a better, clearer picture as to what we’re dealing with and what that timeline will look like.”

Potential roster moves

While having Eberle in the lineup is certainly preferred, an LTIR designation could temporarily ease the Kraken’s cap constraints, which will tighten once Vince Dunn returns. Francis highlighted the challenge in a recent interview: “With Dunn in the lineup and 21 players, we were $4,288 below the cap, so … not a lot of wiggle room there. When we’re in (long-term injured reserve), we’ve got a little bit more room to spend, but when Dunn’s coming back, if [everyone] is healthy, then we’re going to have to do something to get underneath the cap. Whether that’s a waiver, sending somebody down, assigning somebody to the minors, or making a trade, those are all options we have to explore.”

Daniel Sprong was re-acquired by the Kraken in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 8. (Photo/Brian Liesse)

If Eberle’s injury does not warrant LTIR, the Kraken will be over the cap by $1.74 million, according to PuckPedia, when Dunn returns. To become cap compliant, they will need to move this amount off the books. Due to the “Wade Redden” rule, which allows a maximum of $1.15m per player to be buried in the AHL, two players will likely need to be moved. Here are some options the Kraken have.

Waiver-exempt options

Francis mentioned sending someone down to the AHL as an option, but neither of the two waiver-exempt players—Ryker Evans and Shane Wright—have high enough salaries to resolve the cap issue. Additionally, Ben Meyers, who cleared waivers earlier this season, won’t require waivers again until he has played 10 NHL games or spent 30 days on the roster. Sending Meyers down seems like the most likely option, but with the Eberle injury, the Kraken will be in a pinch for forwards.

Waiver options

The Kraken need to clear $1.74 million total, so two players will likely need to be moved. Daniel Sprong is a candidate for waivers, as the Kraken acquired him for free, and his cap hit fits the requirement. But they also got him to help the team score goals, and he is currently playing in a top-six role, so would they really waive him?

On defense, Josh Mahura is the most likely candidate. He has performed solidly in Dunn’s absence, but it could make sense to swap in Dunn for Mahura, as Mahura would be the healthy scratch in that case. Meyers is the safer option to put on waivers compared to Mahura, but while Eberle is out, the Kraken will need a forward to play. If Mahura is waived for reassignment to Coachella Valley, waiving Sprong would bring the Kraken under the cap.

Tye Kartye is another possibility to return to the AHL, but he too would require waivers. Being a young, reliable player with upside makes it likely he would be claimed. To reach the $1.74 million mark, the Kraken would need to waive another player with a cap hit of at least $880K in addition to Kartye, making this path unlikely.

Probable paths forward

If no trade occurs, and Eberle is not placed on LTIR before Dunn’s return, these two moves would get the Kraken under the cap:

  1. Waive Josh Mahura to the AHL
  2. Waive Daniel Sprong to the AHL

But again, there are a lot of factors to consider and moving parts here, so it will be interesting to see how the Kraken navigate over the next couple weeks.

If Eberle is placed on LTIR, then the team will be fine with the salary cap until he returns.

Forward lines

With the acquisition of Daniel Sprong, the Kraken are in a better position to absorb Eberle’s loss from a production standpoint. However, from a leadership perspective, his absence would be felt. In the past two games, Andre Burakovsky has stepped into the first-line role and looked solid, including earning the primary assist on McCann’s tying goal against the Islanders. Oliver Bjorkstrand is another option with the ability to perform on the first line.

Meanwhile, Sprong has shown that he can play in a top-six role, as he did Wednesday against Nashville.

As opposed to defensive prospects, there are more forward prospects in Coachella Valley who could step in to fill the hole in the bottom six, with Ryan Winterton leading that charge. Both Jagger Firkus and Eduard Sale have nine points this season and could push for a spot as well, but Winterton is the more likely candidate. All of these prospects make more than league minimum, though, and would require someone to be on LTIR or another rostered Kraken player to be sent down.

Hoping for the best

Injuries are an unfortunate part of hockey, and we all hope Eberle is back sooner rather than later. The Kraken will do their best to roster the best team possible if he is out long-term, and in that sense, the Sprong trade came at a very opportune time.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Blaiz Grubic

Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.

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