When the Seattle Kraken traded Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and depth forward Mikey Eyssimont, our immediate reaction to Eyssimont’s inclusion in the deal was that he was some sort of throw-in from the Lightning. We figured it was akin to Daniel Sprong coming back from the Washington Capitals when Seattle traded Marcus Johansson at the 2021-22 trade deadline, when general manager Ron Francis called Sprong a player that Washington wanted the Kraken to take.
After all, Eyssimont arrived in Seattle on an expiring contract, had been in and out of the lineup in Tampa Bay, and was claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks as recently as January, 2023, before being traded to the Lightning at the 2022-23 deadline and then subsequently signing a two-year deal, which the Kraken inherited.
But Francis’ tone when speaking about Eyssimont’s acquisition was different from when he discussed Sprong’s arrival. Rather than Eyssimont being a player Tampa Bay wanted Seattle to take, Francis made it sound like the Kraken were going to give Eyssimont a good look to determine if there could be a future for him in the Pacific Northwest.
Embracing his role with the Kraken
In watching him since the deadline, we at Sound Of Hockey are sold that Eyssimont should be back next season, and he seems to want to be here as well.
“I’ve been loving it here,” Eyssimont said. “I love the boys, love the arena, the amenities, the organization itself. I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed my time in the city of Seattle; I mean, I truly do love it here.”
According to Eyssimont, several players—like Matty Beniers, Joey Daccord, Tye Kartye, John Hayden, Josh Mahura, and Cale Fleury—have gone out of their way to make him feel welcome in the organization since his arrival.
“It’s been nice to just— the boys have kind of showed me around a bit, gone out to dinner quite a few times here, which has been nice. It’s not something that I think the guys normally do very much, but in the interest of kind of bringing me into the fold, guys have gone out of their way to show me the city and take me out. It’s been a great time.”
A perfect fourth-line fit
What we’ve liked about Eyssimont’s game is the way he embraces the fourth-line role he has been given. In a way, he is a perfect—and much cheaper—replacement for Brandon Tanev, who was also moved at the deadline.
Eyssimont, making $2.7 million less than Tanev, brings many of the same elements as Tanev, from his speed to his grit, minus the penalty killing that was such a hallmark of Tanev’s game in Seattle. But one could argue he plays that fourth-line role even better than Tanev did, simply because he understands that it’s his role, and he just wants to be his very best within that role. He’s not trying to do anything more than be the best fourth-line player he can be.
Earning praise from Dan Bylsma
While he’s been an every-night player for Seattle since his arrival, Eyssimont, 28, is not playing huge minutes, averaging just 10:11 per night. But he’s doing everything he can to leave a lasting impact every time he hits the ice.
“I guess when you’re not playing much, you probably smell blood a little bit more and want to push a little bit harder,” Eyssimont said. “I know that when I’m playing my best, I’m a little bit more poised and confident, so I mean, as far as my role here, I’m not playing special teams, but you just try to do your best and do what you can to help the team win with the minutes you get.”
You can tell that Dan Bylsma loves Eyssimont’s game, too. In Seattle’s 6-1 drubbing of the “Edmonton Oilers” (said in quotes because they were without Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Stuart Skinner, Mattias Ekholm, and others) on March 27, in which the Kraken piled on five goals in the second period, Bylsma pointed to Eyssimont’s hard-nosed forechecking as the catalyst that got the team rolling. Eyssimont was awarded the player-of-the-game championship belt that night.
More recently, Bylsma gushed more about Eyssimont’s approach to playing as a fourth-liner.
“I think that’s the role, and what he does makes him an effective player. The speed, the physicality, the tenacity, a little bit of snarl in there is always making him an effective player,” Bylsma said. “That’s a hard thing to do, I think, when you come to a new team… With what Mikey brings, and what he does with how he plays, with speed, with tenacity, we’re starting to see [effectiveness] every night with him.”
Growth and future potential
The Littleton, Colo., native also got the scoring started last Wednesday in Vancouver on a quintessential Eyssimont hustle play, stealing the puck on a backtrack, then racing in and slipping it through Thatcher Demko’s five-hole.
Michael Eyssimont takes the puck away and opens the scoring 🐙 pic.twitter.com/oIZdPpSNl6
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 3, 2025
Having comfort in that position—playing limited minutes but flying around, throwing hits, and creating energy for his teammates when he does play—is not by accident. As many young players have had to learn when moving from a developmental league or (in Mikey’s case) college hockey to the pro ranks, continuing to play the same way you always have simply doesn’t work.
“I learned early on in my career in the AHL with Mike Stothers [with the Ontario Reign] that the way I played in college wasn’t going to cut it in pros and wasn’t going to get me to the NHL,” Eyssimont recalled. “So there was a lot of developing and additions I had to add to my game to get to this level.
“And as hard as it was on me during those seasons in the AHL with Stothers, it developed me into the player I am today and ultimately an NHL player, so it was all worth it.”
And even now that Eyssimont has finally stuck in the NHL for the last two full seasons and seems to have solidified himself in the Kraken lineup for the rest of 2024-25, he’s not resting on his laurels. He brings a refreshing attitude to his game, aiming to improve every day, even as he gets deeper into his career.
“There’s been points in my time here in Seattle, there have been moments where I feel like I’ve been playing the best hockey I’ve ever played in the NHL,” Eyssimont said. “And that’s something I try to find every season, is a point in the season where I’m playing the best hockey I’ve ever played in my life.
“To me, that means that you’re elevating your game and you’re continuing to develop. So I’m really pleased to have found that kind of gear and that confidence, because it shows that I’m still developing as a player and have more room to grow.”
Will Eyssimont return next season?
Eyssimont said nothing has been discussed with the Kraken yet about a potential extension, and who knows what other teams will throw at him if nothing materializes before the opening of free agency on July 1? But assuming Eyssimont is willing to take a reasonable cap hit for next season, we have to think there will be mutual interest in an extension, even if it’s for a 13th-forward spot.
What say you, folks? Would you pencil Eyssimont into the Kraken lineup for next season?
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
At 28, I do not consider him a young player but he is a good replacement for for a 4th lliner. The only drawback is that he isn’t special team fluent and when you have to use Eberle and McCan on penalty kills, it takes away energy, especially during back to back games, as shown last night. He does play well with Kartyre, but he needs to work on penalty kills or this team will be in the same position as this year.
Do to the Olympics, there will be more back to back games next year. You cannot rely on your older players to play over 20 minutes every single game and goalies playing in back to backs everytime. However, every loss has us closer to a higher draft pick.
The numbers say Kartye has played well on the PK, regardless of what the coaching staff seems to think. As long as you don’t have to spend half the game on the PK (cough – last night – cough), you really only need 4 forwards across the 2 units, and 2 need to be centers.
What we really need more is at least one more center for the PK. I’m not sold on either Beniers or Stephenson.
Speaking of last night’s dumpster fire of a game, I kind of wish I had been there in person to see what was going on between players that the cameras didn’t catch. Olyczyk called out fairly early in the game that something was brewing and no one on either team or the officiating staff seemed at all surprised about the fight at the end, but it seemed like most of what led up to it was off-camera.
Also have to wonder about this flu bug and who it’s hit…we know Evans and it seems like Grubauer and possibly Hayden(?). Going both by who seems to hang out together off-ice and some of the performances last night, I think there were a several more guys that could have been scratched. Playing time was fairly well-distributed last night through the entire lineup. How that relates to the entire flu vs dumpster fire of a game is difficult for me to ascertain potential cause/effect/coincidence . Given the whole situation and the distance, maybe just bus the entire Firebirds squad over to Vegas for as emergency call ups for tomorrow’s game(?).
Finally, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop calling up Winterton until he learns to play some fucking defense!!!!! Having him out there is worse than the dummies they slide back and forth across the ice during goalie practice.
Coach Campbell left the game after 1st period. I’m guessing due to same illness. Although, in the post interview Dunn said that it didn’t have any impact on the team. Not sure if that was just his mood. He was definitely not happy with the game and his teammates. IMO they all seemed a little off.
I would not want to take McCann off the PK. He is too good at it. Remember Season 2 when the PK pre-McCann was comfortably among the very worst in the league and then overnight became one of the best when he was added to the squad? Not only is he solid on the forecheck, but he is dangerous enough along the blue line (remember those short-handed breakaways?) that power play defensemen have to be very careful to stay above him. It keeps them honest. And, hey, the ice time concern is not so bad when he is playing on the Wright line. Him being on Stephenson’s wing complicates things, but hopefully next season Li’l Jani is going to be ready to rejoin Beniers which will allow Schwartz to slide back up to Stephenson’s line.
As for the issue with back-to-backs, the whole line-up was playing like they had lead in their skates in Utah, and it has been consistent through all of the back-to-backs this year. It would be different if some guys looked fresher than others, but every man on the roster looks gassed in these games. I don’t get it. I really don’t. Back-to-backs are unfair, but the results should not be this consistent over twelve different games. I hope that someone asks Bylsma about that at the end of the season.
McCann was on the ice for 5 goals against last night, including 3 when he was on the PK. Overall, he was on-ice for 6/8 goals, including his own on the PP. Definitely a glaring example of where the traditional box score and +/- doesn’t tell the whole story.
I’ve got mixed feelings having him on the PP, since that takes minutes from his offensive playing time. I think there are other players out there (maybe on the current roster, maybe elsewhere) who can be just as effective on the PK that would allow the team to keep McCann more involved in offensive opportunities.
Oops, meant mixed feelings about him on the PK. Keep him on the PP!
Gosh, I’d think they are excited to offer him a contract! He joins that special group we have that bring the same hard consistency every game (Montour, Kakko) and they’re physical. It’s interesting that these players are all new to the team.
I don’t want to hurt any feelings, but I think he’s actually better than Turbo. More effective anyway.
I’m with you, Darren.
How do we (or the coaches) know Eyssimont can’t handle PK duties?
Very good question, almost as good as a question as … why haven’t we tried him at center, it is a position he plays? Oh wait we have a nobody playing 4th line center it’s taken.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that McCann’s scoring breakout during the 3-game streak included games where he was able to move back to wing. If Hayden was sick last night, why didn’t Eyssimont slide to center so McCann could stay at wing with Wright at center?
Are the forward lineups at this point Beniers at first-line center, then put all the other ping pong balls into the lotto hopper and draw at random until the lineup card is full? If they don’t watch out, we’re going to pull a Nashville and start the wrong 3 guys because no one can remember where they are supposed to be playing.
I think keepin McCann on PP is good but not on PK, especially on the second game of which the Kraken have not won one all season.
And did anyone else find Nyman’s very quiet send-down very odd? Was there some rule that kept him from being the emergency callup over Winterton?
I belive they didn’t want to burn the first year of his ELC so they can’t bring him up for more games.
I don’t think he was “slide” eligible and I also think he exceeded the limit anyway.
He played 12 games, so even if he was slide eligible (and I don’t think he was because he came from a pro league vs juniors), he exceed the 10-game threshold.
There are some post trade-deadline eligibility rules for both the AHL and NHL, however, and I’m not sure if any of those may have applied. Either from the perspective of how many call-ups the Kraken are allowed on emergency vs non-emergency, or eligibility for the AHL payoffs. Firebirds did seem to suffer while he was up in Seattle…
Nyman is not slide eligible because he is 20. 18- and 19-year-old players playing in non-NHL pro leagues can still have their contracts slide (see Shane Wright last year, Eduard Sale this year).
There are limits for the number of post-deadline non-emergency call-ups, but that wouldn’t explain why Nyman would be sent down (he already took one of those slots). He was also on the AHL roster at the trade deadline, so he will be eligible for the playoffs.