The Seattle Kraken have made a notable addition to their forward group, acquiring winger Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2025 and a third-round pick in 2026.
The fourth-round pick involved in the deal originally belonged to Dallas, but Seattle obtained it last season in the trade that sent Alexander Wennberg to the New York Rangers at the Trade Deadline. Now, that pick returns to the Stars as part of this transaction.
At first glance, this is a strong move for Seattle. Marchment adds a combination of size, scoring touch, and grit that the Kraken have been lacking in their middle six. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 212 pounds, the 30-year-old winger (he turned 30 on Wednesday) plays a heavy, physical game, but he also brings more than just muscle.
Marchment is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, matching a personal high with 22 goals and finishing with 47 points in 62 games during the 2024-25 campaign. That point total would have ranked him fourth on the Kraken last season, behind only Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, and Jaden Schwartz. Perhaps more impressively, Marchment put up those numbers while averaging just 15:20 of ice time per game—more than two minutes fewer than Seattle’s top forwards, and missing significant time due to injury.
He also contributed on the power play, chipping in 10 points (five goals, five assists) with the man advantage. His presence in front of the net and willingness to win puck battles along the boards should complement Seattle’s current power-play setup.
Where Marchment fits into the Kraken lineup remains to be seen, but he offers versatility. He has shown the ability to move up and down the lineup, depending on need. He spent much of his time down the stretch in Dallas on a line with Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene.
Marchment has one season remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $4.5 million, which is manageable for Seattle, especially if he can continue to produce at or near his current level. The Kraken entered the offseason with ample cap space and a clear goal of adding more scoring punch and physical presence to their forward group. This move checks both boxes.
It’s not yet clear whether this trade signals further moves on the horizon for general manager Jason Botterill, but it’s the kind of targeted addition that should help the Kraken be more competitive next season. Seattle fans can expect to get their first look at Marchment in a Kraken jersey this fall when training camp opens.
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.
One year left with a 10 team no trade = available at the trade deadline.
Long way to go in the offseason before fully evaluating this, but as of now it feels like more of the same from this front office. Trades that make sense based on cost but really don’t do anything to improve their team. We’ll see where it goes form here
Yeah for a 3rd and a 4th I’ll take this any day of the week, especially when he’ll likely go for at least a 2nd at the deadline.
Yep hard to argue with the likely profit they’ll get at the deadline but is that what the front office thinks this move is?
It’s crazy to me people are down on this. This is a smart GM trade period. It replaces Bjorkstrand who we got a 1st for. So we effectively traded a 3rd and a 4th for a 1st and $900k in cap space and solved a problem we’re always had… being physical in front of the net. If you don’t think this improves our roster, you need to check yourself.
I’m not sure it does improve the roster from where they were last year considering their entire forward group was made up of middle six guys
Feels more like a move that wasn’tade enough rather than more of the same. He’s a good player that contribute here and improve the roster even if he doesn’t move the needle a ton on his own. If the Kraken make some more moves and are in the playoff hunt, he’s a player you want on your roster in the post season. If he doesn’t, he’s a player you can move for more than you paid at the deadline.
Either way it’s an improvement for the team, the only other equivalent really is the Bjorkstrand trade, which was a net positive for the Kraken. Good move by JB, leveraging cap space for upside at low cost from cap strained teams was something RF didn’t do enough imo.
Agree with lots of others here… The criticism that these kinds of trades don’t move the needle are strange:
1. They traded almost nothing for Marchment (a 3rd next year, a fourth this year… none of their top picks or prospects and Kraken still have tons of picks left).
2. Marchment adds a different element than they’ve had the last few years.
3. Doesn’t tie the team’s hands from a cap perspective.
4. There are clearly more moves to be made because all you have to do is make a list of the team’s wingers and you can see that at least one or two are going to need to go (maybe Burky and potentially one more… could see Tolvy moved, too), especially if the Kraken envision one or two rookies on the roster next season.
The Kraken don’t have high-end offensive talent, everyone knows that, but they aren’t going to get that via trades or FA signings (especially this year). This isn’t the NBA where you just dump all your players for high draft picks and tank your way to a contender.
There is very little downside to this move unless you are a “burn it all down for picks” person.
Agree with M2K, Chas and Boist above. A needed physical presence. If the Kraken are playoff contenders and/or Marchment plays well, try to extend him. If not move him at trade deadline. In isolation doesn’t seem like a dramatic move, but in the context of a (hopefully) bigger plan this summer (i.e. acquiring a legit goal scorer) it may make even more sense.
Trading for Mason Marchment isn’t the splashiest move, but I think it is a solid one for the Kraken. Marchment’s finishing ability, strong net-front presence, and overall style of play fit what Seattle needs, and he provides a unique wrinkle to the Kraken middle six that they don’t really have at the moment. Besides, Marchment’s presence doesn’t preclude a bigger splash down the line, and if need be Seattle could flip him at the trade deadline and likely receive more than the third and fourth round picks they gave up to get him.
Excellent trade with zero downside. Marchment brings a lot to this team, and it’s all stuff we need. Size. Grit. Plays hard every night. Earned his way coming up through the AHL, so a great example there. Bonus points for being a legit offensive threat. Exciting news!
Long time a Stars fan. You should know that the fans wanted Marchment out of Dallas, because he takes many dumb penalties.
Knowing that, plus the fact that the Stars were down to less than $1 million in cap space with five rosters spots open, I would have to grade this as a minus for GMJB. Here is two-time GM of the year Jim Nill, suffocating from lack of cap space, and he dumps someone he wanted to rid himself of anyway, give himself lots more cap space to fill his roster with and gets two draft picks to boot. Really, JB should have done better.
What would impress me about JB is if he could swing a trade that involved a much better Dallas winger, Jason Robertson. Now that would be impressive. If he does nothing like that, then former GMRF is still casting too long of a shadow of managerial conservatism.
It is JB’s next move that should tell the tale. Does he buy out Grubauer? In what universe can the answer be ‘No’?
This take is completely at odds with what Friedman reported today. The overall take seems to be Seattle got a total bargin and Nill actually had better offers but did March a favor sending him to another tax-free state.
The simplistic complaining about the Kraken front office is so tiresome.
By the way… Seravalli – who I don’t have a ton of reverence for but some folks on here do – he said, “This Is a win for the Kraken and a lose, lose for the Stars”. Yes, he said lose twice.
Reportedly there were a lot of teams interested in Marchment. When demand goes up and supply stays the same (by virtue of there only being one Mason Marchment), the price will increase accordingly. Dallas was going to get a positive return for Marchment. If it wasn’t from Seattle, it would have been from somebody else. I’m fine with the price Seattle paid; it’s lower than what Marchment would have fetched had the Stars not been in such a significant cap crunch, and the Kraken if they choose to could probably get more for him in a deadline deal than what they gave up. Adding Marchment also doesn’t prevent Seattle from making more significant additions this offseason, like, say, trading for a star scorer like Robertson.
On 32 Thoughts today Friedman discussed this trade. Specially, he addressed all the “outrage” from folks who couldn’t believe their teams weren’t in on this deal at that price. His take – as an “insider” – is that Jim Nill had better offers, but he made this deal in deference to the player and the fact that Seattle is also a no-tax team. If you’re skeptical, it’s worth a listen.
Also, the fourth from this year’s draft is from the Wennberg to NYR trade – it’s actually Dallas’s own pick. This is basically a third from next years draft and a throw in from a trade for a guy that got shipped at the deadline.
Now this is interesting. I don’t care what Elliot Friedman or Frank Seravalli say. I want to know what the people who regularly watched him play saw. He takes penalties, does he? That usually means that a player spends a lot of time mixing it up. Would you say that Marchment is the sort of fellow to place beside a young center and watch his back as he works on his game? One of those guys with a finishing touch would likely look good alongside Shane Wright or, if he makes the roster, Berkley Catton. It would be nice to see someone other that little Branden Montour looking out for the young guys.
My big issue with the acquisition is Marchment’s position. At this point a left wing has to be moved out, and Botteril has a choice between Jaden Schwartz who was the best player on the team last year, Eeli Tolvannen who similarly plays physical and scored just as many goals as Marchment, Jared McCann who is the team’s perennial leader in scoring and profoundly versatile while playing on a ridiculous bargain of a contract, and Tye Kartye who plays on the fourth line and is not averse to kicking some ass himself. Maybe Marchment is a one-for-one upgrade to Tolvannen in most respects, but Tolvannen has chemistry with Chandler Stephenson and does not commit many fouls while offering similar production. Tolvannen definitely was not one of the guys who was struggling last season, and he is not high on my list of guys who need replacing. Replacing him also creates a problem: who plays on Stephenson’s left now? Surely Botterill does not plan to have Marchment be 200lb. Stephenson’s protector, although I suppose even-bigger Shane Wright does not need that either. Could Botterill be eyeing the Beniers line? Schwartz was really good there, but, boy, does that make sense now that I think about it. Matty could certainly use a big, tough left wing who can score and who can do the dirty work along the boards. Wouldn’t that be something from Marchment’s perspective–he gets run out of Dallas’ middle six and lands on Seattle’s top line? Talk about falling up!
They’re heavy on the left, and it’s not like they don’t know that, so it seems like they’re setting themselves up for a trade. If it’s Peterka for instance then it would seem like Tolvanen with his expiring contract and no trade protection would be the obvious choice.
Even if they keep Grubauer and resign Kakko, Kartye and Evans they’re still going to be sitting on about $10m in cap space. It sure feels like there’s something in the works.
This seems more opportunistic than strategic. Taken in isolation, it’s not necessarily a bad deal, but I was already scratching my head around the quick re-signing of Hayden, Meyers and Mahura and now I’m really questioning if there’s any strategy at all.
None of these deals are breaking the bank, but none of them are going to move the needle either and it’s questionable where they actually fit onto the roster. How many middle/bottom 6 forwards and third-pair defenders do they think they need?
You have to assume that there are deals already in the works to trade off some of the existing roster/buy someone out/or let RFA(s) hit the market come July 1.
If you’re scratching your head at depth guys playing in Coachella or riding the bench, then maybe the problem isn’t the GM, but you’re head.
After 4 years of this, I think it’s safe to say there is no strategy outside of trying to acquire players at a perceived value regardless of if they fit the coach and roster. Lambert wants a fast, defensive oriented team and that’s not Marchment.
do I think this is a good pick up, absolutely. Do I understand how this fits in with Botterills team “Identity” no clue. With the GM saying speed is what he wants. I don’t understand what someone with zero 22+ mph bursts last season and below the 50th percentile in the rest of the skating speed stats brings to his vision.
I watched some clips of Marchment once the news broke about this trade. Despite his lack of skating speed, he’s really good at trailing plays on the rush and pouncing on secondary chances, and in the offensive zone serves as an impactful net front presence and finisher. So even though he’s not a fast skater himself, I think Marchment is actually a pretty ideal complement to Seattle’s speedy skaters and playmakers.
It also doesn’t fit with the coach wanting disciplined, defensive players
Bye bye Burakovsky
Nope. Burakovsky has been playing on the right side not the left side which is where Marchment will play. If the team has one positional need, it’s right wing. That is unless Jagger Firkus has a sudden growth spurt.
LOL serves me right for posting this early in the day.
All good, we’ve all been there at some point.
JJ Peterka plays right wing…
So does Lil’ Jani
I already have h8m penciled in.