Newly promoted Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill has stated on several occasions that he intends to be active this summer as he attempts to reshape the team’s roster into a playoff contender. While his promotion into the GM chair and Ron Francis’s simultaneous move to a president of hockey ops position may have felt like a half measure at the time, there is a distinct advantage for an executive moving up within an organization in which he has been immersed since Day 1.
“It’s exciting for sure,” Botterill said in his interview with the Sound Of Hockey Podcast last week. “It’s great to be back in the GM chair; certainly it’s what I aspired to do again. But it’s such a different experience, this time, knowing the entire organization.
“When you go to a new organization like I did from Pittsburgh to Buffalo [in 2017], you certainly have ideas of what goes on, ideas of the staff, ideas of the players. But it literally takes you a couple of years to figure it all out and figure out the nuances and the chemistry that goes on. That’s my big advantage here is just being a part of this since Day 1, being a part of all the discussions with Ron on different things.”
In short, Botterill came into the new role expecting to hit the ground running.
Indeed, he made two notable trades in a span of 72 hours last week, first taking advantage of the impending cap crunch in Dallas and snagging sizable, gritty winger Mason Marchment for a bargain return of a third-round draft pick in 2026 and a fourth-rounder in this weekend’s draft. (That fourth-rounder originally belonged to Dallas and was acquired by former GM Francis in the Alex Wennberg trade to the Rangers in March 2024.) The Marchment deal was—as they say—a nice bit of business.
Botterill followed that up by finding a creative solution to the Andre Burakovsky conundrum, trading the underperforming winger to the Chicago Blackhawks for depth center Joe Veleno.
If these trades were to happen in a vacuum and be Seattle’s only moves of the offseason, then they wouldn’t be enough to move the needle and get the Kraken back into contention next season. But I do believe Botterill is going to be aggressive in retooling the personnel this summer, and these moves are just the first steps in that process.
Marchment is a good fit
One thing we’ve heard from Botterill is that the team wants to be better at getting to the inside in the offensive zone while also doing a better job protecting the dangerous areas in the defensive end. Marchment certainly brings size (he’s 6-foot-5, 212 pounds) and grit and should be able to help his linemates by digging out pucks and barreling his big body into the crease.
“That is my game,” Marchment said in his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “I like to get in on the forecheck, get inside, get pucks back, strip guys on the backcheck. That’s stuff I take pride in and like to do well. So if I can help out that way, it’s going to be great. Getting to the net front, getting in the goalie’s eyes, that’s huge. Small things like that are things that help win games and help you get to the playoffs.”
While they’re different players at different stages of their careers, this acquisition reminds me of the Kaapo Kakko trade, in which Seattle brought in a big-bodied winger who was viewed as a player capable of creating space for his linemates. Sure enough, Matty Beniers—who had another slow start to the season—took off in the second half after Kakko arrived and was placed on his wing.
Can Marchment, 30, bring a similar impact for other players? I can’t help but envision Marchment alongside Chandler Stephenson, a center who prefers to play on the perimeter and utilize his deft passing skills, drawing attention from defenders at the top of the crease, while somebody like Jared McCann tees up a one-timer from the other side.
That’s what excites me most about Marchment’s profile: he brings a package of size and skill that could help unlock other Kraken players next season and get them scoring more steadily.
What I haven’t even mentioned yet is that—although I see him as a complementary piece to help create space—Marchment can also put the puck in the net. He’s had 22 goals in each of the last two seasons, notching that number in 81 games in 2023-24 and matching it in 2024-25 despite missing 20 games with injury. So, there’s some skill there, which means he’s not only replacing some of the grit lost when the Kraken traded Brandon Tanev and Yanni Gourde at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, but in a way, Marchment also replaces a good chunk of the offensive production lost when Oliver Bjorkstrand was dealt.
Considering what Botterill had to give up to bring in Marchment, my initial reaction was that this was a big win for the Kraken.
As for Marchment’s contract, he signed a reasonable four-year, $18 million deal to remain in Dallas in 2022. So, Seattle gets him at just a $4.5 million cap hit for 2025-26, and if the team doesn’t extend him, he will surely be a hot commodity at the trade deadline if the Kraken once again find themselves in a seller’s position.
A creative solution to the Burakovsky issue
As the season came to a close, we circled two players as buyout candidates for the Kraken. One of those was Philipp Grubauer, who remains on the roster as of the writing of this story, though the first buyout window has been open since Friday and will remain open until June 30.
The other was Burakovsky, who never fully returned to form after tearing his groin midway through his first season with Seattle in 2022-23. He showed flashes but just never got back to any semblance of consistent play.
After a second straight season of minimal offensive production from Burakovsky—he had 10 goals and 27 assists in 79 games—while carrying a significant salary, we assumed Seattle would have few options in getting Burakovsky’s $5.5 million cap hit off the books. One option would be to attach assets and/or retain significant salary in a trade.
The only alternative was a buyout. A buyout of Burakovsky’s contract would have been expensive, though, carrying a $1.96 million cap hit next season, $3.2 million in 2026-27, and then two more penalty years of $1.46 million per season. (Worth noting, a Grubauer buyout would be similar at $1.98 million, $3.08 million, then $1.68 million for the two penalty years.)
But, remarkably, Botterill pulled a rabbit out of his hat and got the Blackhawks to take Burakovsky with no salary retention in exchange for Veleno.
From Chicago’s point of view, taking Burakovsky’s contract actually helps the Blackhawks get to the cap floor for the next two seasons, and there is a chance he could flourish in a top-six role with a rebuilding team that features Connor Bedard. Meanwhile, Veleno was also viewed as a buyout candidate for Chicago, so it solves that problem as well.
Back to the Kraken perspective: Veleno has one year left on his contract at a $2.275 million cap hit before he becomes a restricted free agent. He could still be a buyout candidate and would be way cheaper to buy out than Burakovsky. Still just 25 years old, Veleno can be bought out for one-third of his 2025-26 salary. This means just $795K this season and $295K next season. He could also be stashed in the AHL, which would decrease his cap hit to $1.125 million while keeping him in the organization.
I’m guessing they’ll keep him on the roster, though, to backfill the fourth-line center spot that was vacated by Gourde’s trade to Tampa Bay.
Veleno has never quite hit his NHL stride, despite showing tons of promise as a youngster, earning exceptional status to join the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs at 15 years old. With that in mind, there is some speed, size, and talent in there, making Veleno’s inclusion at the bottom of the forward corps for next season very low-risk and, again, a nice bit of business for Botterill. Perhaps the right role and setting could unlock more of the promise that once showed for Veleno.
Projected depth chart
With Burakovsky out and Marchment and Veleno in, we can start to piece together a way-too-early depth chart for the Kraken next season. Botterill reminded us in his interview with the Sound Of Hockey Podcast that he does expect to give Berkly Catton a look on the NHL roster, and he doesn’t want to “block out” young players in the organization from having a chance to make the team.
So, I’m penciling in Catton and Jani Nyman on the fourth line for now (I know, neither belongs in that role), but the roster will surely continue to evolve throughout the summer.
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz // Matty Beniers // Kaapo Kakko
Jared McCann // Chandler Stephenson // Mason Marchment
Eeli Tolvanen // Shane Wright // Jordan Eberle
Jani Nyman // Berkly Catton // Joe Veleno
Tye Kartye
Defense
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson
Ryker Evans // Brandon Montour
Jamie Oleksiak // Josh Mahura
Ville Ottavainen
Goalies
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
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.
Rooting *for* Mason Marchment will be a tough transition. He was always one of the most annoying and obnoxious players. But it is possible my opinion will change now that he is on my team. Only time will tell!
Buying out Joe Veleno would make room for the upcoming Mitch Marner signing, right?
OK, seriously though, I wish we would stop with this talk that the “4th line” is not allowed to be too skilled or good. The Kraken don’t have, and have never had, any true first line talent. The one year they were good it was largely because they had 4 balanced, scoring lines (and yeah, an unsustainable shooting percentage, but a key part was that the goals came from all 4 lines). Then they abandoned this, and we’ve been stuck with at least one line of no-scoring plugs, with predictably lousy results.
I want them to field an energy line with just “kids” like Berkley Catton, Ryan Winterton, and Jani Nyman. Hey, they are likely going to be teammates for a good long time; give them a chance to get used to each other. Coach can send them over the boards when he needs some havoc. They would have to be well-protected, but the other three lines should have no problem handling that. One way or another it would be a fourth line to remember.
What I will say for Mason Marchment is, yes, he is obnoxious and a diver, but he is not out there throwing dirty, dangerous hits with the intent of injuring other players and ruining their careers. He’s not like Andrew Mangiapane or Martin Pospisil. I can root for a Marchment-type pest. I can’t root for a Pospisil-type pest.
Wrong coach for that, like your thinking but it isn’t going to happen.
I was just reading about Jake Allen being this off-season’s No.1 UFA goalie option and I thought to myself… oh yeah, Joey was gonna be a UFA on July 1st… but instead Francis signed him to 5×5 last October. Allen’s camp is looking for a multi-year deal at $5m a season. Given his last two seasons, does anyone think Joey’s agents aren’t holding Botterill up for a bag of money right now if he hadn’t signed already? It’s been obvious for months, as thin as the goalie market is, Joey would have been the belle-of-the-ball and getting him locked in ahead of the cap bump was – as someone once said to me about a goalie – an absolute coup. I don’t know what they’re gonna do about Grubauer, but thank goodness Botterill doesn’t have to worry about Joey.
I see your selection of Ville Ottavainen as 7D instead of Cale Fleury. How solid are on you that? Fully believe VO needs to get into the NHL this year and as the Kraken have signed 6 young D to play in CV, so one of them moving to the NHL roster makes great sense.
Not that solid. I think there are other young forwards that could be considered to make the team out of camp as well, but Nyman and Catton were the most obvious picks. On defense, I think they view Ottavainen as the prospect that’s closest, and Fleury is viewed as a fill-in guy when needed. Could easily slot him above VO on a depth chart as of now, but my gut tells me VO becomes a regular in the next couple years.
I’d like to see the rig moving on and possibly an opportunity for both.
Do we think that getting Joe Veleno means we move on from Mikey Eyssimont? Both seem destined to be 4th liners and play a similar fast style, but Veleno seems to be more defensively responsible and takes far fewer penalties (maybe due to less grit). Veleno is younger and will be an RFA next year, plus he may translate up the line-up more in case of injury. I dont think we will use up our cap space, that seems the
Excited to see if Nyman and Catton can stick on the roster. It seems a good bet Catton gets at least 10 games to see if he is ready, but Nyman could start down in the AHL and be the first call-up for injuries. It feels like it would be short sighted and hurt their long term development to play 10 minutes a night with a lot of healthy scratches.
I realize your lineup above is in pencil and based in part on last season’s line combos, but last year the team finished with 76 points ~ 20 points away from a playoff berth. I hope the new coaching staff will configure the forward lines differently – with a priority given to maximizing the talents and growth of their younger players.
As many have said, Matty Beniers offensive numbers may have been impaired by the lack of talent around him, and (for the team’s roster construction in futures years) we need to find out just how good MB really is. Why not move Jared McCann (their best scorer) to MB’s line with KK and see if that boost’s MB’s and his linemates performance? Or if they acquire a bonafide goal score put him on MB’s line.
They’ve got nothing to lose by being creative with their forward line construction.
It is weird how, for the past two seasons, the team’s best all-around winger, Jared McCann is hardly ever on the Beniers line. He was good there in Year 2 with Jordan Eberle. Maybe it was just Eberle’s injury last year that prevented Bylsma from getting that pair going again.
And then there are the trades that are not made that would actually move the needle, like the J.J. Peterka trade.
Given that the Mammoth gave away not much, how were the Kraken not all over that trade, as Peterka is exactly the type of young winger they need to unlock their young centers? The Kraken clearly could have done better than Doan and Kesselring without making much of a dent in the prospect pool. Dynamic trades are required to change things up and this is a big miss.
The Sabers wanted and needed an NHL right shot top-four defenseman.
The Kraken have several NHL RD they could trade with their permission. The package that could also be sent would allow the Sabres to find one elsewhere. Kesselring is hardly top 4 material. This was just a miss by the Kraken while they were pursuing the roster-changing Freddie Gaudreau deal.
Whatever Chuck
We have two RHD on our team – Montour (that wouldn’t happen) and Larsson who may have been attractive to pair with Owen Powers but he is older and most critically has a full no trade for the next few years…so I doubt he would be jumping on a move to Buffalo. Fleury is our only other NHL RHD but he is a 6/7th D so not attractive enough. I think we could have moved better offensive options and stronger prospects, but it takes two to tango and we probably didn’t have the pieces to Sabres wanted.
And even, worse, this probably means any trade for Alex Tuch is off the table. Ugh.
Right handed center whose decent on faceoffs and plays on the PK. I think Veleno is going to be on the move again.
Or they’re trading Shane Wright.
Yeah, I know that’s a way out there prediction, but somewhere inside of himself he’s got to be frustrated with how the team has handled him.
I don’t know that he’s frustrated, but coincidentally, I was just reading about Kyrou possibly being available for a young center. I really hope Botterill doesn’t decide the “big splash” is an absolute must.
I’m starting to get pissed.
The Mason Marchment trade was good, but Freddie Gaudreau makes no sense. We’ve added a ham sandwich at center and created a logjam at the position. How does this help development of our young centers? I THOUGHT the purpose of bringing on a Chander Stephenson was to take the tough defensive assignments and allow MB and SW to develop at their own pace.
We can now rule out Berkly Catton making the final roster. Had he known how the summer was going to play out, it would have been wiser for him to sign with an NCAA team, instead he’ll be enslaved to a pointless season in the WHL by virtue of the bullshit CHL-NHL transfer agreement.
I’m starting to wonder if Botterill is simply an offspring of the unimaginative, one-trick pony GM roster-management “tree”. Able the perform the rudimentary task of acquiring middling players from teams with salary cap issues, but not creative enough to execute more intricate three-team trades required to get a player like JJ Peterka (per CH’s comments above).
I’ve said before that if the Kraken acquire just one competent goal scorer, I’ll consider this offseason a resounding success. If not, this will simply be a precursor to another playoff-less season and an increasingly disillusioned fan base.
This “tougher to play against” nonsense has gone too far. Know what teams are tough to play against? Ones who have good players who can score goals. Getting a bunch of grinding, physical types doesn’t move the needle at all, and can actually make the team worse because it takes the opportunity away from young players who can possibly move the needle. Marchment can at least put the puck in the net, but Gaudreau is a career bottom 6 forward who doubled his career shooting% last year. I hate it.
Plus he’s a 32 year-old who is signed for THREE more seasons? Why is this team obsessed with aging players in their 30s?? Ugh!
Dude… it’s gonna be okay.
Catton signed a contract with the Kraken a long time ago so going to college was never an option. Even if Catton is making the team, it’s probably not as a fourth line center, it’s probably on the wing.
Gaudreau is a right handed center, something they don’t have but have been looking for. He’s can score, he’s decent at faceoffs and he plays the PK… he’s basically Gourde’s replacement. Veleno is looking more and more like the cost of moving Burakovsky and not an actual addition. He’s certainly not going to be on this roster.
I personally think there’s something more significant yet to come, but I also don’t know much.
Hang in there…
Go Kraken!!!
Catton needs to go to the Valley and play with Coachella for a season. Then let’s see.
Unfortunately, Catton cannot go to the valley next season due to the CHL agreement.
That effing CHL – NHL transfer agreement needs been eliminated. It exits only so CHL owners can get another year of slave labor out of their top players – at the expense of player developement. A lawsuit filed by the World Association of Ice Hockey Players Association (CHL players are members) was dismissed late last year – mainly because the Southern District of New York determined they didn’t have juristiction (no CHL teams in NY State). If this lawsuit were to be filed in another US juristiction I’m certain the courts would rule in favor of the players and against the NHL-CHL cabal.
In the meantime, the good news is that with the NCAA ruling allowing CHL players to play college hockey (combined with CHL’s 20 yo age limit), there’s no good reason for any good 18-19 yo prospect to remain in the CHL. After two seasons, CHL players can move to the NCAA. Or even bypass the CHL altogether and start goe the NAHL,BCHL, and USHL route.
If the CHL continues its efforts to maintain their monopolistic powers, their will eventually be a mass exodus of all the top prospects, and the league will be comprised (mostly) of 16-17 yo players and older players of lesser abilities – at which point the CHL will effectively be “relegated” to Junior A status and league die the slow and ugly death it deserves.
I’m wondering what may come out of the CBA talks which appear to be getting close. Or if enough players are going to leave the CHL for the NCAA (McKenna is the latest) for the CHL to change their policy.
It’s hard to determine if there is anything to stop Catton from “moving” to the NCAA and then immediately leaving for the AHL before the season actually starts.
I also kind of wish someone would try challenging from a legal perspective to get some clarity. IANAL, but I think Catton’s situation in particular has some really interesting elements that make it somewhat unique – a CHL team that is in the US, with a player under contract with a US-based NHL team. Plus add in that both teams are in the same state, which also has a precedent of being employee friendly when it comes to non-competes. Plus the AHL team being in a state that is even more employee-friendly and it all creates a lot of what-if scenarios. I know there are antitrust exemptions for other professional leagues (ie NFL MLB), but I’m also curious how it applies when potential collusion is between ostensibly independent organizations (the CHL is not owned by or directly affiliated with the NHL) and if there is a difference in US vs Canadian regulations that haven’t been tested in a situation where all of the involved entities are in the US.
I’m not a lawyer, but I think the fact that Catton has signed a professional contract makes NCAA eligibility a non-starter, even in the new era of NIL and such.
Ugh… misses age cut off by 2 weeks.
Yeah, bummer. Honestly a year in Coachella would absolutely be the best thing for him.