Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, I wanted to share my thoughts on what the Seattle Kraken did—and didn’t do—taking a more holistic view than in past articles that focused more specifically on the Yanni Gourde/Oliver Bjorkstrand deal and the Brandon Tanev deal.
In total, the Seattle Kraken moved out four players—Gourde, Bjorkstrand, Tanev, and Ding Dong Daniel Sprong [tear]—and received two top-10 protected first-round draft picks, two second-round picks, a seventh-round pick, and 28-year-old depth forward Mikey Eyssimont, who is on an expiring contract and could theoretically be brought back next year if Seattle wants him.
In terms of return, it’s a fantastic haul of draft capital that gives Seattle five first-round picks and five second-round picks over the next three NHL Drafts.
Coming into this deadline period, I was personally hopeful that the organization would use it as an opportunity to bring in more young players—guys who perhaps haven’t had the chance to excel at the NHL level yet or who are stuck in situations where the upside is clear, but the fit just hasn’t worked for whatever reason (i.e., more Kaapo Kakko types). Instead, general manager Ron Francis swung deals almost entirely for draft picks, which does seem to be the more common return this time of year.
Currency for future deals
At face value, the draft picks acquired won’t help the team for years. A 2026 late-first-round pick likely wouldn’t have a shot at becoming a full-time NHLer and making a real impact until at least 2029, maybe later. But even late first-rounders are valuable chips in this league, so Francis and his staff should be able to parlay them into NHL-ready talent during the offseason.
Francis confirmed this as the plan in his press conference on Friday.
“I said we’ve got 10 picks. We’re not sitting here hoping to draft 10 players, we’re hoping to use those picks as capital to try and acquire players and speed things up.”
While this trade deadline was a full-blown seller’s market, it’s exciting to think about the kind of talent Francis could land if he really is willing to throw around first- and second-round picks this summer.
They could have done more
I was generally very impressed with the return Seattle got for the trades it made. Bringing back two first-rounders and a second in the Gourde/Bjorkstrand deal is nothing short of remarkable, and getting a second-round pick with no salary retention for the expiring contract of overpaid fourth-liner Brandon Tanev is more than fair. So, credit where it’s due—because on the heels of the Kakko trade earlier this season, Francis and Co. did a great job with these moves.
Heck, even getting a seventh-rounder for Sprong is notable, considering he was acquired for a bag of pucks earlier this season and didn’t even stick with the NHL club.
The greedy side of me wishes Francis had continued striking while the iron was hot, though. Trading Bjorkstrand—who was an All-Star last season, had 16 goals and 21 assists this season, and still has a year left on his contract—was a signal that the team was ready to shake up its core beyond just moving impending unrestricted free agents.
With the kinds of returns being thrown around for players of that caliber, I was curious to see what Francis could get for guys like Jamie Oleksiak and Jaden Schwartz, whose names somehow stayed out of any major rumors leading up to the deadline.
Again, credit where it’s due, but there was an opportunity to bring back even more and create an even bigger shakeup in a core that hasn’t delivered enough success.
The health excuse
I’m also not a fan of the injury excuse, which Francis brought up in his press conference—while also simultaneously stating that injuries shouldn’t be used as an excuse. He implied that the team was closer to contention than it appeared, even though it was 11 points out of a playoff spot when the trades started, and that missing Jordan Eberle for most of the season, along with significant injuries to Vince Dunn and Yanni Gourde, hurt their chances.
“Obviously, we want to get healthy and hope that that happens next year,” Francis said. “We have to look at things, because obviously I felt going into the season, we’re a team that could compete for a playoff spot, and we’re not there.”
It’s true that those injuries had a major impact on the team’s ability to compete, throwing the lineup into a seemingly never-ending state of flux. But then I think about a team like the Minnesota Wild, who beat the Kraken last week. They have been decimated by injuries this season and have been without their superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov since Jan. 26. In fact, Kaprizov has only played 37 games all season, and other key players like Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Jared Spurgeon have also missed significant time.
I’m not saying Minnesota is the ideal model to follow—they’ve never won a Stanley Cup—but despite many injury issues, they are still firmly in a playoff spot. My point here is that a roster needs to be deep enough to withstand a few injuries to key players, because injuries happen every single year to every single team.
So, here’s hoping that the draft capital acquired at this deadline is put to good use and that the Kraken ice a much more talented team next season that can withstand the absences that will surely happen again.
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.
Thank you Darren. I am glad all this trade deadline BS is over. In regards to Swartz and big Oli, Many teams way not want these players as they are not players that could improve a team just like they do not improve the Kraken. I just think there are a lot a GM’s that are smarter than Ron. He did the exact same thing at his last job and sent that team to ther bottom as well.
Kudos to you for catching Francis doing double talking re injuries. He also claimed he never asks fans to be patient while making moves that require it. Like most NHL expansion teams, the Kraken have stumbled into competition overall. It’s gonna take patience watching this team until it can make bigger moves or drive more effort from its roster.
Imo, the club needs to be more aggressive luring proven talent to Seattle and tougher coaching from proven established bench bosses. Bylsma caught a wave at mid season to win the cup in Pittsburgh then got sacked in Buffalo. He ‘even admitted having lost a desire to coach in an interview. He seems like a better coach than Hakstol but got nothing more out of the roster this season.
The club, imo, needs a more demanding coach, craftier work in the talent market and Vezina-quality goaltending to cover for its defensive lapses.
All easy to say but extremely challenging to accomplish. Regardless, I’m a loyal supporter.
This was so bold, I just thought it warranted a response. My weakness is I love passionate hockey fans.
Did you watch the “national” coverage of the trade deadline stuff? The Kraken had previously been described as the losers of the NHL, described as mediocre and even “boring.” But then the trade deadline hits, and all of the sudden we had the most coveted trade targets in the league?? Suddenly, all of our players are awesome? That was very interesting. Apparently Gourde and Bjorkstrand were highly valued, and their eventual movement reflected that.
You think there are “a lot of GM’s that are smarter than Ron. He did the exact same thing at his last job and sent that team to ther bottom as well.” Do you mean the Carolina Hurricanes? Are they at “ther bottom as well?”
Ok, Forrest. I’m just curious. Who are the GM’s that are smarter than Ron? Seriously. I would love to know your thoughts on this.
Oleksiak was mentioned a bit. He was on the Athletic’s trade board. But never a peep about Schwartz, which is extra weird. He seems like the classic playoff performer, like Tanev but better, and he’s healthy and having a good year.
If Schwartz was still floundering down on a line with Stephenson and Burakovsky, I think a trade would have been more likely.
However, the team does need some veteran leaders to support and mentor younger developing players. Schwartz and Eberle have been that for the team since day 1.
Given Kakko’s experience before coming to Seattle and Benier’s struggles, and how well both have done since being put on a line with Schwartz, moving him now could been a hit to the long term development of both Kakko and Beniers.
The way the Beniers/Kakko/Schwartz line has been playing together, I don’t imagine Francis would be keen to break that up. It is the first proper competitive top scoring line that the Kraken have ever iced. Personally, I would like to see what the line looks like next year with Matty having a full season of taking draws in difficult situations against other teams’ best lines under his belt. Off-seasons have a way of changing line chemistry, but the upside of this line is worth taking a chance on.
I feel like the McCann/Beniers/Eberle line from their playoff season – 3rd in the league in goals among the 28 lines that that logged 350+ minutes – was a “proper competitive top scoring line” as much as Schwartz/Beniers/Kakko is.
I really like what Kakko adds, but I think they’re still a season or two and a big add on the wing from icing a legit top scoring line. Schwartz has been outstanding, but I feel like he’s more a grinder than a gamer.
I too am looking forward to seeing what Matty – and Shane – look like next year and what they’ll have around them. I kinda think folks discount the impact the improvement of those two can have on this teams results.
Thanks for the great summary. I have been particularly critical of Oleksiak the last couple of years, but after the trades that were already made, including two other PK pieces (Yanni and Turbo), I flipped to hoping there would not be a trade for The Rig. Here I am watching the game, and we are on our third PK in the 1st period. Plus I think it’s possible to shake the team up TOO much. Especially with these young guys are trying to develop. Oleksiak is a good relief valve for Ryker, for example.
I would also add (and already expressed) Eyssimont isn’t just a warm body. He is a legit grinder who was trusted by Jon Cooper. Just watching the game today, he is doing a great job on the forecheck and he’s heavy on the puck.
Watching the game today, I’m generally not a fan of the ESPN teams (every second Leah Hextall is on air inflicts damage to all women in sports broadcasting) but kudos to PK Subban for calling out Burakovsky being too cute with the puck instead of shooting and for the ESPN production crew for catching the heated conversation on be bench after between Burakovsky vs Dunn and Bylsma.
To me TNT does a much better job overall (than ESPN) both in studio and their broadcast. Still much prefer our local KHN team when watching Kraken games.
It’s also interesting to watch the opposing team broadcasts of Kraken games, though not as easy. We usually have to wait 72 hours or something like that. I recommend it if you have the time.
Watching any other team’s broadcast, even if it’s not against the Kraken, proves how fortunate we are to have John, JT and Eddie.
I don’t love that their national contract commitments mean we only get Eddie part-time and occasionally lose John, but I think having them do those national games and the playoffs is part of what makes them so good.
I’ve been thinking an Oleksiak move would be the way to go and today on 32 Thoughts Friedman mentioned that Toronto and Winnipeg were both inquiring but were told “no thanks”. Thinking about it a little more, I’m good with that.
Considering Vince Dunn hasn’t looked the same since that cheap shot from Pospisil and Ryker Evans is still just a “pup”… I think they need insurance on the left side. Would they be scrambling for a body next season with the least bit of misfortune or a setback? Maybe. Is Oleksiak still valuable as a trade chip or a rental at the next deadline? I think so.
I thought Ryker did very well filling in for Dunn during his injury and could probably work in the top 4. I honestly wouldn’t mind saying goodbye to the rig, I wonder how far away Ville Ottavainen is. I like his game a lot and his size. Would love to see him come up for a few games. Fleury is also NHL ready and could definitely play on the third pairing… if he’d be willing to sign a contract extension. I not sure he’d want to.
Also I’m surprised at how much I like Eyssimount, like you said he has a heavy game. I’m really not impressed with Meyers, I feel like he’s just holding a spot. Would like to see Eyssimount at center for a game or two.
I was dying to get rid of The Rig last season, but he’s actually playing really well with Monty. It’s like they told him “just relax and look for Monty, get him the puck and he will get it up the ice.” But then I have been impressed with Jamie’s exits and decision making this season, even when he’s not looking for Monty. He made a big leap. Add in the PK minutes, and he’s earning his money. He’s still a huge teddy bear, but you can’t have everything.
I like Meyers and Mitchell Stevens, but they really are guys working on the bubble. They just have a little more trouble clearing pucks, winning battles, etc. They are good players, but this is the NHL. There aren’t that many spots.
Eyssimont isn’t just a warm body, he’s also not a rock-bottom price. His current contract is $1.6m…which is twice the minimum…or the cost of Hayden and Mitchell Stephens combined.
Seattle needs to figure out what they want their fourth line to be. The 2022-23 season was a group of young(ish) offensive players. They were really more of a second third line than a traditional fourth line.
We’re all familiar with the Sprong saga, but Geekie has finally managed to establish himself as a top-6 player and Donato has been one of the only bright spots for the Blackhawks.
This season Seattle has shifted to a much more traditional defensively-focused strategy with fourth line, playing limited minutes, with two aging players who were sliding down in the lineup and a third that probably needed at least another half-season in the AHL.
Not only has this hurt production, but it’s also handcuffed the options the team has for bringing up younger players – especially those are projected to be top or middle-6 players. Do you bring them up and put them into a defensive role they’re not prepared or bring groomed for (Winterton’s -7 this season)? Or do you leave them down in the AHL because they’re not “fourth line guys”? Do you continue to keep a player who led the OHL in Power Play goals in their final junior season playing 5-on-5 with the occasional stint on the PK? Or do you go back to the “second third line” (or even “third second line”) strategy, try to generate some scoring and get more young prospects a chance to show where they can belong in an NHL lineup?
Worth noting, just 7 expansion picks left.
Put another way…I’m willing to not make the playoffs the next 2-3 years if it means we’re creating a good environment for our young guys to develop, and we have a team competetive enough to win on any given night to keep things exciting.
Tell me you didn’t actually listen to and grok the press conference without telling me you didn’t actually listen to and grok the press conference. He literally said he’s going to try and improve the team multiple times this week: ffs our fanbase does suck sometimes.
Welcome back Gru… nice win today.
Seattle fans have so much to learn.
Feel free to refute the point. Instead all you got is ad hominems. I’ll wait for a well formed argument but given how you are in the comments on this site, it’s gonna be a long wait.
😉
I didn’t see the press conference. Sounds exciting.
Most NHL teams outside the playoffs nowadays are two or three good players and a good season away from a WC spot. Francis obviously knows this perfectly well which allows him to babble on about making the playoffs. It’s basically San Jose and Chicago that are no-hopers right now due to their hard core rebuilds. Nashville is 3rd from the bottom, they brought in a horde of UFAs to go with their vets and look how the season went for them. Nashville gunned hard for the playoffs yet it all went pearshaped fast.
A WC participation trophy spot concerns me less than building an actual core that can compete for the Cup. All the real Cup contenders, apart from Vegas who were handed a contending base from the get-go and upgraded with some elite core players from there, have their core based on the draft:
Florida: Barkov, Ekblad, Lundell (they traded Huberdeau for M. Tkachuk)
Tampa: Kucherov, Hedman, Vasilevsky, Point
Dallas: Heiskanen, Hintz, Robertson, Johnstone, Lindell, Harley, Venerable Benn (drafted 2007) etc etc.
Let’s add Toronto: Matthews, Nylander, Marner (no D which is a miss)
Colorado: MacKinnon, Makar
Edmonton: McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard…
Stop this endless talk about the playoffs as the ultimate goal, it really isn’t – unless you are happy to be the Arizona Coyotes NW and copy their fruitless quest to make the playoffs year in year out. That’s an exaggeration I know, but the focus has to be to build through the draft until a real Cup contending Kraken core has emerged.
Pouring myself a glass of wine…probably ill advised after whatever this Saturday…I like and agree with very much of what you are saying, but don’t you sometimes acquire really significant players outside the draft? Maybe now and then?? You can probably come up with some examples.
The pod in general keeps missing the second part of the injury issue which Ron also brought up but you seem to have skipped… we don’t have the depth to cover. When your best line is arguably a second line, missing a top line player is going to sink Lou a lot harder than another team. You effectively have third liners as your next man up.
The big difference in your example of injuries for the Kraken vs. Wild is that we are a barely four year old expansion team, while they are an established team that has had many many years to develop their roster. For the Kraken, the player’s that got injured hurt us more than those that got injured for the Wild in my eyes…