Everything must go! The Seattle Kraken Trade Deadline fire sale continued Monday morning, when the team announced that it had traded veteran forward Marcus Johansson to the Washington Capitals, one of Johansson’s former teams. In return, the Kraken received a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 sixth-round pick, and forward Daniel Sprong.
Sprong is an intriguing piece. Though his stats have been underwhelming this season—he has eight goals and six assists in 47 games—he scored 13 goals last season and came in expecting to have a breakout year. It hasn’t happened, but he also has played in a checking role for much of the campaign.
Now that the Kraken have traded away four of their regular forwards—Johansson, Calle Jarnkrok, Colin Blackwell, and Mason Appleton—Sprong is certainly going to get every opportunity in the world to showcase his talents during these last 19 games.
“Daniel brings some speed and creativity to our roster and we’re looking forward to adding him to our team,” said general manager Ron Francis via a press release.
Sprong, 25, is the only player in the NHL from the Netherlands. In an introductory press conference via Zoom on Monday, he shared that his family moved from Amsterdam to Montreal when he was a young kid to help him pursue his hockey career.
He was not expecting to get traded by Washington, but he is excited for the opportunity to show what he can do for the rest of the season. He also said he remembered that Climate Pledge Arena got very loud when the Capitals visited the Kraken earlier this season.
Johansson leaves after scoring six goals and 17 assists in 51 games with the Kraken. “We appreciate Marcus’ character and professionalism during his time with the Kraken and wish him well in Washington,” said Francis.
Instant reaction
This is a great deal for the Kraken. Johansson was a pleasant surprise for Seattle this season and ended up playing a much larger role for the club than we anticipated. But he was on an expiring contract, and we didn’t expect him back next year, so getting three assets in this deal is a nice win for Francis.
Sprong is also on an expiring contract, but he will be a restricted free agent after this season. So, the team can essentially decide—after watching him play for 19 games—whether they want him back for next season.
The two draft picks bring Seattle to 34 total picks over the next three seasons, which is ludicrous. In 2022 alone the Kraken will select 12 times, assuming they don’t package some of their selections to bring in current players before then.
If you thought the Seattle Kraken were done wheeling and dealing after they moved their three most obvious trade candidates in Mark Giordano, Colin Blackwell, and Calle Jarnkrok, then you were sorely mistaken. Late Sunday, general manager Ron Francis kept hustling and sent Jeremy Lauzon to the Nashville Predators for a 2022 second-round draft pick and Mason Appleton to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2023 fourth-round pick.
The earlier deals for players on expiring contracts were unsurprising. We knew those were coming; the only question was what the returns would be for those players.
Though Francis had recently said he was “open for business,” we frankly did not expect Lauzon or Appleton to be traded at this juncture. The moves are reminders that Seattle expects to look very different next season, and Francis and his staff are hellbent on acquiring as much draft capital as humanly possible prior to Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline.
With these latest trades, the Kraken have added eight picks in less than a week, and they now hold a whopping 11 picks in the 2022 draft with four of those coming in the second round. Over the next three seasons, they have 32 total picks.
Instant reaction
Both of these trades were somewhat surprising, only because Lauzon and Appleton were two players that had carved out regular roles in the lineup. While both are on expiring contracts, they are set to become restricted free agents, meaning they will have few options other than signing with their current teams. The Kraken would have held most of the cards in negotiations, had the players stuck around, so we did not expect them to be moved.
These players did not have especially memorable tenures in Seattle. Though Lauzon earned a spot in the lineup almost every night as a stay-at-home defender that brought a uniquely physical element, he drew the ire of a lot of Kraken fans. We liked his game a lot more than most, but we recognize this was an unpopular opinion. The return of a second-round pick in the upcoming draft does feel like a nice return for Lauzon.
Said Francis via press release, “Jeremy brought a physical edge to our blue line, and we are thankful for his contributions to our team. We wish him well in Nashville.”
Oddly, the pick that Lauzon brought back may end up being the highest pick the Kraken have received so far for any of the five players they have traded.
As for Appleton, Winnipeg gets back a player who was well respected in that market before the Jets lost him in the Expansion Draft. He never seemed to really hit his stride with the Kraken, though, and he departs after scoring six goals and adding 11 assists in 49 games. His game did improve in the second half of the season, especially since he was placed on a line with Yanni Gourde and the also-traded Blackwell. A fourth-round pick seems fair here.
“Mason brought a hard-working effort to the rink, and we want to thank him for his time with the Kraken,” said Francis.
We did notice that the quotes from Francis have gotten much shorter since the Giordano trade.
What do the Kraken do now?
We shall see if these are the last moves the Kraken make, though we would not be remotely surprised at this point if more players get shipped out.
Our theory is that the players Francis felt he needed to move—meaning those becoming UFA’s that still had potentially significant trade value—have been traded. Now we believe we’ve shifted into the final stages of the Trade Deadline, where Francis is likely fielding calls on the rest of his roster and considering whether or not to accept offers.
As for what’s left of the team’s current roster? Well, that seems to be getting thinner by the hour. The rest of the season is unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but we are curious to see how Seattle performs the rest of the way. Guys like Haydn Fleury and Will Borgen (assuming they’re still here) are likely to have solid roles on the blue line, while Kole Lind and maybe somebody like Alexander True and eventually top prospect Matty Beniers will get solid looks up front.
The worst-kept secret in hockey—that Seattle Kraken captain Mark Giordano was a potential trade candidate—is a “secret” no more. Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, a day before the NHL Trade Deadline. The Kraken received a second-round draft pick in 2022, a second-round pick in 2023, and a third-round pick in 2024. Seattle will also reportedly retain 50 percent of Giordano’s remaining salary and cap hit, according to Pierre LeBrun.
We all knew this was coming, at least for Giordano. It was made abundantly clear that the 38-year-old defenseman had played his last game as a Kraken. He was held out of the lineup against the Lightning on Wednesday after the team honored him with a ceremony commemorating his 1,000th game and again did not play on Saturday against the Red Wings.
Giordano addressed the Seattle media one last time after Friday’s practice and summed up his time in Seattle for us. “I’m happy to be part of building something here,” he said. “Being named captain is something I don’t take for granted, and for the organization to put the ‘C’ on my jersey this year means a lot. I know we didn’t get the results we wanted, but I do think there are a lot of positives to take away from the way this thing was built and is being built.”
Blackwell’s trade is no surprise either, being that he was on the last year of his contract. Still, there was some thought—at least here at Sound Of Hockey—that he could stay with the Kraken beyond this season. He had recently cemented himself on a third line with Yanni Gourde and Mason Appleton that was showing true chemistry.
Giordano had six goals and 17 assists in 55 games for Seattle, while Blackwell had eight goals and nine assists in 39 games.
Instant reaction
From the business side of hockey, it makes all the sense in the world to trade these two players. The Kraken are in last place in their division, and they need to build for the future, so—like they did in the Calle Jarnkrok trade—they’ve done everything in their power to gain draft capital for players on expiring contracts.
There were reports out there that general manager Ron Francis had been asking for a first-round pick for Giordano. So hearing that two significant players went to Toronto for two seconds and a third is slightly disappointing, especially considering some of the prices we’ve seen get paid in recent days.
Still, Seattle has done a good job of gathering these valuable assets and has added six additional draft picks so far, and now have 30 draft picks over the next three seasons.
On the personal side of things, we absolutely loved covering Giordano and Blackwell. Both come across as true professionals and great humans. They also were really fun to watch play and brought separate sets of unique elements to the Kraken in their inaugural season.
In addition to what they bring on the ice, Toronto is getting two great personalities for their dressing room. We also know Giordano was interested in going to play in his hometown and chase a Stanley Cup, so we wish both him and Blackwell the very best of luck in that endeavor.
The first NHL Trade Deadline in the history of the Seattle Kraken is expected to be a busy one, and the first of potentially many dominoes fell on Wednesday. Versatile forward Calle Jarnkrok was officially traded to the Pacific Division rival Calgary Flames for a second-round draft pick in 2022 (previously acquired by Calgary from Florida), a third-round draft pick in 2023, and a seventh-round pick in 2024. Seattle—which has plenty of cap space—agreed to eat half of Jarnkrok’s remaining salary on his expiring contract.
“I want to thank Calle for everything he did for the Seattle Kraken, and we wish him all the best in Calgary,” said general manager Ron Francis via a press release.
The trade comes on a day when captain Mark Giordano is being held out of the lineup against the Lightning, despite the team still planning a ceremony to honor him for recently playing in his 1,000th career game. The speculation around Giordano’s healthy scratch is that he too will soon be traded. Surely, there’s more to come on that front.
As for the trade that has been completed, we think Francis got a fair return for the 30-year-old Jarnkrok. Any time you can get three assets, including a second-round pick, for somebody who was unlikely to return the following season, that’s a decent haul.
For Jarnkrok, it’s an opportunity to go back to a contending team, and he joins forces with his cousin, Elias Lindholm. The Flames are in first place in the Pacific Division, with a five-point cushion and three games in hand over second-place Los Angeles.
Jarnkrok quietly had a very good season for the Kraken in their inaugural season. A two-way forward, he filled practically every forward role for coach Dave Hakstol at some point during the campaign, from first-line center down to fourth-line wing.
After starting the season by getting COVID, he went 12 consecutive games without registering a point, and then got injured on two separate occasions. After he returned from the second injury, a switch flipped for Jarnkrok offensively, and he impressively got himself back on track for one of his best seasons in the NHL. He was fourth on the team in scoring with 26 points (12-14=26).
We talked to Jarnkrok about the prospect of being traded a few weeks ago, so the deal certainly was not a surprise. Still, we are bummed to see him go, as we really liked what he brought to the Kraken and wish he could have stayed beyond this season.
There will certainly be more trade news coming soon for the Kraken, so stay tuned.
There is a line in The Dark Knight, where the Joker, played by Heath Ledger, holds up a gloved hand and in a very staccato rhythm, says, “And here… we… go.” Ledger delivers the memorable line just as chaos is about to strike Gotham City. That cinematic moment is the perfect representation of how Wednesday’s Seattle Kraken morning skate felt at Climate Pledge Arena, as the team prepared to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After weeks of discussion about who could be traded out of Seattle prior to the March 21 NHL Trade Deadline, the Kraken took a page out of the Joker’s book and threw some gasoline on the speculation fire and will hold captain Mark Giordano out of the lineup for their game against the Lightning.
Is a Giordano trade imminent?
It’s no surprise that the 38-year-old former Norris Trophy winner could eventually be traded. With his expiring contract, Giordano is the Kraken player that has been most heavily cycled through the NHL rumor mill all season. Still, it felt like a real bombshell had gone off when coach Dave Hakstol confirmed Giordano would not play on a night when he was also set to be honored for recently playing in his 1,000th career game. We have since confirmed that the ceremony will go on as planned.
Historically, these kinds of moves to hold veteran players out of the lineup tend to happen only when a trade is imminent. So, one can only surmise from this decision that a deal to move Giordano is either in place or very close to being done. It is our belief here at Sound Of Hockey that Giordano has played his last game as a member of the Kraken, but we shall see if that comes to fruition.
An interesting morning
It’s funny to look back at Wednesday’s on-ice practice session and think about how a couple things played out. First, we thought it was interesting that Giordano was skating on a defensive pair with the oft-scratched Will Borgen, but we didn’t think much of it. We also thought it was a funny little moment when former Lightning Yanni Gourde tried to get Giordano to lead the team stretch at the end of the skate. But we again shrugged it off, especially since the Kraken are set to honor Giordano with a ceremony commemorating his 1,000th game on Wednesday night.
Ryan Donato was asked about Giordano, and he called the captain, “The epitome of what you want to be as a 1,000-game player.” Donato also said the trade deadline is unsurprisingly on players’ minds right now. “I think it’s a pretty sensitive subject, right? Like some guys are in certain positions. And you got to understand it’s a business and there’s a lot of different aspects of it. Guys have families here, there’s different things that are emotionally attached to it… It is hard not to think about it.”
On how to keep the players focused on the task at hand, Hakstol said, “There’s no easy way, I mean that’s real stuff. You’re dealing with real life. For Gio, it’s a real important night for him and his family, the celebration that we’re going to have before the game. From the standpoint of the reality of the business side of the game, there’s that conflict there. Those are real-life items.”
In retrospect, there was probably a little more to the on-ice moment between Gourde and Giordano than we realized. Depending on what happens in the next 24 hours or so, that could have been the last time Giordano skated with his Kraken teammates.
Jaden Schwartz not at morning skate
Jaden Schwartz did not participate in morning skate. SOH’s own Andy Eide asked Hakstol why he wasn’t there, and Hakstol simply said, “He wasn’t out there this morning.” So, as of the writing of this story, it is unclear if Schwartz’s absence means anything of significance.
Our guess is that it does not mean much. Joonas Donskoi, who is still officially listed on injured reserve, was a full participant in morning skate and took regular line rushes with Calle Jarnkrok and Jordan Eberle. However, Hakstol confirmed that Donskoi is still unavailable for the Kraken against the Lightning, so it would make sense that he was just serving as a placeholder on the top trio for Schwartz.
The non-explanation from Hakstol was a bit odd, but we caution you against reading too much into Schwartz’s absence.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis made himself available to the local media Tuesday following the team’s practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex. He touched on a number of topics, and while he did not drop any bombshells or break any news, he did offer some insight into the March 21 NHL Trade Deadline, the season so far, and the upcoming NHL Draft.
Here are some of the highlights.
Francis first announced that the club had signed over-aged forward Tye Kartye from the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League to an entry level contract.
Kartye was in training camp with the Kraken this past fall and in his first 45 games this season has scored 33 goals, 25 assists, and 58 points.
Veteran scored his League-leading 28th and 29th goals and now has 17 on the power play, the most by an @OHLHoundPower player since 2009-10 🎥 pic.twitter.com/mTQLa0niVK
Kartye will finish the OHL season with the Greyhounds and most likely end up with the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds next season.
Francis on the trade deadline
“Obviously the way the season has gone, we’re not gonna make the playoffs. So, I think at this point you look at your team and there’s pieces you want to keep that you believe are core pieces. And then if teams are calling on other pieces, you have to have those discussions and see what the offers are. And if there’s a move that makes sense, then you go ahead and do it.”
Francis was asked about current players on the roster and if they were viewed as core players moving forward and therefore not on the market.
“I think you always have to be open for anybody. But I think you identify the guys that you want to be a part of your core moving forward and it’s going to take a significant piece to change that direction, but that’s– I think with any team, you look at your team and everybody uses ‘If Gretzky can get traded then anybody can get traded.’” So, you know, I think that’s something that you’re constantly looking at, and if it’s something that makes sense that makes your organization better short term or long term you have to consider all options.”
Will the Kraken be willing to take on salary via a trade?
“Absolutely. Yeah. We have the cap space, and our owners are willing to spend the money, so we’ve made that well known to all the GM’s that if they need a third-party broker or if there’s a deal or contract they need to move that makes sense that we’re open for business on that angle as well. Our owners have said from day one we have the green light to spend to the cap. So, as we get into the free agent market this summer, there’s always the risk that you don’t get the guy you want or somebody else wants to play [somewhere else] for some other reason, whether he’s from that market originally or something else, but I plan to certainly be aggressive again in free agency this summer.”
It’s been reported that Francis has talked with captain Mark Giordano about the possibility of being traded. But, what about anyone else on the roster?
“I’ve had the conversation with Gio, I haven’t really had conversations with other players at this point. You know, that may change as we get closer to the deadline, but at this point I haven’t. I think you’re always up for making deals, if it makes your team better. But I’m not sitting here and saying I gotta dump money. I feel comfortable that we have the cap space and the money available to make decisions.”
Francis on this season’s struggles
“It’s going to sound like excuses, but the lineup we thought we’d play with this year we played with for just over two periods… We had to cancel team events early, which helps get our guys together. We had to cancel practices because of situations where somebody tests positive [for COVID] so you didn’t get the time to do certain things. And it’s tough to get a group that doesn’t know each other together. To learn a new system to let each other feel comfortable.”
“Thought we were really starting to show great signs of coming together leading up to the All-Star break. We’re struggling a bit getting back to that level where we were at. But, you know, this has not been always a fair thing to assess either. Based on what’s happened earlier this season we still think the coaching staff is working hard and doing a good job and we continue to back them up.”
On Matty Beniers, Ryker Evans, and Ryan Winterton and the 2022 NHL Draft
Have there been conversations with Beniers about when he’ll sign with the Kraken?
“No conversations at this point about what he’s doing moving forward. Matty is with Michigan. That’s where his focus is right now. They’re trying to win a national championship and we wish all the best for him and his teammates. Once that is complete, then we’ll get into discussions with him and his agents as to future plans, but we’ve certainly been really pleased with what he’s doing.”
Photo courtesy Michigan Hockey
If Beniers signs at season end, would the Kraken be willing to burn the first year of his entry level contract?
“The team would certainly prefer not to burn it but that’s part of doing business in today’s world with high draft picks.”
What does Ryker Evans need to do in order to make the team out of training camp?
“Ryker came in last year and was a real pleasant surprise in camp. It’s not every day you see a young guy play with that kind of confidence and moxie and I thought he did a real good job. He’s had a great season, down there this year in Regina. Most younger guys need extra strength so that’s something hopefully over the course of summer he’ll get stronger. And then it’s coming in and it’s just learning a little bit more about the NHL game. It’s more structured and more disciplined up here so kind of learning what’s going to be coming at him system wise… he’s a real confident kid who skates well, moves the puck well, so he’ll have every opportunity to come in here and show us what he can do in camp.”
On Ryan Winterton’s emergence as a prospect:
“We’re pleased we got him where we got him [in the third round]. He’s just a terrific kid and person and watching the film on different things and just really pleased with the way he’s playing right now. So, excited about that. But again, he’s a young kid, he’s got to get stronger and other things he’s got to do in his game. But we’re pleased with the progress to this point.”
Hamilton Bulldogs center Ryan Winterton was the Seattle Kraken third round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft (Photo courtesy Hamilton Bulldogs)
The Kraken will get a high pick in the NHL Draft this summer. Does Francis see players at the top of the Draft who may be NHL ready in year one?
“I think there’s potentially guys that can step in and do that. [You have to wait] till you get them to camp and see battles. It’s tough, but they have another summer to put that strength on but certainly there are guys that can do that. As tough as the year has been, the positive side is we’re going to get another higher pick and you look at teams, I think 16 teams in the last four years in the conference finals, 14 of them had two or more top 10 picks in the lineup. I think Tampa had six when they won Cups back to back so those guys are important to building a franchise and as much as we want to get the NHL portion right and get the right free agents to do that, it’s also critical for us to make sure we’re still drafting and developing well.”
