On July 6, the NHL and NHLPA announced they had agreed to a new four-year deal extending their labor agreement through the 2029-30 season. The new agreement contains a number of league-wide changes scheduled to take effect in the 2026-27 season. For example, NHL teams will play 84 regular-season games, instead of 82, and will be subject to a salary cap in the playoffs.
Digging a bit deeper, the Seattle Kraken will reckon with many subtler impacts. For example, 2025 first-round pick Jake O’Brien will likely get a development opportunity his elder teammate Berkly Catton did not. John Hayden’s contract will look a bit different 14 months from now. And there will be an important new deadline in contract extension negotiations with Shane Wright next summer.
Let’s get into all of it, starting with the basics. What is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and what does it do? Then we’ll get into the sides’ recent agreement, what’s in it, and some big picture thoughts on what it means for the Kraken and the league moving forward.
The CBA explained
The CBA is a contract between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association containing requirements, limitations, and other terms on NHL teams’ employment of NHL players.
The CBA reaches into many business and strategic aspects of the game. For example, it covers scheduling and work limitations (number of games, training camp length, etc.), player compensation (revenue split, the salary cap, length and minimum/maximum requirements of player contracts, etc.), and player rights (the draft, entry-level contracts, free agency rules, assignments to other leagues, etc.).
On the other hand, with some limited exceptions, the CBA typically does not reach on-ice matters or gameplay. Those matters are covered by separate agreements, including an official NHL Rulebook issued annually.
The current CBA became effective as of Feb. 15, 2013. Originally it was due to expire on Sept. 15, 2022. The NHL and NHLPA extended the CBA by four years under a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (“2020 MOU”). As modified by the 2020 MOU, the CBA was then due to expire on Sept. 15, 2026.
The recent July 6 announcement concerned the NHL and NHLPA’s approval of a second Memorandum of Understanding, dated June 27, 2025 (“2025 MOU”). This agreement extends the existing agreements through Sept. 15, 2030.
First and foremost, this assures five more seasons without a bargaining-related play disruption—whether a strike or lockout. This is a win for the fans. What else is in the 2025 MOU? Let’s look into that now.
Regular season and preseason schedule adjustments
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, NHL teams will play 84 games, up from the 82-game schedule of recent years. The change will allow for “balanced” scheduling, with each of the 32 teams playing non-conference teams twice (home and away), in-conference, non-division teams three times, and in-division teams four times (two home and two away). For the owners, this balance is likely an incidental benefit to a revenue-focused change.
To partially mitigate the added burden, new restrictions on the preseason and training camp will arrive simultaneously. At least two preseason games will be eliminated from the schedule, with each team allowed to play a maximum of four preseason games total. Players with 100 or more NHL games played will be limited to two preseason games.
Players who played in at least 50 NHL games the preceding regular season will be required to participate in no more 13 training camp practice days. Training camp is limited to 18 days for all other players.
Kraken takeaways:Adding two games to ensure a balanced in-division schedule is good in one way: The Kraken should be playing Vancouver twice at home and twice on the road each season.
Otherwise, I have reservations about making a training camp schedule that already feels quite brief even shorter. This will be felt most acutely by teams with new coaching staffs. On the other hand, I don’t mind dispatching with a couple preseason games—particularly in conjunction with rules that limit veteran participation and guarantee there will still be opportunities for prospects to play on the big stage.
More matchups with Tyler Myers and the Vancouver Canucks are on tap. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Long-term injury cap relief changes in the regular season
Under the existing rules, if a team’s player is expected to miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days due to injury or illness, the team is afforded the option of “long-term” injury cap relief, allowing the team to add player salary and bonuses to the roster up to the amount of the injured and unavailable player. This allows teams to exceed the salary cap that would otherwise apply while the player is out.
Example No. 1: Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Edmonton Oilers have $93,187,500 in annualized cap commitments and $2,312,500 in annualized cap space under the $95.5 million salary cap with 12 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies on the roster. Assume Zach Hyman qualified with a long-term injury on Day 1 of the season.
Scenario A: If the team made no other moves beforehand, it would be able to replace Hyman’s $5.5 million salary as follows: $2,312,500 of any replacement player(s) would go into the available cap space and the team would be able to exceed the cap by $3,187,500.
Scenario B: If the team added a $2 million forward to the roster before putting Hyman on long-term injury, reducing the team’s available cap space to $312,500, it would enter the season with even more potential total cap relief: only $312,500 of any replacement players would go into the team’s available cap space, and the team could exceed the cap by $5,187,500 moving forward.
When combined with the absence of a salary cap in the playoffs, this rule created an unintended—and much-discussed—incentive for teams to sit out players who might be healthy enough to return earlier during the regular season until the playoffs while taking advantage of the cap relief to add another player. This would give the team the benefit of being able to play both players in the cap-free playoff environment.
The new agreement closes that loophole in two ways beginning with the 2026-27 season. The first adjustment comes during the regular season. In the event of a long-term injury, the team will get relief equal to the lower of (1) the player’s cap hit or (2) the average annualized salary of an NHL player from the prior year.
Example No. 2: Going into the 2026-2027 season, a player with a $5.5 million cap hit qualifies for long-term injury on a team that has $103 million in cap commitments and $1 million in cap space below the projected $104 million cap. Assuming the average salary from the 2024-25 season was $3.25 million, the team would get $3.25 million for player replacements while the injured player is unavailable. In this example $1 million would go into the team’s available cap space, and the team could exceed the cap by $2.25 million.
Example No. 3: Same setup as example No. 2, except the injured player’s contract has a $1.5 million cap hit. In this scenario, the new agreement does not change the calculation method at all because the player’s cap hit is lower than the prior season’s average player contract. If the team utilized long-term injury, $1 million in replacement player salary would go into the team’s existing cap and the team could exceed the cap by $500,000 of annualized cap hit.
There is one exception to this rule: If the NHL and NHLPA agree the severity of a player’s injury or illness justifies it, they may allow a team relief equal to the player’s full cap hit. If a team is afforded such relief, the injured player is deemed ineligible to play that season, whether in the regular season or the playoffs.
Salary cap coming to the NHL Playoffs
The second change geared toward closing the LTIR loophole is to impose a salary cap during the playoffs beginning with the 2026-27 season.
How does this work? On the day a team is to play its first NHL playoff game—by 3:00 pm local time or five hours before puck drop, whichever is earlier—the team must submit a “playing roster” of 18 skaters and two goalies to the NHL Central Registry. The annualized cap hits of those on the “playing roster” must be at or below the league salary cap—as adjusted for the specific team due to bonus overages, buyouts, or trade retentions applicable to that season. The team can then make adjustments to its “playing roster,” if it wants to do so, within the same timeframe before any ensuing playoff game. (If a player becomes unavailable to play after a “playing roster” is due but before gametime, the team can replace that player provided it notifies the NHL Central Registry as soon as possible.)
In theory, a team can maintain a full playoff roster that is over the cap, provided the 20-player “playing roster” is cap compliant. On the one hand, this new procedure prevents a team from circumventing the cap during the season with long-term injury shenanigans only to load up its lineup during the playoffs (i.e., Mark Stone or Nikita Kucherov magically being ready to play on the first day of the postseason). On the other hand, it may prevent teams from engaging in the more standard (and accepted) practice of accruing cap space early in the season to acquire additional salary at the trade deadline for a run into the playoffs.
Accordingly, the 2025 MOU requires the parties to “meet and confer” after the 2026-27 season playoffs to determine if adjustments to this playoff cap rule are necessary to avoid unintended consequences.
NHL player contract changes
The new agreement also provides for a number of NHL player contract-related changes. Under the current rules, a player can sign an extension with his own team for a maximum term of eight years or sign with any team during free agency for a maximum term of seven years. Under the new agreement, going into effect on Sept. 16, 2026, players will be limited to seven-year terms on extensions and six-year terms in free agency.
Additionally, the minimum NHL salaries will increase each season from the current level of $775,000:
2026-27: $850,000
2027-28: $900,000
2028-29: $950,000
2029-30: $1 million
A player on an NHL contract cannot receive a salary less than the minimum for the relevant league year, even if he signed a multi-year contract previously that provided for a lower salary. Accordingly, some low-salary contracts will be revised upward beginning with the 2026-27 season.
The minimum salary increases will also result in corresponding increases to the sums that can be removed from the NHL cap sheet by assigning a player contract to the AHL:
2026-27: $1,225,000
2027-28: $1,275,000
2028-29: $1,325,000
2029-30: $1,375,000
Example: If the Seattle Kraken were to assign Tye Kartye and his $1.25 million average annual value contract to the AHL on opening day in the 2026-27 season, $1.225 million of that amount would come off of Seattle’s cap hit, with only a $25,000 annualized cap charge remaining.
The new agreement also restricts teams from certain unique payment structures. “Deferred” compensation arrangements—where players receive a portion of their pay after the fact—will be prohibited. Likewise, new rules limiting the front-loading of contracts and shifting too much contract value into signing bonuses will also go into effect before the 2026-27 season.
Finally, teams will not be allowed to reduce their salary cap obligations on a player contract by moving players off the NHL roster to the minor leagues without any intent that the player actually report to the AHL team and play a game. This practice—called a “paper transaction”—will be forbidden beginning with the 2026-27 season. If a player is reassigned such that the player misses a day of NHL time, the player must actually report to the minor league team and a play a game before being recalled. (This will not affect players sent down and recalled on trade deadline day with the intent of making those players eligible for the AHL playoffs.)
Kraken takeaways: The Seattle Kraken will have at least one notable young player eligible for a contract extension next offseason: Shane Wright. Until Sept. 15, 2026, the team will be able to sign Wright to an eight-year extension. Any extension signed after that date would be capped at seven years. Might this give the team and player added incentive and a new deadline to strike a long-term arrangement?
The rising NHL salary minimums will also result in John Hayden’s 2026-2027 salary being revised upward from $775,000 to $850,000. His cap hit will rise correspondingly. Even so, the new sum could still be buried in the AHL without cap consequence.
John Hayden is due a salary bump. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
NHL Draft and player development changes
As it stands currently, an NHL team holds exclusive negotiating rights to a drafted player for differing periods of time based on the league from which the player is being drafted. Under the new agreement, the right-retention regime will be simplified and (mostly) harmonized.
Beginning with the 2027 draft, NHL teams will hold exclusive rights to players drafted in their age 18 year (i.e. first-time draft eligible players) for four years. NHL teams will hold exclusive negotiating rights for players drafted in their age 19 year or later (i.e., re-entry players) for three years. The exception for college students will continue, however, with NHL teams holding exclusive rights beyond the time period that would ordinarily apply until 30 days after the drafted player is finished with his college hockey career.
Separately, the new agreement will likely change a key player development rule. Under existing agreements, NHL teams could not assign players drafted out of the CHL directly to the AHL without first offering them back to their CHL teams until the player’s age 20 season. This left NHL teams with a juniors-or-NHL choice for many 19-year-old players who would have likely benefited from an intermediate step.
Under the new agreement, the NHL and NHLPA agreed that beginning in the 2026-27 season, one 19-year-old player per NHL team drafted out of the CHL can be assigned directly to the AHL. Importantly, this rule change will require agreement from the CHL in the form of an amendment to the CHL Transfer Agreement. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has recently reported that these conversations have happened, and the CHL has been receptive to the change this time around.
Kraken takeaways: After drafting advanced, skilled CHL forwards at the top of the 2022 and 2024 NHL Drafts, the Kraken have been frustrated by the rule preventing CHL players younger than 20 years old from playing in the AHL for a few years now. As a 19-year-old, Berkly Catton will face an NHL-or-juniors inflection point this fall, as Wright did previously.
In contrast, the 18-year-old Jake O’Brien may be the first Kraken prospect to receive the benefit of this rule next summer—assuming his development goes as hoped in the interim. O’Brien already signed his NHL entry-level contract, which rules out the NCAA ranks as a development option for him. Before this rule change, he would have been in the same position Catton is in now. Instead, the path to the AHL is open for him.
Is Jake O’Brien headed to Coachella Valley in 2026? (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Concluding thoughts
There are more pragmatic changes and fixes in the new agreement too—from full-time, club-employed emergency backup goalies to mandatory neck protection, off-season on-ice work with skills coaches (if player initiated), new streamlined procedures for submitting no-trade lists, and one additional post-trade-deadline player recall. With the salary cap rising again and enough wealth to share between the owners and the players, the focus in the 2025 MOU seemed to be on addressing problem areas.
One change—mandating that 75 calendar days elapse between two clubs retaining salary on the same player contract in consecutive trades—is a bit of a head scratcher. Setting that one aside, though, the new agreement contains a number of sensible, incremental improvements that will be significant for the Kraken and teams across the league soon.
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Which CBA changes stand out to you? Do you have any other CBA or contract-related questions? Reach out to us in the comments below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
It happens every offseason—restricted free agents file for arbitration, and fanbases panic. In the case of the Seattle Kraken, forward Kaapo Kakko has filed for arbitration, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to do so. However, no Kraken player has ever made it to an actual arbitration hearing. Each has instead found common ground and signed a contract beforehand.
So, what does the arbitration process entail, and what does this mean for Kakko and the Kraken?
Requirements for arbitration
Arbitration is a mechanism that allows a neutral third party to determine a fair contract when the team and player can’t agree. Each side presents their case—each limited to 90 minutes—and within 48 hours, the arbitrator issues a binding ruling on the player’s salary.
The result is a one- or two-year deal at a salary determined by the arbitrator. The team, if it did not file, gets to choose the term. The exception is if the player is one year away from unrestricted free agency; in that case, only a one-year deal can be awarded. Kakko is one year away from being a UFA, so if his negotiation gets all the way to a hearing, the arbitrator will award a one-year deal.
The ruling is final, unless the award exceeds $4.85 million for the 2025 season. If it does, the team can walk away, making the player an unrestricted free agent. This threshold adjusts annually.
Who is eligible?
A player’s eligibility for arbitration depends on his age upon signing his entry-level deal and how many professional seasons he has accrued. For players who signed at age 18 or 19, a professional season is counted if he plays 10 or more NHL games. At age 20 and older, it’s 10 or more games in any pro league (NHL, AHL, ECHL, or top overseas leagues).
Here’s the breakdown:
Age 18-20 signed contract
4 professional years
Age 21 signed contract
3 professional years
Age 22-23 signed contract
2 professional years
Age 24+ signed contract
1 professional year
Who can file and when?
Both players and teams can file for arbitration, though it’s far more common for players to do so. Players must file by July 5 at 5 p.m. ET.
Teams have two windows to file:
June 15 through 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final.
July 5 at 5 p.m. through July 6 at 5 p.m., if the player did not file.
For a team to file, the player’s previous base salary (not average annual value) must exceed $2.43 million (per PuckPedia, as of 2025). Teams may use this route if they wish to avoid issuing a qualifying offer at the player’s prior salary. Through arbitration, a salary reduction is possible, with the maximum decrease capped at 15 percent. It also blocks the player from signing an offer sheet. The Buffalo Sabres just used this strategy with Bowen Byram.
Once a filing is made, a hearing date is scheduled between July 20 and August 4. Contract negotiations can continue right up to the hearing, but once it begins, both sides must abide by the arbitrator’s ruling.
Most never reach a hearing
Despite the headlines, arbitration hearings are rare. Since Seattle entered the league in 2021-22, 60 players have filed for arbitration:
2022: 23 filed, 1 hearing
2023: 23 filed, 3 hearings
2024: 14 filed, 1 hearing
That’s just five hearings out of 60 filings. The rest were resolved with signed contracts ahead of time. This season, 11 players have filed for arbitration.
Kaapo Kakko celebrates a goal with his Kraken teammates. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Kakko’s unique situation
Kaapo Kakko’s case is more complex than past Kraken arbitration filings. His negotiation comes at a unique intersection of three key factors:
NHL salary cap jump
The cap is set to rise from $88 million to $95.5 million next season, then to $104 million in 2026-27, and again to $113.5 million in 2027. This makes short-term deals more appealing to players who want to cash in later. But there’s risk—contracts are guaranteed, but a major injury on a one-year deal can derail a payday.
Production and potential
Kakko tallied 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 49 games with Seattle after his midseason acquisition from the New York Rangers and has shown good chemistry with Matty Beniers. That projects to a 50-point season over a full schedule. At age 24, Kakko may prefer to bet on himself, aiming to boost his value heading into his prime years. Seattle, meanwhile, is likely to make an offer aligned with his current production rather than anticipated growth.
UFA status
If Kakko signs a one-year deal, he keeps his path open to unrestricted free agency. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to leave Seattle, but it gives him flexibility and leverage.
In March, I previewed RFA expectations for the Kraken. Kakko’s case stood out then—and even with his arbitration filing, my expectations and predictions remain unchanged.
Potential outcomes
Here are three realistic outcomes for Kakko’s contract:
Longer-term deal – Five years at $6 million AAV
Short bridge deal – One or two years at $5 million AAV
Arbitration hearing – One-year deal awarded in the $4 million to $4.5 million range
Technically, Seattle could sign Kakko for up to eight years, but that would take him through age 32. A five-year deal would expire when he’s 29, allowing him to cash in once more when he’s still in his prime and likely able to land another significant contract.
Final thoughts
Arbitration filings sound dramatic, but they’re often just a step in the negotiation dance. Most cases settle before a hearing, and both sides move on.
Still, the process can be awkward. During hearings, teams must point out a player’s flaws to justify their stance—comments that can linger long after the deal is done.
For fans, it’s easy to worry, but there’s no need to panic. This is just part of doing business in the NHL offseason. Negotiations take time—and patience is key.
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.
The NHL’s annual mad dash from the Stanley Cup Final to the July 4th holiday has ended. While there is still business being transacted, things have cooled off following a chaotic two-week fever dream that included the NHL Draft, free agency, Development Camps, the first buyout window, qualifying restricted free agents, and—just to keep things interesting—a slew of trades.
With things settling down, this feels like a good time to empty the Kraken Notebook and bring you up to speed on what has transpired for Seattle over the past fortnight.
Philipp Grubauer is staying
This is relatively old news, and although we talked about it on last week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, I haven’t written about it yet. So, here’s the update: Philipp Grubauer is staying with the Seattle Kraken.
Jason Botterill just confirmed that Philipp Grubauer will be back next season. #SeaKraken
After a gruelingly long Day 1 of the NHL Draft, Kraken general manager Jason Botterill was asked point blank by Glenn Dreyfuss if Grubauer would be back next season following much speculation both locally and nationally that he would be bought out of the last two years of his contract.
Here’s what Botterill said:
“Yeah, Philipp will be part of our group here, for sure, and we’ll continue to work on different things on— obviously, we brought in Colin [Zulienello] to be our goalie coach moving forward here. We are going to have different things to work on from that standpoint. We’ll continue to look at different ways we can improve the team in front of [the goalies]. I think it’s one of the things that Lane [Lambert] has talked a lot about as a head coach is making sure that we play strong in front of them, and we’ll continue to look at different ways to improve our goaltending position with both Joey and Philipp.
“It’s a situation that— people sometimes think that if you buy a player out, it just automatically goes away. There’s still a cap hit and stuff from that standpoint. And we believe Philipp can bounce back from that situation, and we think there’s an opportunity still for success here.”
A month ago, I was certain Seattle would find a way to move on from Grubauer and his $5.9 million cap hit over the next two seasons. Coming off the worst season of his career, in which he went 8-17-1 with a 3.49 goals-against average and .875 save percentage and even landed in AHL Coachella Valley for a stretch, it seemed to me there was no way Seattle could bring him back.
But once the team fired goalie coach Steve Briere and replaced him with Firebirds goalie coach Colin Zulienello, signs were suddenly pointing toward the relationship with Grubauer continuing. After all, when Grubauer returned from his stint in CV at the end of last season, he spoke glowingly of his time working with Zulienello, while also taking a few pot shots (at least I thought they were pot shots) at Briere and former head coach Dan Bylsma for their communication and the way they were deploying Grubauer in net. Promoting a goalie coach that Grubauer clearly likes indicated that he could end up sticking around. Lo and behold, Grubauer remains with the team.
Financially speaking, if the team had bought Grubauer out, then he would have still counted for $1.98 million in 2025-26 and $3.08 million in 2026-27. Then, the team would have had two additional penalty years of $1.68 million per season in 2027-28 and 2028-29. So what Botterill said about that side of the decision is true.
But the optics are still difficult when you consider just how tough of a season Grubauer had. The Kraken want to portray to the fanbase that they are looking to become a perennial playoff contender, yet they’re running it back with a goalie who couldn’t even be relied upon in the second of back-to-backs last season while making $5.9 million.
I don’t believe the front office is blind to said optics, though. Where I think the decision to keep Grubauer (and instead replace the goalie coach) was really made was when the market for free-agent goalies started to develop. Plain and simple, there were no worthwhile goalies on the market. The best option was Jake Allen, who ended up re-signing in New Jersey anyway, so he wasn’t even really available. Beyond that, guys like David Rittich, Dan Vladar, and Alex Lyon were the only ones getting signed as backups, and none of those strike me as massive upgrades over Grubauer.
In fairness to Grubauer, he did look a lot better when he got back from the AHL at the end of last season, and he was excellent at the IIHF World Championship for Team Germany, going 2-1-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .930 save percentage. Maybe that carries over into next season?
I do also want to call out that Grubauer remains an extremely easy guy to root for, continuing to make Seattle his summer home and even appearing at Kraken Development Camp last week to help prospect Visa Vedenpää and the other invitee goalies that were there. It would be really nice to see him bounce back and finally put together the type of season that made us think the Kraken had hit the jackpot when they signed him in 2021.
Here’s hoping he sticks it to me and all the other media people that incorrectly predicted the Kraken would buy him out.
Development Camp thoughts
Speaking of Vedenpää, he was awesome in the Stucky Cup scrimmage on Thursday, backstopping Team Blue to a 4-3 comeback win over Team White. Vedenpää, the only drafted goalie in attendance, played the whole game and made a bunch of big-time stops, while the three camp invitees rotated through Team White’s net.
Vedenpää, 20, had a tough season in Finland, missing most of the year with an undisclosed health issue.
“With Visa, we’re so proud of this kid,” Kraken former (more on that in a bit) director of player development Jeff Tambellini said. “He dealt with some tough health issues throughout the year, missed the whole back half. He was supposed to be one of the goaltenders for Team Finland at World Juniors, so for him to make the comeback, get in a game, play that well in front of all our fans, for us, that’s a 10 out of 10 day.”
Unsurprisingly, Berkly Catton also jumped off the page at Dev Camp, looking lightyears ahead of some of the other players in attendance. It’s important to remember that he’s facing other very young players in that setting, but for a 19-year-old looking to make the jump from the WHL to the NHL in a few months, you want to see progression, and you want him to stand out from the pack. He definitely accomplished that. He’s faster and stronger than last summer, he’s mature well beyond his years, and the way he floats across the ice gives a real “NHL-ready” vibe.
Blake Fiddler – The 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman that the Kraken traded up to get in the second round looks like a real player. He’s remarkably smooth for his size and seems to handle the puck well. He also told us in his interview on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast that he’s “still growing.”
Jake O’Brien – O’Brien got a little too cute with the puck a couple times in the Stucky Cup, but he also showed flashes of the elite skill that made him worthy of the No. 8 overall pick in the draft. He’s very shifty and has fantastic playmaking vision. It will be fun to see how he progresses in the OHL this next season. Botterill walked out on the ice at halftime of the scrimmage and had O’Brien sign his entry-level contract in front of the many attending fans.
Caden Price – The 19-year-old defenseman who got traded from Kelowna to Lethbridge in the WHL this past season was flying under the radar as a prospect for a while. But he ended up playing a big role for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, and he placed first in fitness testing this past week and looked great on the ice. Keep an eye on him over the next season or two…
Ben MacDonald – As a 21-year-old college player, MacDonald was on the older end of the Dev Camp spectrum. Still, he was notable with his play in the Stucky Cup and even his practice performances. He looked strong and fast and set up a highlight-reel goal in the scrimmage by spinning off a check in the corner and finding an open teammate in the slot.
Reese Hamilton – Hamilton is not a Kraken prospect but was invited to camp after going undrafted last week. He had an impressive 16-year-old season for the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL with eight goals and 23 assists in 42 games but then went pretty quiet in his 17 season with just 14 total points (4-10=14) in 59 games split across the Hitmen and Regina Pats. But Hamilton caught my eye a bunch of times at Dev Camp and got called out by both Tyson Jugnauth and Tambellini as a player they both thought should have been drafted. Hamilton will go back into the draft next year, but he’s a player to monitor.
“To get a Reese Hamilton into camp, a player that at the start of the year was being talked about in the first or second round, and we get a free look at him here,” Tambellini said. “From our standpoint, that’s fantastic. So we’re looking at them all differently. Again, different timelines, but always great when you get a player that you don’t expect to get to camp.”
Tambellini moving on
Speaking of Tambellini, news broke Monday morning that he has been hired by the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant general manager. Selfishly, we’re devastated by this news, because Tambellini did an awesome job in his role for the Kraken, and working with him was an absolute delight. That said, many congrats to “Tambo,” and we wish him the very best in his new role.
RFA updates
Last week, the Kraken extended qualifying offers to all three of their restricted free agents, Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, and Tye Kartye. They then signed Kartye to a two-year deal with a $1.25 million cap hit. That’s a fine number and a nice payday for the depth forward who was signed as an undrafted free agent and worked his way up through the ranks to become a full-time NHLer with the Kraken.
Kakko filed for arbitration on Saturday. That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be an abitration hearing. Indeed, parties more frequently agree to a new deal before the hearing, which will be scheduled to happen between July 20 and August 4. It does guarantee that, one way or another, a deal will get done with Kakko. It also eliminates the possibility of him signing an offer sheet with another team. If this does end in a hearing, the neutral arbitrator will award a one-year contract, after which Kakko will be an unrestricted free agent.
Arbitration hearings are contentious and can really tarnish a team’s relationship with a player. Plus, the Kraken surely want to lock Kakko up for longer than one year, so it behooves Seattle to get something done before this gets to a hearing. But from the player’s perspective, he’s also as little as one year away from a massive payday on the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
I believe Kakko likes playing in Seattle, but does he like it enough to sign a longer-term deal in the next couple weeks and forgo his upcoming opportunity to become a UFA?
Are the Kraken done reshaping their roster?
Aside from the trades that brought in Mason Marchment and Freddy Gaudreau and removed Andre Burakovsky (the Kraken did end up buying out Joe Veleno, the return in the Burakovsky trade) and the signing of shutdown defenseman Ryan Lindgren, the Kraken still haven’t made a move that I think puts them back in playoff contention. I believe that—if they do truly want to compete for the postseason next year—they need to add a winger that can reliably score 30-plus goals.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has speculated that the Kraken were considering a trade with the St. Louis Blues for Jordan Kyrou but didn’t pull the trigger. That, to me, fits the bill as exactly the kind of acquisition the Kraken need and also tells me they aren’t opposed to continuing to seek offensive upgrades.
In my reaction to the Lindgren signing, I wrote that the numbers don’t align right now, with five left-shot defensemen in the fold. So is this the roster that Seattle will roll with in 2025-26? Or is there yet a “splashy” acquisition on the horizon, perhaps with a defenseman exiting and a top-six forward entering?
Here’s what Botterill said when I asked him about that at the draft:
“I think there’s 31 other teams that want to make a splasher addition to their roster, and I think you see in other markets, everyone’s trying from that standpoint, for sure. We’ll continue to work on developing our own players internally. We’re excited about some of our young players, excited about a player like Chandler Stephenson being comfortable in this market in his second year. But hey, we continue to have draft capital, continue to have cap space to work on that, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Here’s my updated depth chart projection after adding in Lindgren and removing Veleno. I do not think Jani Nyman and Berkly Catton will play together on the fourth line; it’s just where I think they “stack up” at the moment.
There is room to add a forward and remove a defenseman here…
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson Ryker Evans // Brandon Montour Ryan Lindgren // Jamie Oleksiak Josh Mahura Ville Ottavainen
Goalies
Joey Daccord Philipp Grubauer Matt Murray
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.
The Seattle Kraken emerged from the 2025 NHL Draft with a projectable top-six scoring forward, a consensus late first-round defense talent, and several depth blueliners who are lottery tickets to contribute at the NHL level but can fill the organizational need for defensive depth. All in, it was a productive draft that received positive reviews from many analysts. Let’s take a look at each of the selections before concluding with a few general takeaways.
Pick analysis: Though it was disappointing to some fans (and perhaps also in the Kraken draft room) to see Porter Martone and James Hagens come off the board with the two picks before Seattle’s No. 8 pick, Jake O’Brien is not just a consolation prize. His scoring production over the last two seasons was rivaled only by Michael Misa among OHL first-time eligible 2025 draft picks. (He was No. 5 overall on our preseason data-only watchlist, based on 2023-24 season data, and No. 4 on our final watchlist, based on data from the 2024-25 seasons.)
O’Brien is a 6-foot-2 playmaking, right-shot, center-capable forward who brings offensive and transition skill reminiscent of Wyatt Johnston, according to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. Brantford relied on him heavily in all situations, including on the power play and penalty kill. Some scouts expressed concern that most of his scoring production came on the man advantage, rather than 5-on-5. At this point, I don’t project him as a game-breaking, star forward, but the tools are there to contribute in a top-six role, whether at center or on the wing.
For more on O’Brien, check out John Barr’s draft-day post here.
Scouting report: “O’Brien displays the high-end patience and vision to hold onto pucks for an extra second to make difficult plays and run an NHL power play. He’s extremely skilled with the puck, showing the soft touch and quick hands to create a lot of scoring chances and improvise on difficult plays often. He’s a decent enough skater. His game can lack pace at times in part because he pulls up to make his skilled plays too much, but when he gets going, he moves well. O’Brien isn’t overly physical, but he gets to the net to create chances, can kill penalties and isn’t a pushover. He projects as a very good top-two-line center who could score a lot in the NHL.” – Corey Pronman, The Athletic
Pick analysis: The 6-foot-4, 209-pound, native Tennessean brings a physical element, as well as strong speed and agility for his size. He also has NHL experience in the family; his father Vernon Fiddler played 14 years in the NHL as a forward for the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, among other teams.
Fiddler was viewed by most scouts as a late-first-round talent. He was No. 27 overall on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. Of the sources we gathered, Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News was the highest on Fiddler, ranking him No. 17 overall. Elite Prospects had him ranked No. 23 overall, and McKeen’s had him at No. 22.
For more on Fiddler, check out Saturday’s instant reaction post here.
Scouting report: “With three-zone skills and unusual mobility for a player this size, it’s impossible not to see Fiddler’s potential. In a single shift, he dangles through the opposition for an entry, blows up an opposing rush, and then stretches the ice with a long-range breakout pass while fending off pressure. . . Mostly, Fiddler’s impact comes through his defensive impact and frequent advantage creation. With explosive backward crossovers, he wins the race to the middle before pivoting and surfing into the stop. Always thinking about body position, he skates through the hands, intercepts opponents with his back, and eliminates off-puck threats. On retrievals, he picks up the puck cleanly, waits for pressure to engage, and places it in a good spot for a teammate to carry it out.” – Elite Prospects
Scouting video:
Round 3, Pick 68: Will Reynolds, D, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
Pick analysis: Will Reynolds was No. 137 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board—ranking behind a few players the Kraken later selected—but the Kraken saw a lot to recommend his profile in this range. Reynolds is a relatively young (August birthday) defender with a good frame and skating skill. Public analysts that had him graded in the third- or fourth-round range noted Reynolds’ offensive skill level came along as his draft season progressed. That said, Reynolds’ profile and projection is mostly about his ability to shut down the opposition defensively.
For more on Reynolds, check out our instant reaction post here.
Scouting report: “The 6-foot-2 blueliner is an excellent athlete who is very mobile; he is nearly impossible to beat off the rush already. His four-way mobility is excellent, and this allows him to not only shut down the transition game of the opposition, it makes him routinely first to retrievals so that he can kickstart his own team’s transition game. Over the course of the QMJHL season, Reynolds’ play with the puck greatly improved, making him a much more effective two-way defender. While his skill and creativity with the puck are pretty limited, he can make a solid first pass and that bodes well for a future pro career.” – McKeen’s
Pick analysis: Agafonov is the first Russian-born skater ever drafted by the Seattle Kraken, and just the second player overall the Kraken have drafted out of Russia. When asked what gave the Kraken the confidence in their evaluation given the difficulty of getting crossover scouts into Russia, GM Jason Botterill pointed to the fact that Director of Amateur Scouting Robert Kron was able to view and interview Agafonov at the Gold Star Hockey Development in Florida the week before the draft.
Agafonov was well-regarded by public analysts going into the draft, landing at No. 60 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. Corey Pronman of The Athletic had Agafonov at No. 79 on his board, while Craig Button of TSN had him at No. 78. NHL Central Scouting slotted Agafonov as the No. 33 European-born skater in the class. He was the sixth-highest-ranked player and second-highest ranked defenseman still available on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board when Seattle selected.
In addition to 35 games at the junior level in Russia, Agafonov logged 12 games in the VHL, Russia’s lower-level pro league that scouts analogize to the ECHL. He had one goal and two assists in those 12 games.
Scouting report: “[Agafonov] plays with confidence and wants to attack and make plays. He absorbs pressure and protects pucks well, frequently looking to carry the puck past the first layer of pressure and move off of the pass. He walks the line well and can snap it. He’s strong and has a pro body. But he also doesn’t think the game well, makes his fair share of mistakes with and without the puck and needs to learn to defend better and make better reads. He’s worth drafting as a long-term project that you leave with Tolpar and reassess in a few years, though, as there is something there.” – Scott Wheeler, The Athletic ($)
Pick analysis: The Kraken traded their seventh-round pick (No. 198 overall) for two seventh-round picks (Nos. 205 and 218). At No. 205, the Kraken selected another defenseman who fell farther than some might have anticipated, selecting right-shot defenseman Karl Annborn. According to some scouts, the Swedish-born defenseman fell short of lofty expectations coming into the year, but he played 21 games for the Swedish U18 team, typically earning first- or second-pair minutes with Sasha Boumedienne and other well-regarded prospects. He also earned five SHL games with HV71 this past season, during which he recorded his first professional point, an assist.
Annborn was No. 124 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. Only one other seventh-round pick (Filip Ekberg) ranked higher. NHL Central Scouting had Annborn one spot ahead of Agafanov, at No. 32 among European skaters.
Scouting report: “[T]here isn’t a single area of the game where [Annborn] isn’t able to contribute, at least to some extent. While the term ‘two-way defenceman’ fits the bill well with Annborn, in our eyes, the most projectable parts of his game are the defensive work and the puck-moving. He’s got strong defensive habits, breaking up plays cleanly with his stick while also holding his own in battles along the wall and very rarely getting caught out of position. Once a breakup is created, Annborn also knows what to do next with the puck. He keeps his touches simple yet reliable and occasionally wows with a more complex breakout sequence. What ultimately kept Annborn from rising higher on our board is that while he’s well-rounded, he’s also not exceptional in any aspect of the game.” – Elite Prospects ($)
Pick analysis: With the team’s final pick of the draft, Seattle went with a player largely unconsidered by public analysts. Krantz, a winger in the Swedish junior league, was not ranked by any of the sources we gathered for the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. His scoring in the Swedish junior league was also fairly pedestrian for that league.
Krantz is a 6-foot-2 right-shot forward, and, based on two games viewed (so far), presents with plus speed and release on his shot. This pick seems to be an investment in tools identified and valued by Seattle’s Swedish area scouts. With a four-year time horizon to sign the player, it is likely Krantz will remain in Sweden for the foreseeable future and work to climb the ranks there.
Scouting video:
Draft news and notes
Beefing up the blue line
In Seattle’s first four NHL Entry Drafts, the Kraken did not shy away from shorter (e.g., Ty Nelson and Tyson Jugnauth) or slighter (e.g., Ryker Evans and Lukas Dragicevic) prospects on the blue line. In fact, the team had selected just two defensemen taller than6-foot-1 in their history: the hulking Finn Ville Ottavainen and Dragicevic, who continues to work on filling out his 6-foot-2 frame.
This draft was a different story for Seattle, with the Kraken adding four defensemen, all of whom were at least 6-foot-1: Fiddler (6-foot-4.5), Reynolds (6-foot-3), Agafonov (6-foot-2), and Annborn (6-foot-1).
This followed a league-wide trend toward taller defense prospects in this draft. Indeed, not one blueliner who measured in below the 6-foot threshold was drafted this year. This is a small sample, of course, and these things can be cyclical, but it’s something to keep an eye on as we move forward and factor into prospect rankings.
Revisiting NHL Draft Combine performances
Botterill recently told Sound Of Hockey that he viewed the physical testing at the combine as the most important part of that event to his draft evaluations. Looking back at the results, it is possible that Fiddler’s performance pushed him up Seattle’s board. Fiddler measured in taller (.5 inch) and heavier (11 pounds) than he had been listed previously. And Fiddler himself just told us this week that he’s “still growing.” His wingspan (79.75 inches) was sixth-largest in the class, and he ranked in the top five of grip strength in both his left and right hands.
The Kraken got younger
Whether by design or coincidence, Seattle drafted the youngest class by average age of any team in the league based on data compiled by John Barr.
When asked about the youth of the class, Botterill and Kron emphasized that youth is a factor in a propsect’s favor because it means there is a longer runway for both physical and skill development.
Scandinavian competition
Following the selections of Annborn and Krantz, Seattle has now drafted three Swedish players in its history, but, interestingly, none of those has come higher than pick No. 180 where Seattle selected Zeb Forsfjall in the 2023 draft. By contrast, Seattle has selected five Finns within the top 100.
Trading for Fiddler
After the draft, we asked Botterill about the process that led to Seattle trading their two second-round picks (Nos. 38 and 57) to Philadelphia for pick No. 36 and a third-round pick (No. 68) early on Day 2. Botterill indicated that the team evaluated Fiddler to be in a tier of defensemen that began to come off the board in the mid-to-late first round. His presence on the board to begin Day 2 immediately appealed to Seattle, and the Kraken had conversations with multiple teams at the top of Round 2 in an effort to move up for the player.
#SeaKraken GM Jason Botterill said the team started talks with teams on trade up before round 2; PHI deal was preferable bc the team also got the third-rd pick back. Seattle had Blake Fiddler in a tier of D who were selected starting in the mid-to-late first rd. Those picks ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YqVVUGEXS2
Botterill indicated that the team was comfortable with the Flyers trade because it was a two-for-two swap where Seattle also got back a third rounder. I infer from this that other teams were asking for both of Seattle’s second-round picks to move up and/or were offering back a second pick that Seattle did not view as valuable. Fortunately for the team, Fiddler was still on the board at No. 36, and Seattle made the trade.
Semyon Vyazovoi likely to stay in Russia another year
As noted, Afagonov is just the second Russian player Seattle has ever drafted and the first since Russia was expelled from the international hockey community in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. The other player is goalie Semyon Vyazovoi, a 2021 sixth-round pick. Vyazovoi, 22, excelled in his first opportunity in the KHL, Russia’s top-level professional league, last season, recording a league-leading .938 save percentage in 28 regular-season games. Despite some media speculation in Russia that Vyazovoi may come to North America next season, Botterill indicated that the team expected him to stay in the KHL another year.
Kraken Development Camp underway
Kraken Development Camp kicked off Monday, June 30, with physical testing, and the players have been participating in split-group on-ice sessions Tuesday and Wednesday. The roster includes almost all of the younger prospects in Seattle’s system, with the exception of Clarke Caswell, a handful of Europeans (Forsfjall, Vyzaovoi, and Kim Saarinen), and players who have played a full season at the AHL level (including Eduard Sale and Jagger Firkus).
Among the non-roster invites listed, 6-foot-1 defenseman Reese Hamilton is a name that stands out. Hamilton had a hugely productive draft-minus-one year in the WHL, piling up 31 points in 42 games for the Calgary Hitmen. This placed him sixth overall on our preseason data-only watchlist, just behind Jake O’Brien. As you likely guessed, his draft season did not reach the same level. He struggled in Calgary and was eventually traded to Regina. While scouts continued to credit his standout skating skill, they noted that he was repeating mistakes throughout the 2024-25 season. Ultimately, he landed at No. 102 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board and went undrafted. Check out his shifts from his October 5, 2024, game against Red Deer here.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
The Seattle Kraken made their first dip into the 2025 free agency market on Tuesday with the signing of left-shot defenseman Ryan Lindgren to a four-year contract carrying a $4.5 million annual cap hit.
“Ryan’s a heart-and-soul player who competes every shift,” said Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. “He does whatever it takes to win and has been a key fixture on the penalty kill throughout his career. We’re excited to welcome him to the team.”
The 27-year-old, who was born in my hometown of Burnsville, Minn., is a defensive-minded defenseman who has consistently averaged north of 19 minutes per night. He doesn’t contribute much offensively, but he’s a guy who was leaned on by the New York Rangers for years as a shutdown-type player.
This past season, Lindgren had two goals and 17 assists in 54 games for the Rangers before adding two more goals and one assist in 18 games with the Avs. He’s considered a great locker room guy—one who will take on the toughest assignments, block shots, and—as Botterill noted—kill penalties.
Where Lindgren fits with the Kraken
If you’re scratching your head about how Lindgren fits in at this point, you’re not alone. The Kraken already had four left-shot defensemen in Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, Ryker Evans, and Josh Mahura.
So obviously, something has to give with one of those four. Any of Dunn, Oleksiak, or Evans could be valuable trade chips, although both Dunn (two years remaining on his deal) and Oleksiak (one year remaining) have 16-team no-trade clauses in their contracts.
This does harken back to memories of last offseason when the Kraken signed Brandon Montour to a seven-year, $50 million contract at the opening of free agency, leading to Brian Dumoulin being traded to the Anaheim Ducks the following day. Could something along those lines be in the works? Stay tuned.
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.
