Kraken's biggest reasons for hope after 2025 NHL Trade Deadline
03/20/2025 10:06 AM
The Seattle Kraken are well out of the playoff picture as April pulls into view. But fans of the NHL’s newest teams should still be happy about one part of this season. At the NHL trade deadline, Kraken general manager Rob Francis made a massive deal. Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand were sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first-round picks. That acknowledgment of a depressing cap sheet and failing team should give fans some hope for the future.
The first four years of Kraken hockey have not been great. They made the playoffs once but overall, they have built an expensive and non-competitive team. Trading Gourde, who was a pending free agent, was a necessity. But trading Bjorkstrand was that acknowledgment that Kraken fans should have been looking for at the trade deadline.
There are four core members the Kraken should be building around. Their first draft pick was Matty Beniers, Shane Wright was a lottery pick, Vince Dunn is their best defenseman, and Joey Daccord looks like an awesome goalie. Outside of that, Seattle has a lot of expensive players playing up the lineup when they should not be.
The Kraken picked up first-rounders in 2026 and 2027 from the Lightning. If there is a top-line trade target in the coming offseasons, they should be in on him. They can offer big money to free agents like Mitch Marner and Brock Boeser, who are top-line players. This trade opened up their future to building a better team moving forward.
Looking ahead to the offseason, the Kraken can make more trades to tear down their current roster and build through the draft. Philip Grubauer, Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolavainen, and Jamie Oleksiak could all be on the move this offseason. Seattle is in for a tough few years but it should give them hope.
The Kraken must rebuild despite poor performances
The Kraken came into the league with unrealistic expectations because of the Vegas Golden Knights. They made the Stanley Cup Final in their first year, have only missed the playoffs once, and have won the Cup. That laid the foundation in fans’ minds that the expansion draft was set up for Seattle to succeed. That has not been the case and Ron Francis must figure out how to fix it.
The Kraken made the playoffs in 2023 when all of their second-line caliber players had career years. Eight of their everyday players shot over 12%, which is well above the league average. They beat the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round, packing Climate Pledge Arena for some awesome games.
But the problem with the Kraken has always been a lack of superstar talent. Beniers has developed into a star but he has no running mates and has seen his production plateau. Bjorkstrand was a solid bet when the Blue Jackets had to dump him for cap space but he was never able to fill that role. Getting a legit top-line winger to play with Beniers should be their top priority.
Francis has been the GM of the Kraken since the beginning and should be re-tooling the team to keep his job. At 62 years old on his second GM job in the league, this could be the end of Francis’ management career. He has to get this team back to the playoffs before the fanbase starts to turn. The NBA is coming back to the Emerald City soon and the Kraken have to capture their fanbase before the Sonics return.
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