With the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline only a few days away on Friday, March 8th, the Seattle Kraken must come to terms with their standing in the Western Conference playoff race. They currently sit six points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and the Nashville Predators for the two wildcard spots with a record of 28-23-11 over 62 games, with one fewer game played than the Predators.
There are also three other teams within three points of the Kraken, making the playoff race in the West a toss-up. Popular projection models created by MoneyPuck, Dom Luszczyszyn (from The Athletic), and Hockey Reference all give the Kraken between a 20 to 30 percent chance of qualifying for the playoffs, odds that don’t exactly scream Stanley Cup contender.
So, in the lead-up to the deadline, I’ve highlighted promising, NHL-ready players that the Kraken could target if they wanted to jumpstart their rebuild, as well as taking stock of the assets they could sell off, including aging veterans and pending free agents. The front office would be better served pivoting towards a rebuild or retool of sorts – especially with one of the best prospect pools in the NHL – and the upcoming deadline represents a potential change of trajectory in the franchise’s long-term outlook.
The Kraken have already traded center Alex Wennberg to the New York Rangers for a pair of draft picks, removing one of the top centers remaining off the NHL trade board.
With that in mind, let me offer up three more potential trades that the Kraken could make on or before deadline day. If general manager Ron Francis is so inclined, Seattle could be one of the most influential power brokers of the deadline, lending even more credence to the idea that a reshuffling of the deck chairs is in order.
Center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare Traded to the Colorado Avalanche
The first proposed trade sees 38-year-old center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare heading to the Colorado Avalanche, who recently completed trades to acquire defenseman Sean Walker and forward Casey Mittelstadt.
The Avalanche now have around $3 million in cap space at the deadline due to using their long-term injured reserve (LTIR) pool and shedding Ryan Johansen and his $4 million cap hit in the Walker deal.
Bellemare has tallied four goals and five points in 30 games during an injury-plagued campaign, and he will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at season’s end, counting for a very manageable $0.775 million against the cap. Fitting in the veteran under the cap will not be an issue.
The Avalanche would be interested in Bellemare due to his value as a defensive-minded center who could slide into a fourth-line role and assume penalty-killing duties. He is also a strong presence in the faceoff circle, winning 51.5% of his career draws, giving him several traits that are always in demand come playoff time.
Bellemare is also familiar with the Avalanche, having played two seasons for them. He has two appearances in the Stanley Cup Final under his belt, one each with the Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Colorado has rotated through several centers, including Johansen, Ross Colton – who is
now a third-line mainstay – Frederik Olofsson (waived and sent to the minors), and
Chris Wagner, with little stability behind superstar Nathan MacKinnon.
By adding Mittelstadt and potentially Bellemare, the Avalanche would have four centers in appropriate and clearly defined roles down the middle. As a pending UFA coming off a long layoff due to injury, the price to acquire him should not be that high.
Forward Jordan Eberle Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes
The second deal to expect on deadline day is veteran winger Jordan Eberle to the Carolina Hurricanes as they look to make their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.
Eberle currently carries a cap hit of $5.5 million and will become a UFA at the end of the season and could hit the open market as a 33-year-old with an extensive record of goal-scoring before this season.
Eberle has eight 20-goal seasons to his name and four seasons with 25 or more. This year, however, the winger has only scored 14 in 56, which is right around a 20-goal pace. There is room for improvement as he only boasts a 10.8% shooting percentage, the second-lowest of his career.
With 3.28 goals per game (12th in the NHL), the Hurricanes aren’t exactly hurting for offense. What they are looking for, and have been for the past decade or so, is an above-average finisher capable of capitalizing on their territorial dominance. They rank second or better in terms of their share of shots, scoring chances, and expected goals for at five-on-five but have once again significantly underperformed their expected goals tally.
Eberle may be past his prime, but he still leads the Kraken in individual expected goals this season and has enough of a history of outperforming expectations that he could benefit from a more dynamic offensive system.
There are a few other intriguing candidates (Vladimir Tarasenko, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Toffoli, etc.). Still, Eberle makes a great deal of sense for his two-way ability and playoff experience, with two appearances in the Eastern Conference Final over the past four postseasons.
Defenseman Justin Schultz Traded to the Winnipeg Jets
The third and final trade prediction is that blueliner Justin Schultz – currently 33 – heads to the Winnipeg Jets primarily to bolster their lagging power play. Schultz is in the final year of a contract that pays him $3 million annually and will be a UFA at the conclusion of the season.
Despite being tied for second in the NHL by points percentage (PTS%), the Jets own the 24th-ranked power play which is firing at 18% on the season. They are the only team in the top 10 with a power play efficiency lower than 22%, which could be their Achilles’ heel in a short playoff series prone to massive swings in momentum.
While Eberle could also be a good candidate for the Jets, Winnipeg’s blue line lacks offensive punch behind Josh Morrissey, who ranks eighth in defenseman scoring over the past three seasons. Neal Pionk has four 30-point seasons for his career but has only scored 22 points in 61 games this season and underwhelmed relative to his $5.875 million cap hit.
Schultz has 19 points in 52 games this season but has seen his role in all situations plummet, averaging the fewest minutes per game on the Kraken blue line. He’s one season removed from scoring 44 points in 87 regular-season and playoff games, so a change of scenery with more dangerous offensive weapons in Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Nik Ehlers could be a rejuvenating force.
Despite his age and offense-first reputation, Schultz has helped the Kraken win the shot and chance battles when he plays at five-on-five, so he’s not necessarily a sieve on the defensive end. He could add additional puck-moving to a blue line that can struggle with that aspect of the game beyond Morrissey, Pionk, and Dylan Demelo and would add injury insurance ahead of what the Jets hope will be a deep playoff run.
Of all the options available at the deadline, the Jets could do much worse than a veteran with over 80 games of playoff experience and two Stanley Cup wins to his name. Still, they could aim for a higher-profile target, given their heightened expectations.
Kraken Should Be Busy at 2024 NHL Trade Deadline
Given the time remaining before the deadline, the gradual hardening of the overall playoff picture, and some of the contracts on the Kraken’s books, the cards are lining up for the organization to be quite busy come Friday afternoon.
The Kraken have plenty of assets expiring either this offseason or next and could quickly lower the average age of the roster by moving veterans to more competitive situations around the league.
The likes of Shane Wright (age 20), Matty Beniers (21), Tye Kartye (22), and Ryker Evans (22) will form the foundation of the franchise going forward, and a bountiful farm system promises more exciting times ahead for the fanbase.
If the front office accepts the reality of the situation, the Kraken could quickly become one of the NHL’s rising superpowers within two or three years, but such a decision isn’t – and shouldn’t be – made lightly.
