Now, breathe. The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline has finally come and gone, so it’s time to take stock of what remains in the aftermath.
The Seattle Kraken entered the 2024-25 season with high hopes after a few notable free-agent signings (Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour) and after promoting Dave Bylsma to become the franchise’s second-ever head coach after two very successful years with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. What has followed has been arguably the worst-case scenario for the organization.
The coaching change has failed to inspire much of a turnaround, with the Kraken currently sitting seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 27-34-4 (58 points). They are 12 points behind the Calgary Flames for the Western Conference’s second and final wild card spot. Most of the popular playoff projections have given the Kraken less than a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs for several weeks already, and it seems like that reality finally sunk in, given the team’s moves at the deadline.
The sell-off has been a long time coming and, while painful in the present, should help the Kraken prosper in the long term. Let’s dive into the moves made by general manager Ron Francis and assign grades for each trade.
To Tampa Bay Lightning: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde, Kyle Aucoin, and a 5th-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
To Seattle: Michael Eyssimont, a 2nd-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a conditional 1st-round pick in 2026, and a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
To Detroit Red Wings: Conditional 4th-round pick in 2025
The Kraken pulled off their biggest trade a few days before the deadline, sending two veteran forwards to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a deal involving the Detroit Red Wings as a third-party salary broker. The Red Wings got a fourth-round pick for retaining 50% on Gourde’s cap hit (after the Kraken also retained 50%) before sending him to the Lightning, where he comes in at about $1.3 million against the cap.
Tampa Bay sent an AHL-tweener (Eyssimont), a 2nd-round pick, and a pair of 1st-rounders (both top-10 protected) to facilitate a reunion with pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) Gourde who played for them between 2015 and 2021 and add Bjorkstrand, a two-way winger with another year left on his contract after this one. The conditional 1st-round picks would slide to 2028 or 2029 if they end up in the top 10 in 2026 or 2027, which could time perfectly with when the Lightning’s descent begins.
Brisebois has never shied away from bold moves (think the disastrous Tanner Jeannot trade) and occasionally overpays once he identifies his targets. The Lightning are at the tail end of their contention window with Ryan McDonagh (35), Victor Hedman (34), Nikita Kucherov (31), Jake Guentzel (30), and Andrei Vasilevskiy (30) all aged 30 or older. Their current squad has a real shot of winning the Atlantic, and adding Gourde and Bjorkstrand gives head coach Jon Cooper two more utility pieces who can move up and down the lineup as needed. They are a much more versatile outfit as a result, and the cost of draft capital is a fair trade-off.
The cost for Lightning GM Brisebois is steep, as Gourde has struggled with injuries this season and, at 33, is no longer the player who anchored the third line for their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Bjorkstrand’s extra year increased his value, and the Kraken, therefore, recouped a great deal of assets for players who would not be a part of their future. Both teams got exactly what they wanted at this moment in time, making this a rare win-win for both sides.
Grade: A
To Winnipeg Jets: Brandon Tanev
To Seattle: 2nd-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft
In my mock deadline piece, I had Tanev going to the Dallas Stars for a pair of 3rd-round picks, so getting a 2nd-round pick for a pending free-agent bottom-six forward is a tidy bit of business for Francis.
Tanev has playoff experience (two career trips to the second round or beyond) and was a member of the Jets for four seasons between 2015 and 2019, so he is familiar with the team’s biggest stars.
The prices at the deadline were higher than usual, so the Jets stayed away from making a bigger splash. It’s frustrating for fans of the current Presidents’ Trophy frontrunners, but Tanev still has utility for a Stanley Cup hopeful. He can provide an offensive touch in the bottom-six (13-goal pace for his career) to go along with his wrecking ball style and has experience with penalty-killing.
Both teams got what they wanted in the exchange, but Francis got a touch more value than expected for a pending free-agent grinder.
Grade: A
New Jersey Devils: Daniel Sprong
To Seattle: 7th-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
Trading Sprong has been telegraphed since the shoot-first winger was sent down to the AHL earlier this season, and it’s no surprise that the Devils – now without star center Jack Hughes for the rest of the season – gave up a pittance for his services. I have advocated for Sprong’s return given the Kraken’s offensive struggles, but his defensive shortcomings have prevented him from carving out a regular role at the NHL level.
For the Devils, getting a player who scored at a 21-goal pace and ranked top-20 among all NHL forwards in goals-per-60 at five-on-five over the past three seasons for basically nothing is a win. Sprong has also torn up the AHL since his demotion (11 goals and 25 points in 19 games) and looks motivated to prove his doubters wrong, which bodes well for New Jersey.
On the Kraken’s side, a 7th-round pick is an underwhelming return, and it’s a shame that a talented player could not find a spot in this lineup. Getting something for a depressed asset is better than nothing, but not by much.
Grade: C
Kraken Still Have Valuable Trade Assets
Despite trading away several of the team’s most valuable assets before Friday’s deadline, GM Francis can still point to other players as likely trade candidates this summer or next season’s deadline.
Jaden Schwartz ($5.5 million cap hit), Jordan Eberle ($4.75 million), and Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6 million) are all set to hit free agency after next season, while Philipp Grubauer ($5.9 million), Andre Burakovsky ($5.5 million), and Jared McCann ($5 million) all become free agents in the summer of 2027. Those players are all 28 years old or older and may not fit the Kraken’s competitive timeline.
Trading most, if not all of those players could fetch a hefty collective return for the organization and launch the Kraken into Stanley Cup contention by the end of the decade. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked the organization’s prospect pool as the 10th-best in the league, and that was with Shane Wright graduating into full-time NHL duty. It doesn’t account for the fact that the Kraken winning the lottery for a top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft is a real possibility.
Having five first-round picks over the next three drafts is a good foundation to start, and that number could balloon if the aforementioned players are auctioned off over the next year or two. The Kraken fanbase may be underwhelmed with the team’s success over the first four seasons of its existence compared to its expansion cousins in the Vegas Golden Knights, but the direction the organization has appeared to take is a good sign that the future is a priority. Stay patient, Seattle faithful; success is coming.
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