Seattle Kraken 2026 Offseason Trade Targets

As the Eastern and Western Conference Finals of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs draw closer, the Seattle Kraken are in the depths of planning for the 2026 offseason and beyond.

Failing to make the playoffs in a weak Western Conference resulted in president of hockey operations Ron Francis stepping down from his post at the end of the regular season. Francis’ protégé Jason Botterill now holds the reins in charting Seattle’s path forward and is staring down a busy offseason.

The NHL’s salary cap rises to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, with the Kraken projected to have around $74 million committed to 11 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies. That leaves $30 million to be allocated to potentially three more skaters, with Bobby McMann, Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen, and Matt Murray set to become unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on July 1. I recently explored which of those free agents might re-sign but regardless of who remains, the Kraken have weaknesses to address.

The biggest issue and the one which guides which potential trade targets I’ve profiled below is the Kraken’s lack of scoring punch. The team ranks 27th in goals per game since joining the league, including only scoring 2.73 goals per game this past season (28th overall). Only one Kraken player has ever scored more than 30 goals in a single season in franchise history (Jared McCann had 40 in 2022-23) and the team’s lack of bonafide star power has established a ceiling for its on-ice success.

Three of the four trade targets named below are set to become restricted free agents (RFAs), meaning their current teams retain first-refusal on their rights if they were to sign an offer sheet with another team. Here are the compensation tiers for each level of offer sheet:

Offer Sheet Average Annual Value	Draft Pick Compensation
$11,700,193 or higher	Four first-round picks
Between $9,360,154 and $11,700,192	Two firsts, one second, and one third
Between $7,020,114 and $9,360,153	One first, one second, and one third
Between $4,680,077 and $7,020,113	One first and one third
Between $2,340,038 and $4,680,076	One second
Between $1,544,425 and $2,340,037	One third
$1,544,424 and below	None

The draft picks used for compensation must be a team’s original picks in the next available year and must be re-acquired before tendering an offer sheet if they have already been traded. The Kraken have control of all of the requisite picks needed to tender every level of offer sheet.

With that, let’s dive into four forwards who could be available this summer due to contract status or needing a change of scenery, and would inject much-needed firepower into the Kraken lineup.

Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars – Forward

2025-26 Statistics: 82 Games Played (GP) – 45 Goals (G) – 51 Assists (A) – 96 Points (PTS)

Mavrik Bourque, Dallas Stars – Forward

2025-26 Statistics: 82 GP – 20 G – 21 A – 41 PTS

Let’s kick things off with a double dip in Dallas, who are projected to enter the offseason with just under $93 million already committed to 10 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies. That leaves only $11 million to spread between Robertson, Bourque, Michael Bunting, and captain Jamie Benn.

General manager Jim Nill’s job of keeping a Stanley Cup contender together is all the more difficult due to Robertson and Bourque being RFAs who could be targeted by an offer sheet. Robertson is projected to sign an eight-year contract worth $12 million annually while Bourque is projected to sign a two-year bridge deal at a $2 million cap hit to buy time until the team’s cap situation is cleared up.

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Robertson (who turns 27 in July) is coming off of a very team-friendly contract carrying a $7.75 million cap hit over the past four seasons while also ranking ninth in goals and points among all skaters since the start of the 2021-22 season. He would immediately become the most-talented forward on almost every team in the league and would have opposing executives salivating at the thought of prying him out of Texas, especially with a contract impasse being reported since last season.

On the other hand, 24-year-old Bourque enjoyed a breakout season with 20 goals this season (fourth on the team) while playing top-six minutes at five-on-five. His positional versatility and productivity makes him crucial to retain for a cap-strapped organization, but a bigger role at a higher pay grade could be enough to tempt him into signing an offer sheet.

Tyler Seguin (one year remaining at $9.85 million), Ilya Lyubushkin (one year at $3.25 million) and Radek Faksa (two years at $2 million) are clear targets to have their contracts dumped to facilitate extensions for the younger, more productive forwards. Few teams will do Nill a favour without sweeteners attached, and dropping an offer sheet bomb into his lap could sow chaos into the Dallas front office.

Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks – Forward

2025-26 Statistics: 74 GP – 15 G – 36 A – 51 PTS

Let’s turn our attention to Seattle’s regional rivals in the Vancouver Canucks for our next potential trade target, Swedish center Elias Pettersson.

The former fifth-overall pick was (until recently) one of the league’s top offensive engines, posting three consecutive seasons of 32 goals or more between 2021 and 2024. He also ranked 24th in goals, 22nd in assists, and 17th in points in the league over that span, production headlined by a career-high 102 points in 80 games in 2022-23.

Since then? Pettersson has only totaled 30 goals and 96 points in 138 games over the past two seasons, with the Canucks slipping further and further from contention after coming within one win of advancing to the 2024 Western Conference Final.

Injuries, the Pettersson-Miller feud last season, and roster mismanagement collectively stripped the Canucks of a solid supporting cast and created discord in the locker room. The team’s decline was punctuated by the rebuild-igniting trade of perennial Norris Trophy contender Quinn Hughes earlier this season, sentencing the franchise to years in rebuilding purgatory.

The Kraken would have to be confident in being able to revitalize a depreciated asset who still only turns 28 in November. Pettersson would become the franchise’s most skilled player, but a gigantic cap hit ($11.6 million cap hit through the 2031-32 season), performance uncertainty, and the team’s rivalry with Vancouver could throw a wrench into trade talks.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights – Forward

2025-26 Statistics: 82 GP – 37 G – 27 A – 64 PTS

One of the most interesting RFAs this summer is 25-year-old Pavel Dorofeyev, a Russian winger who is set to cash in significantly after two very productive seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. Dorofeyev is seeking a raise on his current $1.835 million cap hit and one look at his boxscore numbers suggests he has a strong case to demand – and receive – a hefty extension.

Dorofeyev ranks 17th in goals scored over past two seasons (72) and third in powerplay goals (33), with his dangerous shot being a key cog of NHL’s second-best power play over the past two seasons (26.2%). He’s also added plenty of goals during the Golden Knights’ current playoff run, bumping up his salary demands with every additional tally.

Dorofeyev is projected to command either a six-year contract worth $8.46 million annually, or a two-year bridge deal coming in at $5.65 per year. Both marks would cause Vegas problems in an offer sheet situation with the team only having $13.425 million to spread between at least five more skaters.

While most of the team’s pending free agents are more replaceable bottom-six names, midseason acquisition Rasmus Andersson is scheduled to be one of the most in-demand defensemen if he hits the open market. He and Dorofeyev could consume the entirety of the team’s cap space themselves, with Alex Pietrangelo’s unclear health status (and $8.8 million contract) also looming in the background.

Kraken Have Flexibility to Take Big Swing During 2026 Offseason

The Kraken will enter the 2026 offseason as one of the league’s biggest potential power-players. They have a ton of cap space ($30 million remaining with 20 players signed), a bounty of draft picks (seven picks over the first two rounds of the 2026 and 2027 drafts), a top 10 prospect pool, and a fanbase desperate for competitive hockey.

Whether that is enough to entice players to sign an offer sheet or accept a trade is enough remains to be seen, but Botterill has all of the tools needed to make waves in Seattle this summer.

Contract projections and data courtesy of AFP Analytics, Hockey Stats, Natural Stat Trick and the NHL.