Seattle Kraken Should Target These 4 Restricted Free Agents

As the Seattle Kraken look to continue moving forward in their rebuild, the new-look front office with Ron Francis (now president of hockey operations) and Jason Botterill (promoted to general manager) will have a great deal of tangible assets and cap space with which to maneuver in the coming months.

The NHL recently announced that the upper limit of the salary cap is projected to be $95.5 million next season, and could rise to as high as $113.5 million for the 2027-28 campaign. The significant jumps paired with the Kraken gradually shedding the hefty contracts handed out to veterans in the years since the initial expansion phase could create an eye-watering amount of cap space.

Jaden Schwartz ($5.5 million), Jordan Eberle ($4.75 million), and Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6 million) become UFAs during the summer of 2026, allowing the Kraken to potentially clear up around $15 million in cap space between that trio alone. All three will be 33 years old or older next offseason, making them prime candidates to be moved at the trade deadline (or at this year’s draft) as Seattle’s rebuild chugs along.

Assuming they extend Tye Kartye, Kaako, and Ryker Evans for a combined $10 million per season, the Kraken will have just under $12 million this summer to allocate to two forwards and a defenseman prior to making any trades or executing buyouts. 

Forwards Jani Nyman (six points in 12 NHL games this season), Logan Morrison (42 points in 72 AHL games), and defenseman Ty Nelson (32 in 72) are the favorites to earn a promotion to full-time NHL duty, and could assume those final three spots assuming no other moves are made.

The Kraken have made some mistakes in free agency by aiming for veteran players who are looking to maximize their earnings as unrestricted free agents (UFAs). Given that UFA status is typically earned by reaching 27 years of age or accruing seven NHL seasons of experience, those players are, by definition, past their prime and create market conditions ripe for costly overpayments.

What the Kraken should do instead is target disgruntled restricted free agents (RFA) whose rights are still owned by the team that drafted them. While their rights could be traded for, presenting those players with an offer sheet could pull them away from their current team if there is mutual interest. The original team retains the right to match any offer sheet, but could decline and instead receive draft pick compensation depending on the financial terms of the player’s new contract. Here are the NHL’s offer sheet compensation thresholds for the 2025 offseason:

Average Annual Value (AAV)Draft Pick Compensation
$1,544,424 or lessNone
Over $1,544,424 to $2,340,037Third-round pick
Over $2,340,037 to $4,680,076Second-round pick
Over $4,680,076 to $7,020,113First- and third-round picks
Over $7,020,113 to $9,360,153First-, second-, and third-round picks
Over $9,360,153 to $11,700,192Two firsts, one second and one third
Over $11,700,192Four first-round picks

The draft picks used as compensation must be a team’s own picks, meaning any picks previously acquired from another team via trade are ineligible for the purposes of an offer sheet. The issue for Seattle is that the third-round pick the Kraken sent to the New York Rangers as part of the Will Borgen-Kappo Kakko trade unlocks more flexibility in the range of offer sheets, which the front office could pursue. If the front office sees offer sheets as a legitimate tool in pushing the franchise forward, getting that pick back under team control should be Botterill’s first order of business.

While there are plenty of intriguing RFAs at the forward position (such as Matthew Knies and J.J. Peterka), the Kraken have already compiled one of the league’s best farm systems on the backs of talented forward prospects. The organizational depth of promising defenseman is woefully thin beyond Evans and Nelson, and the team’s current blue line is getting up there in age.

Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson, Oleksiak, and Brandon Montour are the Kraken’s four highest-paid defenders, but three of the four are over 30, and Dunn will turn 29 in October. It’s very possible that none of that quartet will be around or in their prime when Seattle is a serious Stanley Cup contender, so constructing the defensive core of the next competitive Kraken team should be the greater priority.

With all of that in mind, let’s dive into four of the most intriguing RFA defensemen who the Kraken should target with an offer sheet (or trade) during the 2025 offseason.

Noah Dobson, Defenseman – New York Islanders

2024-25 Statistics: 71 Games Played (GP) – 10 Goals (G) – 29 Assists (A) – 39 Points (PTS)

Why would the Islanders be willing to give up on a young, 6-foot-4, right-shot defenseman scoring at a 50-point pace for his career while he is still under team control?

First is the fact that his stock is down after a season in which his point total dropped from 70 a year ago to 39 in a year where New York’s star center, Mat Barzal, played in only 30 games due to injury.

The second is that there is a regime change underway on Long Island, with Mathieu Darche (most recently the assistant GM in Tampa Bay) replacing living legend Lou Lamoriello in the front office. It remains to be seen whether Dobson fits into his vision for the next iteration of the Islanders, but the uncertainty around the team and Dobson’s performance could be enough to invite an offer sheet.

The third is whether the Islanders pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall this summer. He’s an offensive dynamo and could reset New York’s timeline if they want to tear down and rebuild.

If Darche believes in Dobson’s ability to bounce back, he will have no problem with fitting a new deal within New York’s cap structure, as they should have at least $25 million to play with and only winger Simon Holstrom the other RFA to command a significant salary. 

A potential offer sheet of eight years worth $8 million annually would cost the Kraken a first-, second-, and third-round pick. That’s a pittance for a potential franchise cornerstone on the blue line, recent struggles aside.

Evan Bouchard, Defenseman – Edmonton Oilers

2024-25 Statistics: 82 GP – 14 G – 53 A – 67 PTS

At first glance, it seems very unlikely that Bouchard would be poachable this summer. The 25-year-old is two wins away from making a second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Final with the Oilers and is in the midst of yet another strong playoff run in terms of production, tallying 17 points in 14 games thus far.

While Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid (rightfully) receive most of the plaudits for the Oilers’ success, Bouchard’s contribution shouldn’t go unnoticed. Only Cale Makar has scored more points per game in the playoffs since 2022, demonstrating Bouchard’s dynamism from the blue line in spite of complaints about his perceived defensive deficiencies. 

Bouchard can point to the extension recently signed by 25-year-old Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, an eight-year deal worth $11 million annually. Dahlin has scored the second-most goals (52) and sixth-most points (200) among all defensemen over the past three seasons, but he’s never made the playoffs and faces similar questions about his defensive capabilities.

If the Kraken offered Bouchard the same deal, it would cost them two firsts, one second, and one third and seriously challenge the Oilers’ ability to build around their two superstars up front. 

The Oilers currently project to have $14 million in cap space to fill at least two additional forward slots and one on the blue line without considering the possibility of carrying extra skaters. Bouchard, Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, Trent Frederic, Kasperi Kapanen, and John Klingberg are among the team’s most notable free agents. An $11 million AAV would give Edmonton $3 million to work with for two to three skaters, which would be cutting it extremely tight. 

The Kraken could try to poach a top-tier offensive defenseman, while Edmonton would have to grapple with balancing Bouchard’s clear strengths with his defensive inconsistencies. They probably get a deal done in the end, but a rich offer sheet would make the Oilers sweat.

K’Andre Miller, Defenseman – New York Rangers

2024-25 Statistics: 74 GP – 7 G – 20 A – 27 PTS

There might not be a team more vulnerable to potential offer sheets this offseason than the New York Rangers. With $85.4 million already committed to 10 forwards, five defensemen, and two goalies, the front office will only have $10.1 million at its disposal to fill out the rest of the roster with at least two more forwards and a defenseman.

The biggest offenders are five of the team’s top forwards, all aged 32 or older (Vincent Trocheck is only 31 until July). They account for over $40 million of the cap alone and saw their effectiveness plummet during a truly miserable season in the Big Apple.

As the Rangers try to engineer a turnaround for their veteran core, all eyes will be fixed on the situation surrounding 25-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller. The left-handed blueliner is coming off a two-year bridge deal worth $3.87 million annually, and he will be looking for a handsome raise as a result. He’s already got five NHL seasons under his belt (and 43 playoff games) and pairs a massive 6-foot-5 frame with a surprisingly smooth stride. Questions remain about Miller’s issues with consistency, but his ceiling is so mesmerizing that those faults can be overlooked.

NHL executives will be salivating at the chance to poach a long, athletic defender with good offensive instincts (53rd among NHL defensemen in 5-on-5 points per-60-minutes since 2023) who led the Rangers in both shorthanded and even-strength usage.

Miller’s teammate Will Cuylle is another tempting target for an offer sheet given his scoring touch (20 goals and 45 points in 82 games last season), size (6-foot-3, 212 pounds), and physicality (third in the league with 301 hits). If GM Chris Drury can’t clean his books by the time free agency rolls around, New York could find itself in the same position as the Oilers last season, with two key young players lured by higher usage and salary elsewhere.

Miller would give the Kraken a more mobile shutdown defender than Larsson or Oleksiak, and one who better aligns with the Kraken’s new competitive timeline. Miller’s future in New York could be determined by the plans of new head coach Mike Sullivan, who is being airlifted in to rescue a declining veteran core.

Bowen Byram, Defenseman – Buffalo Sabres

2024-25 Statistics: 82 GP – 7 G – 31 A – 38 PTS

Byram’s attractiveness as an offer sheet target comes from his age (he turns 24 in June), offensive chops (36-point pace for his career), and playoff experience (he was arguably Colorado’s third-best defender in their 2022 Stanley Cup win). He has struggled to stay healthy (he played 80 or more games for the first time in his career in 2024-25), but few defensemen who are likely to be available have a higher ceiling.

If Buffalo values symmetry on the blue line, they already have Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson as left-handed defensemen on long-term contracts. Power has surfaced in trade rumors despite his contract status, so the Sabres must decide which of their young blueliners are part of the core long term and which could be auctioned off for help elsewhere in the lineup.

The Sabres could use a steady veteran presence to help insulate their developing rearguards, and the Kraken could offer the likes of Jamie Oleksiak or Adam Larsson for Byram’s rights in lieu of tendering an offer sheet. The Kraken could then, in turn, hand Byram an extension in the realm of $5 to $8 million, depending on the term, which would consume the space vacated by one of the veteran defensemen.

The Sabres are in the midst of the longest playoff drought in NHL history (14 seasons) and could be desperate to make significant alterations to their roster. Apart from Byram, J.J. Peterka (RFA), Ryan McLeod (RFA), Jack Quinn (RFA), Jacob Bernard-Docker (RFA), and Devon Levi (RFA) are all in need of a new contract for next season. With over $20 million in cap space, the conditions are right for a seismic summer in Buffalo, and that could lead to some promising young players being available for the right price.

Kraken Can Accelerate Rebuild During 2025 Offseason

If the Kraken play their cards right, the rebuild could be kicked into high gear without taking expensive and short-sighted shortcuts by signing veteran players past their prime in unrestricted free agency.

The ballooning cap numbers could make the Kraken one of the most active teams in free agency and in trade discussions around the league. The path to relevancy is clearer now than it was even a few months ago; the front office just has to be brave enough to take it.

Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick, the NHL, and PuckPedia.

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About Marko Zlomislic 159 Articles
Marko is an aspiring sportswriter with a passion for crafting stories while using a combination of the eye-test and (shudder) analytics, which is complemented by an academic background in criminology and political science. When not covering the Seattle Kraken for Oregon Sports News, Marko can also be found pouring countless hours into various sports video games franchises, indulging in science fiction novels, and taking long runs around his neighbourhood. You can yell at him by following him on Twitter or via email at mzlomislic97@gmail.com. He also regularly produces content for The Hockey Writers.