Don’t look now, but the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline is just over a month away (March 7th). The annual sweepstakes have already gotten underway, with Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Miller, Mikael Granlund, and Marcus Pettersson – four of the biggest targets on most insiders’ trade boards – swapping jerseys over the last week and change.
While they have yet to get in on the action, the Seattle Kraken figure to be one of the most active sellers at and around the deadline due to their poor record and collection of attractive unrestricted free agents (UFAs). The team is seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 23-28-3 in 54 games (49 points) and are 10 points back of the Calgary Flames for the Western Conference’s second and final wildcard spot. There are four other teams standing between them and the Flames, each with at least one game in hand on the Kraken.
It’s no surprise then that the projection models published by Hockey Reference, MoneyPuck, and The Athletic each give the Kraken under 1-in-10 odds of making the playoffs. It’s not all doom and gloom in the Pacific Northwest however, as The Athletic ranked Seattle’s prospect pool 10th in the NHL, even with 21-year-old center Shane Wright graduating into full-time NHL status.
The argument for a retooling of sorts has been gaining more weight in the years since the Kraken’s surprising playoff appearance in 2023, and this could be the perfect opportunity to execute on such a plan and kickstart a quick rebuild. The team has enough bright young players already seeing success at the NHL level and the pipeline promises to be fruitful over the next half-decade. The ingredients are there for a quick, relatively painless rebuild if done correctly.
Assuming the front office shares this viewpoint, here are three of the team’s most valuable assets to sell off at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Winger
Though Oliver Bjorkstrand does not become a UFA until next summer, that helps make him one of, if not the most valuable trade chip the Kraken have at their disposal this season.
The 29-year-old winger has long been one of the most underrated forwards in the league, pairing strong two-way play with an NHL resumé that boasts five 20-goal seasons. Bjorkstrand is on pace for another such campaign this season with 15 goals in 53 games and would have another 20-goal season if not for the COVID-shortened year (2020-21).
Bjorkstrand does not have much NHL playoff experience (45 career games), but he was an important player in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ legendary upset of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2019 postseason.
Bjorkstrand carries a $5.4 million cap hit through next season which at first glance seems like it may dissuade opposing general managers from trading for him. Not only does he rank among the team leaders in shots (first), points (second), and scoring chances (third) per-60-minutes at five-on-five, he also owns some of the best relative numbers (how the Kraken fare when he’s on the ice compared to not) on the team.
Bjorkstrand is a utility winger who can help drive play, chip in with regular goalscoring, and is defensively responsible. Assuming some retention occurs (the Kraken have all their retention slots free and available), Seattle could get a decent collection of assets for the Danish forward.
Yanni Gourde, Center
In an ideal world, 33-year-old Yanni Gourde would command the biggest haul of the Kraken’s pending UFAs at the deadline, given his position and playoff experience.
The veteran center occupies one of the most in-demand positions in all of hockey, with every general manager eager to add to or improve their depth down the middle come playoff time. While Gourde is no longer in his prime, he remains a steady pivot who could slot in as a strong third-line center for almost every potential contender.
Gourde has 83 playoff games to his name, mostly spread across three separate trips to the Eastern Conference Final (and beyond) with the Lightning since the 2018 NHL Playoffs. He had 13 points in 14 games for the Kraken’s only postseason appearance in 2023, showing he’s not too far removed from being a key figure on a competitive team. He has seen the fifth-highest usage among Kraken forwards at five-on-five this season and has won half of his faceoffs.
While those are the positives, Gourde does not come without any potential pitfalls. The center has seen his scoring rate drop, with only 17 goals and 49 points over 115 games since the start of the 2023-24 season, with his individual shot and chance generation numbers coming in at the lowest of his career. Trading for him would be a gamble, but it’s one that almost every executive would make.
The problem is not only has Gourde struggled with injury this season (he hasn’t played since January 2nd), but he underwent sports hernia surgery late last week. The procedure will likely keep him out of action past the deadline and will undoubtedly depress demand. The pre-existing concerns about his health and his sizable cap hit were already strikes against him, and this surgery does little to alleviate those concerns.
Expect the return in a potential trade to be a third-round pick or later, if Gourde even moves at all at this point.
Brandon Tanev, Winger
Another player on the Kraken likely to receive attention at the deadline is bottom-six winger Brandon Tanev, one of the most active hitters in the NHL. The 33-year-old ranks within the top 100 of hits per-60-minutes at five-on-five among all qualified NHL forwards since 2022-23 (minimum 300 minutes). He has never shied away from utilizing his body to good effect, blocking shots at a top-30 rate among forwards over that same time frame.
While most general managers will salivate over Tanev’s physicality and veteran presence, he’s not just a one-trick pony. Tanev pairs an underrated scoring touch ( scoring at an 82-game pace of 15 goals across his four-year Kraken tenure) with penalty-killing prowess. He’s played the fifth-most total minutes among all forwards while short-handed over the past three seasons, bringing the versatility and utility that every coach craves come playoff time.
Tanev’s cap hit ($3.5 million) will need to undergo moderate retention for Francis to recoup full value, but that shouldn’t be too difficult of a decision for a pending UFA. As recent trade history suggests, general managers can be blinded by intangibles and make ill-advised moves that end up looking lopsided years later.
Kraken Could Get Head Start on 2026 NHL Trade Deadline
Like Bjorkstrand, winger Jaden Schwartz (age 32), captain Jordan Eberle (34), and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak (34) will all see their contracts expire during the 2026 offseason. At this stage of the Kraken’s competitive timeline, auctioning off those assets to the highest bidder while they still have value will be more beneficial long term than extending them as they inch further into age-related decline.
If keeping some semblance of veteran leadership around is a concern, the current roster is stocked with players in the prime or near-prime of their careers. Brandon Montour (30), Andre Burakovsky (turns 30 next week), Joey Daccord (28), Vince Dunn (28), Jared McCann (28), and Eeli Tolvanen (25) are all between 25 and 30 years of age and under contract through at least the end of next season.
After a few seasons of struggling to find an identity and a definitive direction for the organization, the Kraken are on the path to long-term success. Nothing is guaranteed in the world of sports, and plenty of rebuilds have either stalled or imploded. Still, the Kraken should be able to bypass the obstacles typically associated with such maneuvers. Will they commit to it or continue to occupy the league’s mushy middle?
Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and the NHL.
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