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The Seattle Kraken made their second trade in three days on Saturday morning, sending Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Joe Veleno, the teams announced. It's a one-for-one deal.
After acquiring Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the Kraken added another effective roster player in Veleno. The 25-year-old managed eight goals and 17 points in 74 regular season games split between the Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks in 2024-25.
Veleno, drafted 30th overall by the Red Wings in 2018, was traded from Motown to the Windy City ahead of the 2025 trade deadline in exchange for goaltender Petr Mrazek and forward Craig Smith.
Meanwhile, Burakovsky heads from Seattle to Chicago after scoring 10 goals and 37 points in 79 games with the Kraken last season. The 30-year-old ranked fourth on the team with 27 assists during the 2024-25 campaign, while finishing tied for eighth in points and 10th in goals, per the official release.
A Stanley Cup champion with the Washington Capitals in 2018, and again with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, Burakovsky has suited up for 696 career games, managing 153 goals and 387 career points in that span. He's also added 47 points in 93 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He's one of only 10 Austrian players to play in the National Hockey League.
A former first-round pick (No. 23) overall by the Caps in the 2013 NHL Draft, Burakovsky will help the Blackhawks in their quest to return to the postseason for the first time since 2019-20.
Kraken clear cap space by shipping Burakovsky out
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The Kraken have a plethora of effective wingers, especially after adding Marchment. It made sense to try to move a bigger contract out, which is exactly what general manager Jason Botterill did on Saturday. There are multiple players vying for top-six spots on the wing, including Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, Eeli Tolvanen, Jaden Schwartz and Kaapo Kakko.
Top prospect Jani Nyman will also be making a case for an NHL roster spot this fall.
Burakovsky has a salary cap hit of $5.5 million in each of the next two seasons; he signed a five-year contract extension back in July of 2022. As for Veleno, he's owed just $2.275 million next season before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
“Andre was a valuable player for our organization during the three years he was here, and we wish him and his family the best of luck in Chicago,” Botterill said in Seattle's release. “In return, we've acquired a young player with experience while also increasing our salary cap flexibility moving forward.”
After playing three seasons with the Kraken, Burakovsky will try to build off his first nearly fully healthy campaign since 2021-22 with the Avalanche. Veleno has been much more durable and has barely missed any games in the last three NHL campaigns.
At first glance, this trade looks to make a lot of sense for both teams.
