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The Seattle Kraken missed the playoffs for the third time in their four-year franchise history. The Kraken are also looking to not go through a rebuild, but instead plan to re-tool and attempt to make it back to the playoffs with this core of players. With plenty of cap room and a strong core of players under contract, we look at the dream scenario for the Kraken in this 2025 NHL Free Agency period.
The Kraken have already made some major moves this offseason, bringing in Lane Lambert as the new head coach. They have also made some moves in the front office, promoting Jason Botterill to be the new GM. Now Lambert and Botterill will be looking to make moves to help the Kraken get back to the playoffs. Seattle is already in a solid position to make those moves. To begin with, they have plenty of draft capital, with two second-round picks this year, and two first-round picks each of the next two seasons.
They also have just five free agents, with four of them being restricted free agents. Only Michael Eyssimont is an unrestricted free agent, and he played just 20 games for the Kraken, adding six points. Meanwhile, they are projected to have $20 million in cap space according to Cap Wages. With plenty of cap space, Seattle is in a prime position to make moves. They need to take care of some of their restricted free agents first, but then can look toward adding a top-end scoring threat and improving their goaltending situation.
The Kraken bring back Kaapo Kakko
The first order of business for the Kraken needs to be the future of restricted free agent Kakko. Kakko was drafted second overall in the 2019 NHL draft by the New York Rangers. He re-signed with the Rangers as a restricted free agent last offseason, but would be traded to the Kraken during the 2024-25 season. In Seattle, Kakko would join the top line with Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers. The trade would also immediately pay dividends for both Kakko and the Kraken.
In just 49 games in Seattle, he would score ten goals and add 20 assists, good for 30 points. His 44 total points this year were a career high, and his 30 points in just his time in Seattle would be the second highest of his career. Kakko scored 40 points in the 2022-23 season while playing 82 games for the Rangers. The Kraken will also have flexibility with dealing with Kakko. They can sign him to a short-term deal in the $4.6 million range. This would allow Seattle to evaluate if Kakko's performance last year was something sustainable. They could also lock him up long-term right now, and bank on the fact that he seemed to find a surge being in Seattle.
Nikolaj Ehlers is a dream fit in Seattle
With Seattle bringing back Kakko, they could also make more improvements to their full top-six rotation. The top line will continue to have Beniers in the center, but Schwartz can play on both the left and the right side. Seattle can add a top-end piece and then move Schwartz or Kakko down a line. This would then allow the Kraken to move Eeli Tolvanen or Jordan Eberle to the third line, giving them a strong scoring option on the third line.
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The perfect fit for the Kraken would be Ehlers. To start with, it would give the Kraken another goal-scoring option. The leading goal scorer this year was Schwartz, who scored 26 goals. Ehlers had 24 goals this past season, which would have been second on the Kraken. He has also scored 20 or more goals in eight of the last nine seasons. Ehlers also had 63 total points this past year, which would have placed him first on the Kraken. Seattle had just two players score over 50 points this year, a mark Ehlers has reached in three of the last four years.
Ehlers would also improve the power-play. He scored six power-play goals this past season, which would have tied him for second on the team. He also had 16 power-play assists, which would have also been second on the Kraken, and his 22 total points on the power play would have led the team. Ehlers will come at a cost, as he is projected to bring in over $8 million per year. Still, being able to pair Beniers, who is the future of the franchise, with a star like Ehlers is well worth the expense.
Seattle improves in the crease
Seattle was not great on defense this past season. They were 24th in the NHL in goals allowed per game while also sitting 21st on the penalty kill. One of the major reasons for their defensive struggles was in goal. Joey Daccord was solid, with a 2.75 goals-against average. He played in 57 games this year, but Philipp Grubauer also played in 26 games, starting all 26 of them. Grubauer struggled in those games. He was 8-17-1 last season with a 3.49 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage. He was playing badly enough that the Kraken sent Grubauer to the AHL during the season. That exposed the goaltender to waivers, but none of the other 31 NHL teams made a claim on him.
The best move for the Kraken is to buy out Grubauer. This would create $2.9 million in dead cap space but also save the Kraken $3 million this year. They could use that $3 million to bring in a new backup goaltender. One solid option would be free agent Ilya Samsonov. To begin with, he is expected to cost just $2 million per year, which would allow the Kraken to move on from the Grubauer contract, replace him, and still save money. Further, he was great as a backup goaltender this past season. Samsonov made 29 starts for the Vegas Golden Knights, going 16-9-4. He would have a 2.82 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. While Samsonov has shown he may not be able to be the top goalie on a roster, he has proven to be a perfect backup.
The Kraken missed the playoffs by 20 points last season. They can make a move toward returning to the playoffs in Lambert's first year with some big moves. Seattle can start by bringing back Kakko, who provided a spark last year. They can then make a huge offensive improvement by signing Ehlers before improving their defense by bringing in Samsonov.
