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The Seattle Kraken missed the postseason for the fourth time in their five-year history in 2024-25. That led to wholesale changes in the front office and behind the bench. Dan Bylsma was fired after one year as the head coach, Ron Francis was moved upstairs, and Jason Botterill became the GM. Botterrill recently made his first move, hiring Lane Lambert as the coach. He should continue making moves to improve the Kraken by sending Jamie Oleksiak out in an offseason trade.
Oleksiak was the Kraken's pick from the Dallas Stars in the 2021 expansion draft. Francis immediately signed Oleksiak to a five-year deal paying him $4.6 million per season. He is not an offensive threat, but does defend well and can be an asset for a Stanley Cup contender. The Kraken should be honest with themselves and their fans and acknowledge that they are not a Cup contender. With Oleksiak's contract expiring after the season, Botterill should trade him now to get out ahead of that issue.
The Kraken should not be interested in bringing Oleksiak back in 2026 free agency. He will be 33 by then and firmly in the twilight of his career. They need picks and prospects to fill their team with young players while their current core hits its prime. Despite his solid play since the inception of the franchise, Oleksiak cannot be part of the future.
The Kraken should be shopping a lot of their veterans, just like they did at the NHL trade deadline. They picked up two first-round picks from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde. That is a great start to rebuilding their team. But they need more assets, and Oleksiak can bring some back for them.
Which teams would be good fits for Oleksiak this offseason?
Best fits for Jamie Oleksiak if the Kraken trade him
When teams get eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they always tell themselves that they are not tough enough and did not defend well enough. Even when that is not true, looking at you, Carolina, teams convince themselves they need big defensemen. Good news for the Kraken is that they have one in Oleksiak that could be on the move.
The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season. But they are likely going to lose Aaron Ekblad this offseason as he hits free agency. The Kraken should call up the Panthers and offer Oleksiak for prospects in their pipeline. While the Panthers don't have a strong pipeline, they have few draft picks to pick from.
If they are looking for draft picks, the Philadelphia Flyers have seven in the first two rounds of this year's draft. That would help the Kraken build their pipeline immediately. Rick Tocchet is the new Philly coach after spending two years behind the bench with the Canucks. If he liked what he saw in the divisional matchups against Seattle, it could be a nice fit. Plus, Rasmus Ristolainen could be on the move this offseason.
After trading Cam Fowler to the Blues this offseason, the Ducks could use a reinforcement on the backend. They did pick up Jacob Trouba, but he is righty and Oleksiak is left-handed. Adding some beef to the backend could help the Ducks' offensive stars take a step forward by keeping the puck out of their own net. It is not a huge addition for Anaheim, but it could help them take a small step forward.
The Kraken should trade Jamie Oleksiak this offseason to any team that will take him on. It is time to move on and start building forward and trading Oleksiak is the first step.
