Reeling in a Giant Shark

Team: 2023-24 Seattle Kraken

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 20, 2023

Published: Jun. 23, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

In this third installment of a four part series, I will examine yet another major addition the Kraken could make to their roster via trade ahead of next season.

Trade Target: Erik Karlsson, RD, San Jose Sharks

Fit with Seattle: Seattle had a strong second season, but their special teams left something to be desired. The penalty kill improved, but the power play was a struggle all year. There's almost no better way to fix that than by adding an elite offensive defenseman like Karlsson. He would be a boon to not only the power play but the team's offensive output as well. In terms of roster fit, he would need to be paired with a strong defender on the left side, so he's probably stapled to Oleksiak. Karlsson would also supplant Schultz as both a RHD and power play quarterback. Some combination of Cale Fleury and Jaycob Megna would fill the Kraken's vacancy at LD on the bottom pair until Ryker Evans is ready. Of the four trade options I'm covering, Karlsson is by far the biggest risk, due to his age, contract term and cap hit, all coupled with an extensive injury history. Whether Seattle ultimately considers a trade for him will depend on whether they feel the potential rewards outweigh those risks.

Making the money work: Karlsson has a mammoth $11.5M cap hit, so fitting him on the roster wouldn't be easy. However there did turn out to be a surprisingly straightforward path for making the math work. Schultz would likely be traded in the event of a Karlsson trade due to positional overlap, and Driedger and Sprong were included in the San Jose deal. Driedger was shipped out mainly to make the money work, but Sprong still has some upside and could thrive in a scoring role higher up in the lineup. I also had San Jose retain $2.5M of Karlsson's cap hit to get it down to $9M. This is in the ballpark of the 18% retention the Sharks were willing to do previously, and at that number they wouldn't be hindered too much as they rebuild. Between the retention and those three departures, the Kraken could fit Karlsson onto the team.

Let me know your thoughts, as always helpful feedback is appreciated. Cheers!

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