Team: 2023-24 Seattle Kraken

Initial Creation Date: May 20, 2023

Published: May 22, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Disclaimer: this is one Kraken fan's opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the people running the team. I personally expect a quiet offseason from the Kraken and am not holding my breath for any blockbuster trades.

I've organized current Kraken players into categories regarding how I view their potential availability in trades and the circumstances under which one or more may be dealt to help those ACGM users creating mock trades with Seattle. This is NOT a ranking of players' trade value and is NOT an indication these players are being shopped. I don't think anyone on the Kraken roster is actively on the trading block and I fully expect most if not all of these players to stick around, though I'm sure Francis will at least answer the phone on any trade inquiries from other teams, as any competent GM will do. Category explanations are below.

Untouchable, Not Getting Traded: Self Explanatory. Beniers is the franchise center in training and cornerstone. He's going nowhere.

Near Untouchable, Rare Exceptions: Dunn, Larsson, and McCann are some of the main core pieces of the team who bring contributions to the team that are exceedingly hard to find. Trading any of them would create a massive hole on the roster that would be near-impossible to fill. I won't completely rule out the possibility of a trade, but I can't envision a realistic scenario where one makes any amount of sense for the Kraken. Wright is a key piece of the team's future, so I also doubt he's going anywhere anytime soon. The only scenario where he could be traded in my opinion is to acquire a superstar with term.

Worth more to the team than his trade value: These guys all have trade value, but for a variety of reasons, that value isn't equivalent to the value they provide to the team. What the Kraken would get in return isn't worth losing the contributions they bring to the team on the ice. Because of that disparity, I doubt these guys get moved.

Only tradable to upgrade the current team: The players in this group aren't necessarily available per se, but a scenario where one or more end up being on the move is a bit more realistic to me than for anyone in the previous categories. However, since the Kraken are trying to win, they would likely only trade one of these guys to upgrade the current team, whether at that player's position or a different one of need. Otherwise they're staying. I can't see anyone being moved for futures.

Could be had in the right deal: These players in my mind are probably the likeliest to get traded. Francis isn't shopping them, but if a team came forward with a suitable deal, there could be a trade to be made. Seattle may be more amenable to dealing these guys for futures, unlike the previous category.

Probably un-tradable due to contract: The players here are likely staying due to their contract situation. Schwartz has a NMC for another year and Grubauer and Oleksiak have NTCs through next season. Driedger is recently recovered from injury and his cap hit is probably too high to be enticing to other teams.

Hope this helps all of you armchair GMs out there! As always, questions and helpful feedback are welcome! Cheers!