The Seattle Kraken are in an interesting spot. It’s tough to pin down their direction as they came in as a struggling expansion team, shocked everyone in their second season, and then are back to a non-playoff team, but also not a lottery team either.The Kraken have plenty of good young talent, but also tradeable veterans to alter their roster and bring in more futures and open up space. In the 2024 offseason, the Kraken brought in Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour, but it didn’t push them into a playoff spot. The team added Mason Marchment in the offseason, but have already flipped him to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The team doesn’t have any superstars, but do have a talented crop of players on the way. Teams don’t need superstars and they could also come out of nowhere as well. But in the midst of changing around the roster, David Pagnotta reported, “The Seattle Kraken have made Jared McCann available for trade since last season.”
McCann is one of the best players on the Kraken, but the 29-year-old has struggled with injuries this season, playing just 11 games and putting up five goals and eight points. McCann is a player that is a core piece of the team and has had four strong seasons since coming to Seattle. He has scored 27 goals, 40 goals, 29 goals, and 22 last season, which might have been the reason the Kraken were looking to trade him. But he is in his prime and hasn’t really had injury problems before this season.
If the Kraken are going to trade McCann, who is on a great deal with one more year remaining on his $5 million AAV contract, then they are going to have to find scoring elsewhere. Players like Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, and Eeli Tolvanen are all UFAs after the season and the Kraken would be headed the other way moving away from all of these productive top-6 players, even with the youth coming.
McCann is someone the Kraken should keep around, but if they are set on moving on from him before the end of his deal, there will be a sizeable price to pay for a contender to acquire him.
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