The Seattle Kraken traded veteran forward Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday morning in exchange for 25-year-old center Joe Veleno.

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The move clears salary cap space for the Kraken. The 30-year-old Burakovsky carries a $5.5 million cap hit over each of the two remaining seasons on his five-year contract, according to PuckPedia. Veleno has one season left on his current two-year deal, with a cap hit of $2.275 million.

“Andre was a valuable player for our organization during the three years he was here, and we wish him and his family the best of luck in Chicago,” Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said in a statement. “In return, we’ve acquired a young player with experience while also increasing our salary cap flexibility moving forward.”

Burakovsky, who won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche, signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal with the Kraken in July 2022.

Burakovsky’s first two seasons with the Kraken were marred by injuries, which limited him to 49 games apiece in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He totaled 13 goals and 26 assists in the first of those two seasons, but then mustered just seven goals and nine assists during his second season in Seattle.

Burakovsky played a full injury-free slate with the Kraken this past season, but his production remained down. He totaled 10 goals and 27 assists over 79 games, which was a far cry from his career-best 22-goal, 39-assist output during the Avalanche’s Cup-winning 2021-22 campaign. Over his 11-year career, Burakovsky has 153 goals and 234 assists in 696 games.

Veleno was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with the No. 30 overall pick in 2018. He played 288 games with the Red Wings over parts of five seasons before he was traded to the Blackhawks in March.

Veleno had eight goals and nine assists over 74 games this past season, split between Detroit and Chicago. He has 38 goals and 43 assists in 306 career games, including a career-best 12-goal, 15-assist campaign with the Red Wings in 2023-24.

Saturday’s trade comes two days after the Kraken sent a pair of draft picks to the Dallas Stars in exchange for 30-year-old forward Mason Marchment, who is coming off a 22-goal, 25-assist campaign in 62 games this past season.

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