Elliotte Friedman is suggesting that a deal is all-but done between the Seattle Kraken and forward Jaden Schwartz. While the NHL’s newest team could have signed him and taken him as a draft pick from the St. Louis Blues, Seattle elected to go with defenseman Vince Dunn on the blue line and Friedman notes when it comes to Schwartz, “Seattle, basically done during the Kraken’s exclusive window.”
There was going to be a lot interest in Schwartz if he tested the free agent market, which he probably will still do. But, in his case, it sounds more like he’s going to see who else Seattle is bringing in before he officially signs and it can’t hurt simply to see what other offers are on the table.
Schwartz is 29 years old, played 40 games last season and scored eight goals, assisting on 13. He’s had multiple 50-plus point seasons and multiple 20-plus goals campaigns. He could be a good piece to help build the offense in Seattle which is looking for scorers and there’s a lot of chatter one of the reasons the Kraken didn’t take on big money with their draft selections was so that they could spend in free agency.
Kraken Had The Early Shot at Schwartz
The Kraken had the ability to work out deals with pending free agents well in advance of the market opening on Wednesday. That doesn’t mean these deals will be final or that a player might not look elsewhere, but Seattle had a chance to make a strong pitch, lay their cards out on the table and give a player a decent idea as to how they might be valued. In Schwartz’s case, what might happen now is a bidding war over his services which could drive the agreed upon price up.
It will be interesting to see how high Seattle would be willing to go, but they have more cap space than anyone to play that game. If a team is going to overspend on a free agent, Seattle can do it.
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