The Seattle Kraken are returning Kailer Yamamoto to his home state. The Spokane, Washington native and former Edmonton Oiler has signed a one-year, $1.5M deal with the NHL’s youngest franchise.
As he was bought out by the Detroit Red Wings a few days ago, Yamamoto’s signing with the Kraken means Detroit effectively traded him for Daniel Sprong, another right-winger who Seattle chose not to issue a qualifying offer.
By signing Yamamoto over Sprong, the Kraken save $500K (Sprong earned $2M from the Red Wings) and receive a younger player with a less impressive recent track record but a more extensive resume of NHL success.
While Sprong’s 21 goals and 46 points this year dwarf Yamamoto’s 10 goals and 25 points, just one year ago Yamamoto had 20 goals and 41 points.
Yamamoto also flashed high offensive upside in 2019-20, when he scored 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games.
Now plugged into one of the league’s highest-scoring environments in Seattle, the Kraken will hope that Yamamoto can bring a more consistent level of offensive production, and perhaps access the upside that saw him drafted 22nd overall in 2017 on a more regular basis.
The Kraken have quite a few quality wingers slated to play ahead of him on their roster, but the depth of Seattle’s lineup will play to Yamamoto’s advantage. Assuming he can make a good impression at training camp, Yamamoto has a strong chance of playing next to other capable NHL offensive producers, and if he can find the right linemates and build some chemistry he could really pop, giving Seattle a strong return on this $1.5M investment.
If he ends up playing more the way he did late in his Oilers tenure, this could end up a wasted $1.5M for the Kraken, which would hurt even more if Sprong goes on to great things in Detroit. But even with that risk in mind, this is a reasonable gamble to take on a young, energetic offensive forward.
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