Kraken Place Tye Kartye on Waivers

Throughout the 2025-26 season, he has been a healthy scratch in several games but played in 40. He has scored five goals and recorded three assists for eight points. 

Kartye was an undrafted player, signing with Seattle as a free agent on March 1, 2022. He played with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team, for his first season, and recorded 57 points in 72 games. 

He made his NHL debut in the Kraken’s 2022-23 playoff run, being called up following Jared McCann’s injury. He played his first game on April 26, 2023, and scored his first goal. He played in 10 postseason games with the Kraken and recorded five points. 

After his playoff run, he stayed with the Kraken for the 2023-24 season, playing in 77 games and recording 20 points. He scored his first NHL regular-season goal on Oct. 19, three games after his debut. He stayed with Seattle last season as well, playing in 63 games and recording 13 points. He was sent down to the Firebirds for a conditioning stint last season, where he played three games and recorded four points. 

Earlier this offseason, the Kraken signed Kartye to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value (AAV) of 1.25 million. There is no denying that head coach Lane Lambert has been disappointed with Kartye’s performance this season, considering he is consistently a healthy scratch. The Kraken have elected to keep Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson with the team instead. 

If Kartye doesn’t get picked up by another team, he will be sent down to the AHL. He shouldn’t consider this a punishment; moreso a learning opportunity. His growth in the NHL has stagnated, and this is the perfect opportunity to get Kartye more minutes to work himself back up to the NHL level again. 

The Kraken are getting ready to take on the St. Louis Blues later tonight for the second half of a back-to-back.