Kraken’s Jaden Schwartz out indefinitely with upper-body injury

Schwartz, 33, suffered the injury late in the first period of Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators , when Senators forward Nick Cousins got tangled up with Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen and inadvertently kicked Schwartz in the face.

The Wilcox, Saskatchewan native has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 42 games for Seattle this season.

Schwartz is now in his fifth year with the Kraken after having signed with them as an unrestricted free agent ahead of the franchise’s inaugural 2021-22 season. He is Seattle’s fifth-highest scorer in franchise history, with 78 goals and 85 assists for 163 points over 293 total games.

Originally selected 14th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Schwartz made his NHL debut at 19 in the 2011-12 season. He spent 10 seasons with the Blues’ organization, including a career-best campaign in 2014-15 of 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in 75 games. He was also a key member of St. Louis’ Stanley Cup winning team in 2019, when he contributed 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points over 26 playoff games.

With 67 points in 62 games, the Kraken currently occupy the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, but are just one point up on the San Jose Sharks. Seattle is in a battle to make the playoffs for the second time in the franchise’s five-year history, after missing the postseason in each of the last two seasons.

The Kraken will host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, before welcoming the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday to wrap up a six-game homestand.