Seattle Kraken Have Multiple Players in Play at the NHL Trade Deadline

The Seattle Kraken were not going to make the playoffs. However, they made a hockey trade, acquiring Kaapo Kakko from the New York Rangers for Will Borgen. As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, they have pieces in play, including Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, and Josh Mahura.

It is an interesting time for the Seattle Kraken, as there is a lot of pressure on their General Manager, Ron Francis, to set this team up for future success. More on that at another time. But the Kraken, who have been playing better lately, still will not make the playoffs, so they need to sell their assets.

There are teams around the league looking for center help, including the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, and others. Therefore, a guy like Yanni Gourde would fit the need for a depth center who is a good defender. Everyone saw what he did for the Lightning during their Stanley Cup runs, as they won back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 201.

Even though he was hurt and just got back from injury on March 4th, just a couple of days before the deadline, Rob Simpson of SeattleHockeyInsider.com believes that with Full Press Hockey, Gourde, along with Tanev, will be on the move at the trade deadline.

He’ll be moving because he’s UFA. So he’ll be moving. If they can move them, they’ll move them for a third or fourth rounder, as Brandon Tanev is another one. They could have got rid of Yanni Goure in the summer, to be quite honest, and probably should have, yeah, but you love your own guys, right? Kind of a fan favorite, and so is Tanev, but you know what fan favorites will cost you your stay on the playoff trips and lose you your job. So, yeah, both those guys are 33 years old, turning 34 in December. They should be out the door at the trade deadline if not earlier for Gourde and Tanev. – Full Press Hockey Transcriptions

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According to PuckPedia.com, Gourde has a $5.167 million cap hit and a 23-team no-trade list. Meanwhile, Tanev has a $3.5 million cap hit and a 10-team no-trade list. It will be tough to move these players, but contenders are looking at them.

Oliver Bjorkstrand could be another guy that could be moved according to Simpson, who has one more year left at $5.4 million. Similar to the others mentioned above, Bjorkstrand has trade protection and a 10-team no trade list.

The same goes for Jared McCann, who is getting traction around. He has two years left after this one at $5 million on an AAV. However, he also has a 10-team no-trade list, so he has to waive to go to a new team. It is unclear if the Kraken will be willing to part with the 40-goal scorer, who, like the rest of the team, is having a down year.