3 Seattle Kraken On Expiring Contracts That Will Likely Be Traded

The Seattle Kraken are more in line with a rebuilding team than a contender and I think that this season should continue to be about building towards the future.

That has already started to kick into full gear as Shane Wright is not only in the NHL in full capacity, he is thriving. Kaapo Kakko is also a young and talented addition to the team that has to have those types of players. If he can reach some of his potential, the Kraken are in good shape with their newly acquired winger.

That being said, there are three players on expiring contracts that the Kraken should trade at some point this season as the team has lost five games in a row, are four games under .500, and the Western Conference looks strong this season, making it very tough for a comeback with 46 games to go.

The three Kraken players that the team should look to trade this season are Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, and Daniel Sprong.

Gourde is an original Kraken player and this is his fourth season with the team. His role has been decreasing over the seasons and as he has gotten older. The veteran is now 33 years old and is averaging 15:28 per game this season. He played well over 18 minutes per game in 2021-22 and then over 17 minutes per game each of the past two seasons. There's younger players breaking into the lineup and Gourde, who has been a core piece of the team, needs to be cleared out so the team can move forward.

Gourde has a 23-team trade list and the assistant captain's cap hit is $5.167 million AAV. No contender is going to take on that entire contract, but a playoff-bound team will want him for his style of play. In the one season Seattle made the playoffs, Gourde scored four goals and recorded 13 points in 14 games as well as made 52 hits.

Tanev has also been with the Kraken since day one and really made a name for himself in the first couple of seasons. He had a poor third season with the Kraken in 2023-24, but is bouncing back nicely. He is overpaid for the role he plays on the team and since he hasn't been re-signed yet, a parting of ways is more likely than not at this point.

Tanev has seven goals and 14 points in 35 games this season, is a hitting machine, and has a good two-way game. His cap hit is $3.5 million AAV and even he has a 10-team no-trade list. A good portion of his salary will have to be retained as well, but the Kraken should be able to get a mid-to-late round pick for him at the deadline. The forward group is crowded and it would make sense for Tanev to go too.

Sprong wasn't with the Kraken from the very start, but he was traded to the team from the Washington Capitals in the first season. He really broke out as an incredibly productive bottom-6 player before the Kraken just moved on from him. He did the same thing in Detroit and then once again left for Vancouver who traded him back to Seattle earlier this season.

Sprong has not had the same production this season as his first time around with Seattle and only has one goal in nine games. His play will definitely hurt his value, but a team will surely look at what he has been able to do in the bottom-6 and take a chance for cheap. If Sprong can't find his game with the Kraken, there's no use for them to keep him around and take up a spot as an unproductive forward in the lineup.