Would Kraken Be Better Off Missing The Playoffs

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Will Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (above) be traded by the Seattle Kraken before the Mar. 8 trade deadline.

The Seattle Kraken started the post All-Star break the same way they finished it, with a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. With the St. Louis Blues- currently the final playoff team in the Western Conference- on fire (3-0 since the break, 7-3-0 in their last ten game) the Kraken enter tonight’s game with the New Jersey Devils, six points out of the playoffs. The Kraken have three road games in four nights against the Devils, the New York Islanders (Tuesday) and the Boston Bruins (Thursday). Seattle desperately needs to start winning some games if they hope to make post-season play for the second consecutive year. With the Kraken’s lackluster play, local hockey media’s thoughts drift not to romance and Valentine’s Day, but to the March 8 trade deadline. In their maiden season, the Kraken were sellers at the deadline with general manager Ron Francis turning expansion picks (guys he probably didn’t want anyway) into amateur draft choices. Last season, with Seattle having realistic playoff hopes, Francis stood pat. The Seattle GM has always taken the long view, stockpiling draft choices to produce a team that should be competitive year-after-year. This season it appears some Kraken mainstays might be headed out the door. Two original Kraken could be spending their final days wearing deep sea blue, alternate captain Jordan Eberle and Alex Wennberg. Both players are unrestricted free agents (UFA’s) and could be gone after the season anyway. Eberle makes $5.5 mil. a season and Wennberg’s at 4.5. Defenseman Justin Schultz (3.0), who joined the Kraken last season could also be moved along with veteran center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who joined Seattle prior to this season. While Eberle has often expressed his fondness for the Emerald City, the Kraken might be doing the 34-year-old forward a favor. After almost 14 seasons in the NHL, the former Canadien Junior Olympic star has never played on a Stanley Cup winner. In his career with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken, there have been several seasons where he hasn’t even made the playoffs. Most likely, he’d be dealt to a playoff team looking for an experienced forward. Besides diminishing the salary cap, the departure of the above players would open more NHL time for top prospects – defenseman Ryker Evans and forwards Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton. Evans, the Kraken’s second-ever amateur pick in 2021 (behind Matty Beniers) has already seen extensive playing time at the NHL level this season. Evans is currently in the lineup with Schultz absence due to `personal reasons.’ Wright and Winterton played three games with the Kraken earlier this season. The duo played well in their first game but were non-factors in the other games. Seattle could bring up some veterans after the deadline such as Devin Shore or Kole Lind, but Kraken fans must be wondering how much more time Wright needs with Coachella Valley in the American Hockey League. It’ll be an interesting month coming up for the Kraken.

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