New Kraken faces of 2025

The Seattle Kraken didn’t make a big splash in the NHL free-agent market this week- not that there were many Mitch Marmer’s floating around-but the Kraken feel they’ve upgraded their roster for next season.

While Seattle made several moves before the free-agent window opened on Tuesday, the Kraken did sign veteran defenseman Ryan Lindgren for $14 million over four years.

They also signed goaltender Matt Murray, who played in two Stanley Cup finals with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016 and 2017) but has only played two NHL games in the last two years due to undergoing bilateral hip surgery.

Lindgren, 27, a second-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2016 after being a standout at the University of Minnesota, had played virtually all of his NHL career with the New York Rangers. New York traded Lindgren to Colorado at the trade deadline in March. On Broadway, he was usually paired on the blueline with Adam Fox, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner as best defenseman in the NHL.

Kraken first-year head coach Lane Lambert has stressed getting players who are a presence in front of the net in both the offensive and defensive zones. Lindgren fits the bill on defense and also ranks as an elite shot blocker

“I’m not going to change anything about my game,” Lindgren said. “I just want to go out there and compete every night, do the best that I can and do what I can to keep the puck out of our own net. Obviously, that’s my biggest role, is being a defensive defenseman.”

New Seattle GM Jason Botterill was Pittsburgh’s assistant GM when Murray beat San Jose in a Cup clinching game in 2016 (former Kraken Martin Jones was the opposing goalie) as a 21-year-old. Murray’s an intriguing signing as the Kraken bring back netminders Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer with Niklas Kokko inching closer to a shot in the NHL.

Botterill says that Murray will provide depth in an Olympic year. While Grubauer returns for another year he’s probably on a short leash if he begins as poorly as he did last season giving Murray and/or Kokko an opportunity.

Prior to free-agent day, the Kraken acquired Mason Marchment from the Dallas and Freddy Gaudreau, a former Minnesota Wild. Seattle SPORTs Now profiled Marchment in our last post Kraken's new GM making moves, while Gaudreau brings more offense to the center position than Michael Eyssimont, the one Kraken who left via free agency.

The Kraken acquired the 31-year-old Gaudreau from the Wild for a fourth-round draft pick. Seattle will take on the remaining three years of Gaudreau’s five-year contract, $10.5 mil. overall, with a cap hit of $2.10m.

Gaudreau who made his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators in 2016, has 61 goals and 91 assists for 152 points. He’s also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins in his NHL career.

With me, you're not just getting an offensive player or one who is strictly defensive,” Gaudreau told the Kraken’s website. “I learned when I turned pro to really care about your D-zone, not just look to score goals. I’ve put a lot of emphasis throughout my career to become more and more versatile.’’

Currently the Kraken have three restricted free agents on their roster- forwards Kaapo Kakko and Tye Kartye and defenseman Ryker Evans. The loss of these players- particularly Kakko and Evans- could cancel out any positive moves that Botterill’s made in his first off-season as GM.

Seattle’s made offer sheets to the trio and as RFA’s, the Kraken can match any offer that an opposing team makes to these players. The Kraken have $12,782,621 in projected salary cap space.