"He's a guy that's really good down low in the zone and allows us to extend possession time down there," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "Not only extend possession time, but he's a guy that's really efficient in penetrating from down low. So, those are some areas that we'll miss him in."
The 29-year-old from Wilcox, SK signed a five-year, $5.5 million per year contract with the Kraken on July 28, 2021, during the NHL's free agency period. He's played 29 games with Seattle this year and is second in team scoring with six goals, 14 assists, and 20 points.
Losing the offensive production from Schwartz is an obvious blow but he offers more to the team than just points. Schwartz is one of the leaders both on the ice and in the dressing room. He is also a solid player on the forecheck and defensively, which may be an area that's not always obvious on the stat sheet.
"He doesn't get enough credit for the amount of stick battles that he wins and how good he is with the little smart plays that maybe a lot of people don't see," Jordan Eberle said. "He does a lot of that stuff that maybe goes unrecognized and for me, it makes him easy to play with. He's always playing the game pretty simply and making good plays coming out of the zone, in the forecheck, and little plays in the middle. That's the stuff that a lot of people don't see about Schwartzy and in my opinion, why he's a very good player."
Injuries aren't new to NHL players, or the Kraken.
Seattle lost Brandon Tanev to
a season-ending injury
earlier this season. Like then, it will be up to the rest of the group to step in and help fill the void.
During practice this week, Marcus Johansson has played in the spot that Schwartz had been in. Johansson has joined the line with Jared McCann in the middle and Eberle at the other wing.
"Jojo is a different player than Jaden in terms of the things that he brings," Hakstol said. "He can be a real driver in terms of transporting that puck into the zone. He's really good five-on-five as well and we've seen him do that well on our power play. He's a guy that works well off of the goal line. So, he can bring some real benefits to his linemates from that area in terms of his ability to make plays off that goal line and with his vision down there."
Johansson has played 22 games with the Kraken this season and has two goals, four assists, and six points.
Prior to joining the Kraken, Schwartz spent nine full seasons with St. Louis after the Blues selected him with the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He's played 589 NHL games and has scored 160 goals and 245 assists for 405 points. At the end of the 2018-2019 season, he helped St. Louis win its first Stanley Cup after defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games. Along the way he scored 12 goals and 20 points in 26 playoff contests.
His presence and experience will be missed on the ice at practice, in the dressing room, and during games. Seattle has put in a hard-work week and hopes to see the results Monday when they travel to Denver to play the Colorado Avalanche.
"We should have a lot of jump against Colorado," Eberle said. "We should be executing at a high level, especially with the way that our practices have gone. I really liked our battle level and our intensity and just a little bit of compete. We need to add that, every guy, like a little bit more. I think that's huge to help us move forward with this group."
