As the opening month of NHL and American Hockey League regular is in full swing, here’s a look at players the Kraken have moved out since expansion draft days and which formidable prospects – plus Bjorkstrand and Sprong – came Seattle’s way in exchange:
July 22, 2021
Traded to Calgary: Tyler Pitlick, forward, expansion pick from Anaheim.
Prospect in return: 2022 4th-rounder, Tucker Robertson, forward.
Notable: Robertson was a force at this fall’s 2024 Rookie Faceoff in Los Angeles, playing at a notably higher pace after his first pro season split between AHL Coachella Valley and ECHL affiliate Kansas City (both teams won Western Conference titles). He did not look out of place or pace at training camp. Pitlick notched two assists in 25 games with Calgary during the 2021-22 season and has scored nine goals and added 14 assists over the last three seasons with three different NHL teams.
July 28, 2021
Traded back to Washington: Vitek Vanacek, goalie, expansion pick from Capital.
Prospect in return: 2023 2nd-rounder, Carson Rehkopf, forward.
Notable: Rehkopf (No. 50 overall) enjoyed a monster season in juniors (52 goals, 43 assists for 95 points in 60 regular season games, then five goals and six assists in 10 playoffs) after getting drafted in 2023. His breakout year prompted The Athletic and other respected draft publications to declare Rehkopf would be a first-rounder if teams were allowed a do-over 2023 NHL Draft.
This season, Rehkopf compiled 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in his first eight games. Vanacek enjoyed a strong 2021-22 season with Washington, then another positive year with New Jersey. His save percentage dipped below .900 last season, prompting the Devils to trade him to San Jose in exchange for another young goalie, Kaapo Kahkonen.
March 16, 2022
Traded to Calgary: Calle Jarnkrok, forward, expansion pick from Nashville.
Prospects/NHLer in return: 2022 2nd-rounder, David Goyette, forward; 2024 7th-rounder Jakub Fibigr, defenseman; plus a 2023 3rd round pick used in Oliver Bjorkstrand deal.
Notable: This deal is among the shrewdest moves GM Ron Francis has made building the Kraken roster. He traded Jarnkrok at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline after first getting 12 goals and 14 assists of production in 49 games for Seattle. Jarnkrok notched four assists in 17 games for Calgary, then left for a free-agent deal with Toronto (30 G, 30 A in two seasons with the Maple Leafs). In return, the Kraken received a 2023 third-round pick used to acquire Oliver Bjorkstrand, who, btw, Kraken Hockey Network JT Brown said Bjorkstrand can score 30-plus goals this season.
But that’s not all. Seattle also got picks to select David Goyette in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft and defenseman Jakob Fibigr in the seventh round of this past summer’s draft. Goyette surpassed the most optimistic projections with a 2023-24 Ontario Hockey League season in which he tallied 117 points in 68 regular season games last season with 40 goals and 77 assists, plus five goals and added five assists for 10 points in nine games across two tight OHL playoff series. Goyette earned the trust of then-AHL Firebirds coach Dan Bylsma to appear in seven Calder Cup Playoff games, picking up a couple of clutch assists. Fibigr impressed the Seattle hockey operations group during this fall’s 2024 Rookie Faceoff tournament, playing so well in Game 1 that he was rewarded with a second game.
March 20, 2022
Traded to Nashville: Jeremy Lauzon, defenseman, expansion pick from Boston.
Prospect in return: 2022 2nd rounder, Jani Nyman, forward.
Notable: This transaction has effectively become a one-for-one trade, Lauzon for Nyman. Lauzon scored one goal in 13 with Nashville after the trade, then played two full seasons with the Predators, posting nine goals and 17 assists in the last two seasons, plus setting a hits record last year. Nyman completed his final season in Finland’s top pro league, Liiga, by breaking a 40-years-standing record of most goals (26) by an under-20 player. He impressed in five regular season games with AHL Coachella Valley and nine playoff games, especially with his net-front presence and hard shot. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound power forward just turned 20 in late July and is playing his first North American pro season with AHL affiliate Coachella Valley.
March 20, 2022
Traded to Toronto: Mark Giordano, defenseman, expansion pick from Calgary; Colin Blackwell, forward, expansion pick from New York Rangers.
Prospects in return: 2022 2nd rounder Niklas Kokko, goalie; 2023 2nd rounder Lukas Dragicevic, defenseman; 2024 3rd rounder Kim Saarinen, goalie.
Notable: Kokko was a star in Finland’s top pro league last spring, leading his Pelicans Lahti team to the championship final and beating the Karpat club that loaned him out during the semifinal round. He played 13 regular season games for the Pelicans, posting a .926 save percentage and 1.49 goals-against average, then maintained the high-end consistency with a .925 save percentage and 1.81 GAA in the playoffs. He is part of the goalie tandem with Coachella Valley this season and turned heads with his play in camp and starred in a 5-1 victory at the 2024 Rookie Faceoff, beating Vegas.
Dragicevic is playing for WHL Prince George this season, acquired in a trade with the Tri-City Americans (he left as the third-highest-scoring defenseman in the storied franchise’s history). The 19-year-old is a right-handed shot with a 6-foot-2, near 200-pound stature, who is off to a hot scoring start (1 G, 9 A first eight games) with his new club. Saarinen, 18, is the third Finnish goalie prospect now in the Kraken system. He starred for his nation in the U18 World Championship last year, posting a .952 save percentage and even played two Liiga games after strong performances for his HPK club’s U18 and U20 teams. The 6-foot-4 goaltending is playing for HPK this season and won’t turn 19 until next July.
Giordano played a third-pair role for Toronto over three seasons. He was frequently a healthy scratch during the 2023-24 regular season and didn’t dress for any postseason games. Blackwell scored ten goals over the last two seasons with Chicago and now is the fourth-line center for Dallas.
March 21, 2022
Traded to Washington: Marcus Johansson, forward, 2021 free agent signee.
Prospect/NHLer in return: 2023 6th rounder, Visa Vedenpaa, goalie; Daniel Sprong, forward.
Notable: For Seattle, Johansson contributed his usual reliable play in all zones with some offensive punch (6 G, 17 A in 51 games). He has been a steady performer since the trade, playing for Washington and Minnesota (the latter via a trade that sent a 2024 third-rounder to the Capitals. Sprong, as aforementioned, was a heavy producer during the Kraken’s second season. He has since played for Detroit (18 G, 25 A in 76 games) and now Vancouver. His best season remains the Seattle playoffs season.
Last season, Vedenpaa appeared in 15 games for Hermes in Mestis (second-tier pro league in Finland), posting a 9-6-0 record. In the playoffs, he showed the potential that motivated Seattle’s 2023 draft pick. He played 13 games, notching a .915 save percentage, 2.81 GAA and a 7-6 record. Visa was on loan from his home club, Karpat (yes, the same club as Niklas Kokko). He is back with Hermes for the 2024-25 season.
March 21, 2022
Traded to Winnipeg: Mason Appleton, expansion pick from Winnipeg.
NHLer in return: 2023 4th round pick used in trade package for Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Notable: Appleton notched six goals and 11 assists in 49 games for Seattle before returning to Winnipeg, the team that drafted him. He tallied 14 goals and added 22 assists over a full 82-game season last year, all three career highs, then logged two assists in five playoff games.
July 22, 2022
Traded to Columbus: 2023 3rd round pick from Calle Jarnkrok deal and 2024 4th round pick from Mason Appleton deal
NHLer in return: Oliver Bjorkstrand, forward
Notable: Uh, drop the mic? Bjorkstrand was the Kraken’s All-Star Game representative last season. He attends to the gritty details and also wields that elite shot from all locales in the offensive zone. His complete game can be overlooked when fans consider his highlight-reel and clutch goals (one example: he scored both goals in the Kraken’s 2-1 Game 7 first-round series victory in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, eliminating defending champion Colorado). There are other moves Ron Francis might make (can you say Brandon Montour?), but the Bjorkstrand trade for draft capital will always rank high.
March 6, 2024
Traded to New York Rangers: Alex Wennberg, forward, 2021 free agent signee.
Prospects in return: 2024 2nd rounder, Nathan Villeneuve, forward and 2025 4th round conditional draft pick.
Notable: Wennberg, of course, was a valued two-way center in his two-and-a-half seasons with the Kraken. He played a third-line role for NYR with a goal and four assists in 19 regular season games and a goal and an assist in 16 postseason contests. The playoff goal was clutch, giving NYR an overtime Game 3 win in the Eastern Conference final. Wennberg signed with San Jose as a free agent so that the Kraken will face their ex-mate quite a bit.
This deal requires more time to evaluate, with one pick still to be made, but Villeneuve was a sensation of sorts during the training camp. He was a standout during the 2024 Rookie Faceoff with a playing style that was annoying all sorts of opposing players. The 18-year-old scored a preseason goal (plus five shots and three hits) for the Kraken and wasn’t cut until the final days. He had to sit out a six-game suspension in juniors, so he is just back in the lineup for OHL Sudbury (where he was teammates with fellow SEA prospect David Goyette for two seasons). Fun fact to end this trade returns check-in: Villeneuve’s points-per-minutes average during 5-on-5 play in the OHL last season was higher than Oshawa star Beckett Sennecke, who was picked No. 3 overall at the 2024 NHL Draft.
