Kailer Yamamoto signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.
The 24-year-old forward was traded with Klim Kostin to the Detroit Red Wings by the Edmonton Oilers on June 29 for future considerations. There were reports the next day that Yamamoto had been put on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out the final year of his contract.
Yamamoto, a native of Spokane, Washington, had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 58 regular-season games for the Oilers and four points (one goal, three assists) in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Edmonton's first-round pick (No. 22) in the 2017 NHL Draft has 118 points (50 goals, 68 assists) in 244 regular-season games and 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 34 playoff games.
"I like 'Yammo,' and when we did (his last contract) I had no idea what the (NHL salary) cap was going to be this year, hoping that we could catch up and get the cap moving," Oilers general manager Ken Holland said after the trade. "The cap doesn't move, it goes from 82.5 to 83.5 (million) so we have to make difficult decisions."
