Jaden Schwartz was back in the lineup for the Seattle Kraken against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
The forward missed 16 games with an upper-body injury sustained Nov. 28. He has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists).
"'Schwartize's' done all the right things to get back in," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "He's done an extra couple of days of work here, especially being off for the four days between our last game, so Schwartzie's ready to go.
"He adds some very important elements for us, obviously on the ice in terms of the things he does but also just his leadership and his experience in the dressing room as well once we get to this time of year."
With Schwartz returning, Hakstol is working to insert a veteran forward in a spot where he can contribute without disrupting a newfound swagger that's earned Seattle (16-14-9) points in a team-record 10 consecutive games (8-0-2). At the morning skate in Buffalo, Schwartz was on the second line to the left of Alex Wennberg and Brandon Tanev. Jared McCann, a 40-goal scorer last season who's scored 14 in 38 games this season, was moved from the second line to a so-called fourth line with Andre Burakovsky and Tye Kartye. The third line of Eeli Tolvanen, Yanni Gourde, and Oliver Bjorkstrand has been intact all season.
Tomas Tatar has played on the top line at left wing with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle since the Kraken acquired him in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 15 for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He has five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games.
"If you want to talk about having depth as your true strength, I mean that's the definition of it, so our outlook and our goal will be to build four good lines each night," Hakstol said. "Those lines might look a little bit different, but the reality is, on a line chart, they get listed top to bottom. You can't list them side by each, right? But in our reality, what we want to do is build four good lines that can go out and find some chemistry, have some flexibility, and be effective."
That depth has helped the Kraken excel without goalie Philipp Grubauer, who has missed all but 17 games with an undisclosed injury. Burakovsky has been limited to 10 games by injuries and forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (lower body) has missed six games since Dec. 18.
"It's a good problem to have, too many good forwards, right?" Wennberg said. "I mean, obviously [we've been] dealing with injuries, but to get them back, it's a big plus for us."
The Kraken begin an extended road trip on the East Coast in Buffalo that includes a back to back at the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers on Jan. 15-16. They return west to end the trip at the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18 and start a four-game homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 21.
Hakstol is looking forward to the possibility of having all his top forwards healthy at the same time.
"It's especially important going into a six-game road trip, where we're not going to control any of those matchups," Hakstol said. "We want to be confident in each group that goes over the boards to go out and be able to compete against anybody on the other side and be effective doing it."
NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report
