This week was a short one for the Seattle Kraken as they only faced two opponents at home with the trade deadline on its way tomorrow. This week we saw the Kraken play against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, and pulled the trigger on a trade by dealing away Calle Jarnkrok to the Calgary Flames for draft picks. Let’s take a look back at the week that was and what’s in store for tomorrow’s NHL Trade Deadline and how it’ll impact the Kraken:
Kraken truck by Lightning (3/16/22
3rd period comeback victory vs the Red Wings (3/19/22)
How’s it Kraken? My thoughts on the week that was and what’s ahead
This week has been a big week for the Seattle Kraken as the NHL Trade Deadline is tomorrow where they will obviously be sellers as they’ve struggled in their inaugural season. Before I talk trade deadline, let’s briefly look back at this week’s games. It wasn’t surprising losing to the Lightning as they clearly are the NHL’s most elite team winning back to back Stanley Cups and having an overall exceptional wining culture. That’s what the Kraken want to have going forward. Saturday was a great comeback win for the team as they were down 2-0 after the second period to the Red Wings and scored four unanswered goals in the third to win it 4-2. Yanni Gourde scored the game winner and an empty netter to seal the victory and continues his strong season leading the team overall in scoring with 38pts. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gourde is named the captain next season after Mark Giordano is traded tomorrow. He plays a great two-way game and has the winning pedigree as well as leadership skills to be a team captain. Great way to end the week for sure.
Now let’s get down to business with tomorrow’s NHL Trade Deadline. We saw the beginning of trades as the Kraken dealt away versatile forward Calle Jarnkrok to the Calgary Flames for three draft picks (2nd round pick in 2022, 3rd round pick in 2023, & 7th round pick in 2024). Getting a second round pick in particular out of this deal was very good as there’s always very valuable players in round two of the draft. I wasn’t expecting Jarnkrok to go to Calgary as I didn’t think the Kraken would want to trade within the division but, you always take the best deal you can get no matter what team it is. Looking to tomorrow, expect captain Mark Giordano to be traded and the Kraken will get handsomely rewarded for it in the process. I know there’s a lot of teams interested in acquiring him as he’s still pretty great defensively and is a veteran presence with a ton of playoff experience that will fit into any team’s top four defense pairing. With the prices teams have been paying lately in trades, a first round pick should be coming back in this deal. You may see other names like Marcus Johansson, Mason Appleton, Ryan Donato, or a Riley Sheahan get dealt away too. Out of all those names, I think Johansson is the most likely to go as he can provide some offense and has plenty of playoff experience to boot. All I know is tomorrow will be a big day for the Kraken and one that can help shape the future of this team. Getting as many draft picks and prospects will be helpful with building up the farm system and setting the team up for a sustainable winning environment for years to come. Tomorrow’s going to be very interesting that’s for sure…stay tuned Seattle!
Upcoming Kraken Games
3/22/22-Seattle Kraken @ Arizona Coyotes 10pm EST/7pm PST
3/26/22- Seattle Kraken @ Los Angeles Kings 10:30pm EST/7:30pm PST
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