Reeling in a Giant Squid

Équipe: 2023-24 Kraken de Seattle

Date de création initiale: 20 juin 2023

Publié: 20 juin 2023

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

In this second of a four part series, I'm examining major additions the Kraken could make to their roster via trade ahead of their third season.

Trade Target: Travis Konecny, RW, Philadelphia Flyers

Fit with Seattle: Konecny's a legitimate top six winger who averaged over a point per game last year. While Seattle is incredibly deep in the forward department, a sniper like Konecny would give them a serious boost in the goalscoring department and allow Burakovsky to slide back over to his natural side on the left wing. Since the Kraken have so many forwards, one would have to be moved out just to clear roster space. To me, Sprong is the most likely one to be traded. A good depth scorer whose defense is improved but still not his strong suit, I'd imagine there'd be interest from teams looking to boost their own scoring output.

Making the money work: Konecny has an affordable enough contract that trading away a forward would be enough to fit his cap hit onto the roster, once all of Seattle's RFAs are accounted for. However, they wouldn't have much room to bolster the defense if this happened. They could roll with some combination of Cale Fleury, Jaycob Megna, and prospect Ryker Evans to fill the defense spot vacated by Soucy. Another option is to pursue outside help, most likely a proven veteran to hold down the fort until Evans is ready. Driedger and his contract would have to be moved out to facilitate this, likely via buyout or with a sweetener attached. To model this potential scenario, I traded Driedger and added Forbort from Boston.

Let me know your thoughts and if any of the trade values need to be adjusted. Helpful feedback is always appreciated! Go Kraken and Go Firebirds!

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