It’s a close one, but I believe Seattle say no. McCann’s 40 goal season keeps him in Seattle.

I think you are right that SEA thinks hard about this offer and I could see a world where they take it, however, it would all depend on who is available at 11OA. McCann has been a cornerstone for SEA thus far, and moving him doesn't start a rebuild for SEA, but it likely extends the time in which they have to wait for them to be truly competitive for 2-3 years from now to more like 4-5 years, which is well into the prime of some players that SEA has on roster now like Dunn, Berniers, and Tolvanen.

That said, I could see a world where SEA is able to get someone like Dickinson or Buium and then able to grab another defenseman like Yakemchuk or Silayev to really round out their defensive pipeline. SEA's forward depth is already really strong thanks to some breakout seasons from current prospects and the addition of Kulich.

What AEcho said but i'm closer to there is no way Seattle considers it. They need offense now, and the stuff in the pipeline is at a minimum 2-3 years out. So trading their top goal scorer isn't getting them that in this offer. Unless Benson or Cozens is coming back it's not happening. And I don't think Buffalo wants to trade either of them.

This would be such a fun blockbuster draft trade if it was announced when the Sabres got on the clock, the NHL needs more of stuff like this. I haven't watched a ton of seattle games, but to me, it seems like they won't be a true contender in the west in next 2-3 years regardless of McCann, they just don't have the top end developed talent to get there and it's an aging/middling roster. This trade gives them a chance to reload and truly set up the next generation of Kraken players for long term success with a core that is some mix of Beniers, Wright, Tolvanen, Kulich, Rehkopf, Sale, Firkus, Goyette, Nyman, Morrison, Molgaard at F and Dunn, 8th overall, 11 overall, Evans, Ottavainen, even Joki/Borgen etc at D. That future to me is more exciting than the current one with McCann on the roster

See my quote response to AEcho, the Kraken to me aren't contending with McCann on the roster unless some crazy crazy stuff happens this offseason, so why take the Minnesota Wild route and just be happy with a ceiling of getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs when you can cash in for a guarenteed super high ceiling roster in the future

I think it comes down to two reasons 1) RF is a really conservative GM that doesn't make the blockbuster trades. 2) I think they turn around and trade at least two of Firkus, Goyette, Rehkopf, Sale, Nelson, Dragicevic, and Robertson to patch in some of the current offensive holes. But I think that's also a pivot from this last season - Otherwise why re-sign Eberle? The team kind of got hit with a win now message from the fans after the drop off and hiring Disco Dan makes me feel like we are being set up for failure. But hey, in the pre-season there are 32 teams that could be Stanley Cup champions.

My guess is the short term core gets built around Beniers, Wright, McCann, Eberle, Larsson, Borgen, and maybe Daccord. All the other expansion players either get traded or eventually removed and you start filling the holes but you need some leadership on the ice. I could see the team being a lot more willing to move something like Burakovsky, Firkus, and Dragicevic for a top end player over a high pick.

What @KrakBirds23 is the other side of this coin as McCann isn't old enough to not be impactful when a lot of SEA's prospects come up in earnest in 2-3 years. He will barely be 30-31 when that happens. I tend to think very optimistically when it comes to the draft, but it is a bit of a risk for SEA to take considering what McCann has done for them. If the deal did happen I wouldn't be upset, but I wouldn't be upset either if SEA just stays the course.

The other idea I've had that I wouldn't mind both of you chiming in on is bringing Skinner back in a McCann trade for an even larger package to replace some of his immediate production on retained salary. Would essentially be weaponzing the cap space you have available with maintained current production and a larger haul of futures - interesting idea I think

Personally I'm a fan of Skinner but more that he always seems to be a Kraken killer when we play Buffalo. He was a Francis guy so there could be a tie there.

A bit late to the party, but I'll second much of what @AEcho and @KrakBirds23 said. The offer you made is a really good one and if I was Ron Francis and co. I'd seriously consider it. It would largely come down to the path Seattle wants to take building their roster for the future. For better or worse all indications are that the Kraken want to maintain a solid NHL roster while simultaneously developing a young core to take over and elevate the team from that foundation. In that framework McCann is too important to lose, as he's their leading scorer and probably best all around forward currently, and the team needs to add scoring, not subtract it. For that reason I don't see this trade going through, but if Seattle pursues more of a rebuilding path, this deal would be a tempting one to take.

On your idea of Skinner to Seattle; I think that idea might have legs, but considering he's a clear notch below McCann in my view, is several years older, and has nearly twice the cap hit, I don't see him as being a valuable part of a hypothetical return package for McCann. I think a more feasible idea would be a sort of bad contract swap, where Seattle takes Skinner and sends back a lesser player earning less money.

I like Skinner in theory, but I have to agree with @KrakenTheCode 's assessment of Skinner, in that he isn't going to be a replacement to McCann, but I could see a bad contract for bad contract kind of swap. I think the most realistic situation in which SEA would move McCann is if they have to be able to have a McCann replacement come back into the system (e.g. Necas)