The Seattle Kraken are looking for stars and entering a new era under head coach Lane Lambert, acquiring Jason Robertson from the Dallas Stars could help check that box off.
Last offseason, the Kraken signed Stanley Cup champions Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson in hopes that they could help improve their roster and get them back in the playoffs. The Kraken fell well short of the playoffs, and neither turned out to be the stars the Kraken were hoping for, despite solid campaigns.
The market for free agents this offseason isn't deep besides Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers and Sam Bennett, but recent reports indicate that the Stars are taking calls on Robertson in hopes of clearing cap space, and it could be something the Kraken explore, although no formal reports have indicated which teams could be looking to acquire Robertson. Following the trade deadline when the Kraken moved multiple contributing veterans for draft picks and prospects, President of Hockey Operations Ron Francis stated they want to use their draft capital to speed up their rebuild process.
"Moving forward that's five first-round picks in the next three drafts, five second-round picks in the next three drafts, so that's 10 picks," said Francis. "I'm not sitting here saying we're looking to draft 10 players. In a perfect world, we're looking to move some of these draft capital pieces to acquire players and move the process forward a little bit quicker."
Kraken Looking To Be Aggressive In The Offseason
The Seattle Kraken project to have over $20M in cap space in the offseason and own seven draft picks in 2025, and GM Ron Francis plans to be aggressive in his use of them.
The Kraken have no shortage of talented prospects, but at the moment outside of Berkly Catton, it doesn't seem all that likely that any live up to what Robertson has been able to accomplish at 25 years old.
Robertson scored 35 goals and 80 points this season in 82 games, both of which would have led the Kraken by a wide margin. Throughout his five-year career, Robertson has set a career-high of 46 goals and 109 points.
His contract, which carries a $7.75M cap hit, is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, indicating that the Stars would likely expect a lot in return, but if the Kraken are serious about speeding up the process, Robertson would do just that.
He could slide in next to Matty Beniers or Shane Wright perfectly. Beniers loves to skate with the puck in transition, and Robertson does a great job of finding open space in the offensive end. Wright, on the other hand, is always looking to use his teammates to create offence, routinely attempting give-and-go's, another aspect that Robertson has excelled at in the NHL.
The Kraken haven't been successful in the trade market when chasing top players, but now is as good a time as any to make a big splash.
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