Seattle Kraken Set to Buyout Joe Veleno Only 8 Days After Acquiring Him

Joe Veleno's Seattle stint didn't last long. Just eight days after the Kraken traded for the 25-year-old from the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Andre Burakovsky, they have placed Veleno on undconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout.

The #SeaKraken have placed Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout.
— Seattle Kraken PR (@SeattleKrakenPR) June 29, 2025

Because he's under 26, the buyout cost is only 1/3 of his $2.275M contract for the Kraken. The buyout cap hit is minimal, and overall, combined with the trade of Burakovsky and his hefty salary, it saves them substantial cap room, as noted by PuckPedia:

Veleno was traded for Burakovsky.#SeaKraken cleared the remaining 2 years of $5.5M Cap Hit for Burakovsky by taking a buyout cap hit of $796K in Year 1 and $296K in Year 2 for Veleno.

Net Cap Savings for SEA from trade/buyout:

Yr 1 $4.70M
Yr 2 $5.20Mhttps://t.co/Ms2390ATp6
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) June 29, 2025

The savings on the cap for Seattle this coming season are $4.7M, and $5.2M in 2026-27.

Mainly a fourth-line center, Veleno recorded eight goals and 17 points in 74 games split between the Red Wings and Blackhawks last season, and has 38 goals and 81 points in 306 career games across five seasons.

Even with this move, the Kraken are still very deep down the middle, and are looking at their center depth, and newfound cap room, to perhaps pull off a big trade, as we outlined here.