Wild Trade Gaudreau To Kraken
Minnesota trades Frederick Gaudreau to Seattle for a draft pick
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 26, 2025
While the Wild have cap space already and room to offer some better free agents a contract, they have enough centers and didn't necessarily need Gaudreau being dropped to the fourth line. The draft pick may be used this Friday, but could also be flipped as well. Gaudreau has three years remaining on his contract at $2.1 million AAV, so this is a solid acquisition for the Kraken who are looking to get back into the playoffs.
There is a decent chance Gaudreau will be playing on the fourth line for the Kraken unless he shifts over to play the wing. His faceoff percentage is under 50% and has been for the past three seasons, but he plays clean hockey and can produce well offensively for a bottom-6 player.
Gaudreau put up 18 goals and 37 points in 82 games while averaging 15:40 of ice time per game. He played on the second power-play unit and had 97 minutes on the man advantage this season, but played 146 minutes on the penalty kill. The Kraken got a good bottom-6 player for cheap on a good deal as he can help out in a lot of ways.
This may be the last upgrade the Kraken have up front this offseason after acquiring Mason Marchment, Joe Veleno, and Gaudreau while trading Andre Burakovsky. I still think there is Philipp Grubauer to be bought out and a defense to be added.
For the Wild, expect Brock Boeser to get a healthy offer and Marcus Johansson or Ryan Hartman to play fourth line center if someone isn't picked up in free agency or through another trade.
Photo credit: © Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
