Kraken Have Had Veteran Defenseman On Trade Block For A While

The Seattle Kraken have done a lot of good work this offseason to upgrade their team, but as players have been brought in, there are some thoughts that a player or two might be headed out. This isn't due to cap concerns, but for other reasons.

Nick Kypreos reported that Jamie Oleksiak has been someone he's been watching on the trade market since before the trade deadline in March. Oleksiak should definitely be a trade candidate now that Ryan Lindgren was signed for four years too. The 32-year-old will likely spend the majority of the season on the third pairing, but if he's traded, Ryker Evans can easily play on his strong side.

The team has a little buffer on defense as well since Josh Mahura is a capable bottom pairing or seventh defenseman, Cale Fleury got into 14 games with the Kraken last season, Ville Ottavainen played an NHL game, and Ty Nelson may get a taste of the NHL.

Oleksiak is heading into the final year of his contract and it doesn't make sense for the Kraken to re-sign him. He has a cap hit of $4.6 million AAV and averaged under 19 minutes per game, the lowest of the six d-men currently slotted in the starting lineup for next season. He is a big part of the penalty kill, but Seattle now has Lindgren to eat up minutes while shorthanded.

A trade may not come until mid-season when teams are desperate, but plenty of teams are still looking to upgrade this offseason and Oleksiak could serve as a solid one year rental. He has played every game the last two seasons and finished last season with four goals, 17 points, 159 blocked shots, and 73 hits. It was the first time in seven years that he hadn't recorded over 100 hits in a season. He seems well equipped for the playoffs and will likely end up on a contender if he's traded before the end of next season.