4 Kraken To Keep An Eye On In Trades

The Seattle Kraken are very much in the race for the playoffs in the West this season because the bottom-half of the conference is very weak. They sit two points out of a wildcard spot with two games in hand and there's a struggling Los Angeles Kings team two points ahead of them as well.

There is still plenty of time for certain teams to make definitive decisions on where they're going this season, the Kraken are one that will likely wait a little bit to make another move. Mason Marchment was traded and then the team started doing a bit better. But David Pagnotta said, "Keep an eye on Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen, and Jamie Oleksiak for the Kraken."

These are the four pending UFAs on the Kraken with any value as there are a couple of more players that wouldn't fetch anything. Some will be easier to move than others if the Kraken decide they want to gather assets and reset in the offseason. Other than Tolvanen, who should be a priority to re-sign rather than trade, the other three are 33 years of age or older and are already on the decline.

Eberle, 14 goals and 25 points in 37 games, has a cap hit of $4.75 million AAV. He's 35 years old. The pair of 33-year-olds, Schwartz and Oleksiak, make similar money. Schwartz is more valuable, though he has a higher cap hit. Schwartz's contract is $5.5 million AAV and he has eight goals and 15 points in 23 games, but is currently injured. Oleksiak has 49 hits and 55 blocked shots in 35 games. As for Tolvanen, he has seven goals and 25 points in 37 games with a cap hit of $3.475 million AAV. Not only does he have the cheapest cap hit and is equal to being the most productive, he's 26 years old, on the top power-play unit, top penalty killing unit, has 97 hits, and 36 blocked shots.

The Kraken are in a position to wait and see, but when healthy and with the depth, I believe Schwartz and Oleksiak can be traded, regardless of if they are in the playoff race or not. Brandon Montour would come back and take an everyday role, while maybe the Kraken get someone else who's cheaper and younger to replace Schwartz. They've been handling it alright without him for a while now.

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