In the middle of another rough patch, it appears the currently playoff-bound Kraken are sticking to the formula. As of the Monday before the NHL trade deadline, no significant rumors were circling Seattle.
The common refrain — at least for now — is that the wheeling and dealing happened last summer.
“Whatever the deadline brings, it’s the group that’s inside this room that’s going to be at the core of how we finish down the stretch,” coach Dave Hakstol said Sunday after the Kraken’s 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Ultimately, that’s what matters most.”
The trade deadline is Friday at noon PT, hours before the Kraken’s (32-21-6) game at Columbus.
Bo Horvat’s oddly timed trade from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Islanders — the center represented the Islanders while competing for the Pacific Division during the All-Star weekend — was the unofficial kickoff of this annual talent grab. The St. Louis Blues signaled they were bowing out of the playoff hunt by selling off several more pieces from their 2019 Stanley Cup team in Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, who went to the New York Rangers and Maple Leafs, respectively.
The San Jose Sharks pulled off a slow-evolving, multiplayer trade that sent winger Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, and the Tampa Bay Lightning paid the Nashville Predators a steep price for winger Tanner Jeannot.
The Kraken’s only recent deal has been for a depth defenseman. Seattle picked up Jaycob Megna, who has appeared in two games since the Feb. 5 deal, for a fourth-round pick. He’s been a healthy scratch the rest of the time.
Meanwhile TSN’s Darren Dreger had Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm as a potential target for Pacific Division opponent Edmonton, which has creeped past the Kraken in the standings. Career Chicago Blackhawks forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane could be on the move as well, but from the sound of it he’s likely headed to the Eastern Conference.
As the deadline approaches, the Kraken are going through some struggles. A last-second letdown cost them a second regulation win against the league’s top team in the Boston Bruins. On either side of that game, however, were two blowout losses in which they didn’t look like themselves.
A move or two from the front office serves as a potential push in the short term, plus a vote of confidence for the expected playoff run ahead. Teams will sell to reload, move on or help a veteran get a chance to win the Stanley Cup in the twilight of his career. Despite the current swoon, the sense is the Kraken are looking for a few complementary pieces, not a huge get.
Long-term injuries shouldn’t factor in. Winger Andre Burakovsky, who was the team’s leading scorer by a small margin for much of the first half of the season, is week to week because of a lower-body injury but is expected to return before the playoffs. Otherwise, the Kraken are close to full health.
The insistence after Sunday’s loss to the Maple Leafs that looked straight out of the inaugural-season archives was that this experiment — no stars, four reliable lines, balanced scoring — should continue. They’ll get it together, as they have before.
Defenseman Vince Dunn noted the Kraken are a “welcoming team,” but on behalf of his teammates, said no one’s looking for an out.
“We love everyone in this locker room. We’re not looking to trade spots with anyone,” Dunn said. “We’re a very tight group in here. We get along really well.
“The chemistry is good, and we’re a great team when we’re playing as a team.”
In an interview with the team website, Kraken general manager Ron Francis said this trade deadline seemed to be “more of a rental market” instead of a chance to build depth for the future, and he noted the strength of the 2023 draft, in which the Kraken hold 10 picks.
He still referenced working the phones.
Said Dunn: “Those things are out of our control. We don’t really hear anything on the players’ end of things. You always want your team to get better. Management did a great job of doing that [last] summer.”