November 21, 2025 | 11:30am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

KRAKEN SCOURING MARKET FOR TOP-SIX FORWARD

Kraken GM Jason Botterill & President Ron Francis

The Seattle Kraken sit third in the Pacific Division with a 10-5-5 record through 20 games and have their sights set on post-season action this season.

As the club continues to perform well, GM Jason Botterill is also keeping tabs on the trade market to see which top-six forwards they may be able to pursue as the season moves forward.

The Kraken were in the market for a top-six, scoring winger in the off-season and that pursuit seems to be ongoing, according to TFP’s David Pagnotta.

During Wednesday’s episode of “DFO Rundown Inside Edition” with Irfaan Gaffar, Pagnotta noted that Seattle would like to make a splash, at some point, be it in-season or next summer.

“They’re at a point where they want to they want to add, they definitely do, but they feel they need to proceed with a little bit of caution because they’ve got a lot of players that are pending unrestricted free agents,” Pagnotta said.

“If this team is going to continue to stay in the playoff race and be part of the wild card discussion... You want to just make sure you’re maintaining that same trajectory for this season. And then you look to add.”

Forwards Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Mason Marchment and Eeli Tolvanen and defenceman Jamie Oleksiak are all playing on expiring contracts and are eligible to become unrestricted free agents next July.

With respect to Schwartz, Pagnotta reported that contract negotiations have not yet started between the Kraken and his representation, but those conversations are planned for later in the season.

Watch full episode

As for whom the Kraken may be looking at, it remains unclear at the moment, but the team did express interest in St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft before his full no-trade clause kicked in July 1. The Blues, though, are still willing to take calls on Kyrou.

“Botterill is going to certainly keep his options open,” Pagnotta added. “They were active in the summer.

“They want to add an impact forward to this group. It may not happen during the season, but if Seattle can find a way to add a winger, specifically, an offensive scoring winger that slots into their top-six, perfect world as a first line guy, but you know, it’s pricey, that’s what the Kraken would like to do. That’s a top of their priority list.”

The Kraken have just over $2.13 million in current cap space, according to PuckPedia, and over $34.75 million in cap space for the 2026-27 season.