{"id":515489,"date":"2026-03-03T07:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T07:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515489\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T07:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T07:16:08","slug":"kraken-not-planning-to-trade-tolvanen-pending-ufas-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515489\/","title":{"rendered":"Kraken Not Planning To Trade Tolvanen, Pending UFAs \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Seattle Kraken are \u201cnot planning\u201d to trade winger Eeli Tolvanen<\/a> or their other pending UFA players before the trade deadline unless it is an \u201coverpayment,\u201d according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period<\/a>. Per Pagnotta, the Kraken are \u201cfocused on making the playoffs and adding.\u201d Sharks Hockey Digest\u2019s Max Miller added<\/a> to Pagnotta\u2019s report, writing that Tolvanen and his representatives are expecting to begin talks with Seattle on a contract extension this week.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tolvanen is not the only notable pending UFA player on Seattle\u2019s roster. Included in that group alongside Tolvanen are three notable veterans: winger Jaden Schwartz<\/a>, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak<\/a>, and captain Jordan Eberle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Together with Tolvanen they form a quartet of players who would each likely receive considerable interest on the trade market, but based on Pagnotta\u2019s report, that isn\u2019t a path the Kraken are willing to go down.<\/p>\n

Through 59 games this season, Seattle has amassed a 28-22-9 record with a -6 goal differential, good for 65 points and the Western Conference\u2019s second Wild Card spot. They are three points ahead of their closest rival, the San Jose Sharks, who have 62 points and a game in hand. They are also just one point behind the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division, and hold two games in hand there. In other words \u2013 the Kraken have multiple routes they can take to reach the playoffs.<\/p>\n

With that said, their form since returning from the Olympic break has been mixed. They dropped games against the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues by a combined 9-2 score, but managed a win over the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. In order to stand the best chance of not only making it to the playoffs, but also surviving beyond the first round if they do, they may need to reinforce their roster with additional veteran talent.<\/p>\n

Pagnotta reports that the Kraken are interested in doing so, which matches up with what has been previously reported. Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast<\/a> Friday that the Kraken offered north of $14MM AAV to try to sway Artemi Panarin<\/a> to choose Seattle. He elected to be dealt to the Los Angeles Kings instead. But the Kraken\u2019s pursuit of a difference-making scoring forward has persisted, including to the point where they would be willing to deal 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Friedman said on 32 Thoughts<\/a> that the Kraken \u201care serious about getting a player that can electrify them offensively,\u201d and pointed to a sense of pressure that exists in Seattle to get the organization back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022-23. He even referenced the NBA\u2019s stated interest in considering expansion cities<\/a> \u2013 of which Seattle would be a strong contender \u2013 as a factor contributing to the importance of the Kraken finding a way back to the playoffs this season.<\/p>\n

Whether the Kraken are best served retaining four pending UFAs for a stretch run that could end up concluding in a first-round matchup against the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche is a matter of debate. There are business considerations, as Friedman suggested, that the team may be wrestling with, and the reality of the NHL playoffs is that an element of randomness is guaranteed. The Kraken have pulled off an upset before, after all. So it\u2019s not entirely unreasonable for the Kraken to bet on, and invest in, their current team.<\/p>\n

But for a team that has largely lacked star power in its brief existence as an NHL franchise, is investing significant hockey assets in this capable, but flawed, 2025-26 Kraken team the most sensible long-term decision? That will be the question the Kraken\u2019s hockey operations leaders will have to interrogate this week, and it will be interesting to see what path president of hockey operations Ron Francis and GM Jason Botterill elect to take.<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Seattle Kraken are \u201cnot planning\u201d to trade winger Eeli Tolvanen or their other pending UFA players before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,257782,257783,250944,101646,575,3066,85,16044],"class_list":["post-515489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-eeli-tolvanen","tag-jaden-schwartz","tag-jamie-oleksiak","tag-jordan-eberle","tag-nhl","tag-seattle-kraken","tag-sports","tag-trade-deadline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}