Refresh this page often as we report in real time on NHL Trade Deadline Day, Friday, Mar. 7, 2025. We’ll have updates and analysis about current Seattle Kraken, new Kraken, called-up-from-the-minors Kraken, now-former Kraken, and even ex-Kraken from earlier trades.
When Seattle general manager Ron Francis holds a scheduled post-deadline news conference, we’ll have real-time quotes from that press availability, too.
Reminder: The trade deadline is 12 noon Pacific Time, but trades made in the final minutes often aren’t reported until a few minutes after noon.
The Deadline is now complete. For a real-time review, read from the bottom of this live blog and scroll up.
1:23 pm: More from the GM on Kraken prospects.
Glenn Dreyfuss: “Which of your prospects do you feel are at the head of the line that could be on the Kraken roster next season?”
Ron Francis: “I start answering that question, and I upset a lot of other guys. But, you know, Jacob Melanson got a game last night. This is a kid that was playing really well, had a great camp, broke his leg. Jani Nyman has 26 goals, number one in the American Hockey League for rookie goal scoring. That’s exciting. We’ll give him a look to before the end of the season.
“We’ve seen glimpses of (Ryan) Winterton coming up. (Jagger) Firkus is playing well down there. We have a lot of guys that are actually playing well down there, and that doesn’t include guys outside of that, right?
“A lot of good things on the horizon. We also have the assets now (extra draft picks from trades), and the cap space to do some other things that’ll make us better.”
1:04 pm Highlights from Ron Francis’ media availability:
Glenn Dreyfuss: “You think that the team you have is better than what they showed this year. What has to go, right, what’s going to make people say, boy, I don’t want to meet the Kraken in the playoffs?”
Ron Francis: “You look at two seasons ago when we had the real good year. We didn’t have a lot of injuries. Last year, we had a lot of injuries; this year, again. It’s not an excuse. Everybody has them. But you lose your captain (Jordan Eberle) for 40 games of the season. When somebody’s out three months, they don’t step back in and pick up where they were before they got hurt.
“We lost Dunn for six weeks, arguably our toughest defenseman, and on the power play, so those things hurt. We lost Yanni (Gourde) for a couple of months. Our depth is getting there. We’re just not at the point need to be,
“But you start looking at what we have coming in the pipeline. In Coachella Valley two years ago, we were one of the oldest teams in the (AHL), and especially in the forward group. Last year we were the 20th oldest group. This year, we’re the third youngest, and yet we’re still sitting in first place (in the Pacific Division). There’s a lot of good things on the horizon there.
“We’ve got 10 picks. We’re not sitting here hoping to draft 10 players. We’re hoping to use those picks as as capital. Try and acquire players and and speed things up. Obviously, we want to get healthy and hope that that happens next year. I felt going into the season we’re a team that could compete for the playoff spot, and we’re not there. So we had to do the things we did (trades of Bjorkstrand, Gourde and Tanev).”
12:44 pm: In advance of Ron Francis’ press conference, the Kraken put out this statement.
“Brandon was an original member of the Kraken who brought high energy and grit to both ends of the ice,” said Ron Francis. “He was a big part of our team, and we wish him nothing but success in Winnipeg. With this trade we are pleased to add another quality draft pick giving us even more draft capital to work with as we look to improve our team next season and beyond.”
12:10 pm: Kraken general manager Ron Francis will meet the media within the hour.
12:07 pm: The 12 noon PT deadline has passed, but last-minute deals are still trickling in. The Kraken might still have a minor deal pending. (Daniel Sprong to New Jersey for a 7th round draft choice.)
11:56 am: More Tanev, with departing words of affection: “I had a great time in Seattle. I was treated extremely well. From day one, the ownership group, the fans were spectacular. I think they’ve got a great market, great organization from top to bottom. It’s always tough to say goodbye to a place you loved, and teammates and friends you made over the years.”
11:45 am: More Tanev: “I’ve got a big smile on my face. Wherever they need me to play, is where I’m going to go. Whatever they ask of me; energy, physicality, doing all the little things. I can’t wait to get that jersey back on.”
Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
11:26 am: Kelly Hrudey of Sportsnet said the Jets trading a 2nd for Tanev was “giving up a lot.”
10:53 am: Also worth noting for the Tanev trade, the Kraken aren’t retaining any salary.
10:29 am: “There’s something that everyone wants, come playoff time,” Tanev said of returning to postseason play. “There’s a great coaching staff, so many great players on that team, probably the best fans in hockey. I’m fortunate to go back to somewhere I’m very familiar with.”
Paul “Biz” Bissonnette, he of the faux feud with Kraken mascot Buoy, asked Tanev to take a parting shot at Buoy. Tanev wouldn’t take the bait.
10:25 am: Tanev is in Philadelphia, where the Kraken will play the Flyers Saturday afternoon. As luck would have it, the Jets are just up the road in Newark, NJ to play the Devils at 7 pm Eastern time tonight. Tanev wasn’t sure if he could make it to Prudential Center in time for the game with his new team.
10:22 am: Tanev, in a Sportsnet interview, called the Jets “A great hockey team.” The Jets have hovered near the top of the league standings all season. “I’ll do whatever they ask me to. I’m excited to go back.” The winger began his career in Winnipeg from 2015-19.
10:17 am: Dan Rosen at NHL.com: “Tanev going to the Jets gives them more forward depth and a lot of energy and bite. Good teams with aspirations for a long playoff run need depth and energy and bite. Tanev likely will play in a bottom-six role and he won’t score a lot, but he’ll play his game.” Again, Tanev was going to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, so the Kraken did well to receive a 2nd round pick in what’s shaping up as a seller’s market.
10:10 am: It’s happened. The Kraken have traded Brandon Tanev to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2027 2nd round draft choice.
8:49 am: Here’s how the positioning for the NHL Draft Lottery currently stacks up – basically, the league-wide standings turned upside down. The worse a team’s record, the better chance of moving up to the first or second overall pick. Of the “contenders,” Seattle has the 2nd-toughest schedule down the stretch.
8:28 am: On NHL Network’s Mar. 5 rankings of “Top 20 Unrestricted Free Agent Trade Targets,” Seattle’s Brandon Tanev is listed at #8. Two former Kraken also appear: Chicago’s Ryan Donato, having a breakout offensive season, and defenseman Brian Dumoulin, since traded to New Jersey from Anaheim.
7:39 am: There can’t be many better ways to introduce yourself to new teammates than by scoring a goal. That’s what Mikey Eyssimont did for the Kraken late in Thursday’s 5-3 loss in Nashville. Eyssimont was part of Wednesday’s trade sending Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The newest Kraken wasn’t shy, with five shot attempts, two hits and one block in 12:39 TOI.
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
From NHL.com: “I really liked playing with them,” Eyssimont said of his line with Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson (making his NHL debut). “I think we’ve got to find a way to trust each other a bit. We’re all running and gunning and excited so we’re kind of three guys on the puck. As the game went on, I think we started to trust each other more, and then that turned into a little bit of offense.”
Bjorkstrand did one-up Eyssimont Thursday, not only scoring, but making it a game-winning goal in Tampa’s 6-5 victory over Buffalo.
Bjorkstrand played on a line with Gourde. He told NHL.com, “I was just trying to stay around the net. I saw (Nikita) Kucherov had the puck, so I figured something would probably happen. (Gourde) had a good screen and it just kind of came in front of me. I just tapped it in.
“Any player on a new team…it’s nice to get that first goal, not that you think too much about it. It’s great that we found a way to win.” Bjorkstrand also contributed three hits in 13:53 of ice time.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Gourde, beginning his 2nd tour of duty with Tampa, was credited with an assist on the goal by his fellow former Kraken.
“We had a few chances, and I want to be around the paint and help create some stuff,” Gourde said. “I was so excited for Oliver to get that goal.” Like his linemate, Gourde played a physical game, recording four hits in 16:41 TOI.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper complimented the duo, skating under less than ideal circumstances. “They played three time zones away just 48 hours ago and you can make an argument they were two of our best forwards out there.”
1:04 am: The most deadline day trades is 32, set in 2020 and equaled in 2022. The largest number of players changing teams is 55, set in 2010 and equaled in 2020.
12:48 am: Did you know GM Ron Francis is the second-oldest player ever dealt at the trade deadline? At the age of 41 in 2004, Francis was sent by the Carolina Hurricanes to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 4th round draft pick. Francis would play the final 12 games of his 23-year Hall of Fame career with Toronto. Francis is one of eight current GMs to have themselves been part of a deadline-day swap.
12:02 am: Only on one of their prior three trade deadline days did the Kraken pull off deals. During their expansion season, Seattle sent Marcus Johansson to Washington in exchange for Daniel Sprong, a 4th-round pick in 2022 and 6th-round pick in 2023.
Seattle later dealt both that 4th rounder and their 5th rounder in 2022 to Calgary. That allowed them to move up to the 91st overall pick, where they selected Harvard University center Ben MacDonald. The Kraken used the 2023 6th rounder on Finnish goalie Visa Vedenpaa.
Seattle also traded future considerations to Minnesota for Victor Rask. The Swedish forward played 18 games for the Kraken at the tail end of the 2021-22 season, scoring four goals. He then departed to finish his career in Switzerland.