Kraken claim forward Eeli Tolvanen; waive Karson Kuhlman

The Kraken are having quite the busy Monday this week. After recalling defender Gustav Olofsson earlier in the morning, they made two more roster moves that affect the NHL club in the afternoon — claiming forward Eeli Tolvanen off waivers from the Nashville Predators and placing forward Karson Kuhlman on waivers in a corresponding move.

Tolvanen is a 23-year old former first round draft pick who, at least according to the Predators’ front office, hasn’t yet lived up to his expectations. He’s tallied 25 goals in 135 career games so far, with 2 of those coming in 13 games this season. While he perhaps hasn’t been the high-octane offensive talent that he was drafted to be, his defensive numbers have been solid throughout his career and he sure looks like he could be an asset to any team.

Rather than dig too much into his play so far, let’s take a look at what our friends in Nashville and at our sister site On The Forecheck think about the Predators’ decision to place him on waivers.

And finally, the advanced stats suggest that Tolvanen is at least average offensively while providing plus defensive coverage as a winger.

The Kraken have had a dangerous fourth line so far this year, and with Tolvanen added on to potentially play alongside Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong (or perhaps next month Shane Wright?) that bottom-six may have gotten even stronger.

Lastly, let’s not forget Karson Kuhlman, the casualty of this move. Kuhlman himself was a waiver claim for Seattle, and he played well enough to earn a contract offer this past summer to return to the club. But the team just kept on winning with a very settled bottom six, and he was simply the odd-man out this year. Let’s hope he can sneak through to Coachella Valley and be ready to return to NHL action should Seattle need him later this season.