Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours ahead of the opening of the free agency market, the Seattle Kraken announced a flurry of updates to this offseason’s class of free agents.
Forwards John Hayden and Luke Henman, along with goaltender Ales Stezka, will return to the Coachella Valley Firebirds next season on one-year, $775k AAV contracts. Firebirds captain Max McCormick received another two-year deal also clocking in at $775k annually. Henman, Stezka, and McCormick are two-way eligible.
Extended Qualifying Offers, restricted free agents Eeli Tolvanen, Matty Beniers, and Peetro Seppälä await new contracts, leaving Kailer Yamamoto and Ville Petman free to sign with other teams. Spokane-native Yamamoto had been given permission to do so as early as Thursday, as confirmed by general manager Ron Francis.
Plummeting from a Calder-winning 57 points in his rookie year to 37 points in a slumping sophomore season, Beniers may not be offered as intimidatingly expensive a deal this offseason as previously anticipated. Negotiations were in “early stages” at the beginning of this month, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported, with “all options” apparently “on the table” for the 21-year-old at the conclusion of his ELC.
Notably, Beniers is the only RFA with arbitration rights. Will Borgen, Cale Fleury, and Vince Dunn elected for arbitration last offseason but all agreed to contracts ahead of the deadline to avoid hearings.
Substantial turnover is expected at the affiliate level, with UFAs Chris Driedger, Kole Lind, Andrew Poturalski, Connor Carrick, Cameron Hughes, Jimmy Schuldt, and Devin Shore set to test the market Monday at 9 AM pending any last-minute deals. Marian Studenič signed with the SHL’s Farjestad today for two years.
The possibility of Lind’s departure after spending every season under contract with the organization in its existence poses a threat to Coachella Valley’s bid for a third-straight championship appearance. The forward ranked 6th in scoring in the AHL with an impressive 65 points in 69 regular season games.
Driedger failed to move the needle as the Firebirds’ Calder Cup final starter. Despite averaging a .843 SV% over all six games of the series, his potential absence from the organization next season is significant in terms of its implications for goaltending depth. Sinking to third-string status after losing the backup position to Joey Daccord at training camp this past season, Driedger was recalled and started two games upon injury to Philipp Grubauer in December and January. Stezka’s re-signing gives the Kraken, as of now, only one possible goaltending recall in the event of a similar situation.
Development camp, beginning Tuesday at the Kraken Community Iceplex, should provide a better idea of which of Niklas Kokko and Victor Östman– the only other goaltenders under contract with Seattle– could transition to playing in Coachella Valley full-time.
UFAs Tomáš Tatar, Justin Schultz, and Pierre-Édouard Bellemare are unlikely to return for Seattle next season as they lack new contracts, but their absences are less urgent. Reinforcements from the development pipeline including Ryker Evans and Shane Wright will have the opportunity to secure full-time NHL roster spots at training camp this fall.