Seattle Kraken Options with 2025 Free Agents

Which 2025 free agents should the Kraken keep or deal away?

Every season there is a multitude of contract-related conversations that go on around the NHL. These discussions and debates often relate to pending free agents. Whether they are unrestricted (UFA) or restricted (RFA), analysts and fans alike engage in speculation about what a club will do in the summer. One of the more intriguing contract-themed points for speculation is what to do with players who still have a year left on their present deals. The Seattle Kraken are no different, with plenty of roster members who are currently under contract but won’t be 14 months from now.

In the spirit of armchair general managing, what should Seattle do with its current crop of players entering contract seasons?

Players Who Need to Stay and Get Paid

There are certain players with whom the Kraken bigwigs must sit down at some point this summer or during next season to talk about renewing and extending contracts. These are the players who, although they might not light it up every time they step on the ice (it’s not as if Seattle had a great season), they have either contributed enough and can help build for the future or, in other cases, they could be the future.

Related: Seattle Kraken’s 2024 Offseason Contracts Challenges

As for veterans, defenseman Adam Larsson – also an assistant captain – is one such figure. The 32-year-old NHL stalwart was one of the few Seattle players to not only get through most of the 2023-24 season (81 games) but did so with a positive goal differential - plus-6 in his case. He still logs a good amount of ice time with an average of 22:56. While he didn’t tally many points (18 in total courtesy of four goals and 14 helpers), the same can be said of everybody in the lineup. That’s where some wheeling and dealing with other clubs can help, in addition to the new voice of head coach Dan Bylsma in the locker room. He’ll be a UFA in July 2025 and currently costs $4 million. Even if he wants a bit more, he’d be worth it.