Jamie Oleksiak’s Seattle run ended the way a lot of his shifts in a Kraken sweater did: with him making life miserable for the other team.
Back on March 6, just four days before the NHL trade deadline, the defenseman known as the Big Rig put on a wrecking-ball performance against Carolina at Climate Pledge Arena. Oleksiak piled up a career-high 11 hits, blocked three shots and still found time to help on both Seattle goals in a 2-1 upset of the Hurricanes, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup.
“He’s such a beast, an absolute beast,” winning goalie Joey Daccord said of his 6-foot-7, 252 pound defenseman. “He’s a warrior blocking shots.
He had a great stick tonight and made so many good plays. He was just burying guys, too.”
At the time, some wondered whether that kind of physical outburst was a message to the rest of the league. Oleksiak, along with Eeli Tolvanen and Jaden Schwartz, was headed toward unrestricted free agency, and the Kraken could have used those pending UFAs to stockpile picks and prospects. Instead, Seattle kept all three, believing the team still had a real shot at the postseason.
That bet didn’t pay off. Schwartz left for the Colorado Avalanche, Oleksiak signed with the Vancouver Canucks on a two-year, $10 million deal, and Tolvanen is out the door too, with Seattle getting nothing back.
Oleksiak said the move to Vancouver made sense for a lot of reasons.
“Playing in a Canadian market for a historic franchise like the Canucks, and obviously living in Seattle, I came to really appreciate the Pacific Northwest,” Oleksiak said in a media conference call. “I’m excited to explore Vancouver and play in front of the fans there and grow with the team as well.
I think it just presented a lot of great possibilities, and it was tough to turn down. So I’m excited.
“I’ve been around the league for a while, and I can bring my experiences to the team. Just show up every day with a good work ethic, try and help set the standard, and work with some of these young players, and the veteran guys they brought in as well,” he said.
He also knows the road ahead won’t be smooth. Vancouver finished dead last in 2025-26, and Oleksiak didn’t sugarcoat what that means.
“It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be something that, as athletes, we always embrace. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The move closes the book on a big chunk of Oleksiak’s NHL life. He spent the last five of his 14 seasons on Seattle’s blue line and became one of the franchise’s original Kraken. In 389 games wearing the blue “S,” he was as steady as they come, missing just four Kraken games over the last three seasons combined.
He said the early days in Seattle still stand out to him.
“The (Seattle) expansion draft was very unique, just kind of coming together as a group, guys from all over the league. It was a special time I had there in Seattle.”
Oleksiak has already connected with another veteran newcomer in Vancouver, Luke Schenn, and Sportsnet reported the two have been talking since they signed. Schenn, who is on his third stint with the Canucks, has also been helping Oleksiak get a feel for the city. Oleksiak will also reunite with Brendan Gallagher, his teammate on bronze-medal-winning Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championships.
And while his next stop is in the Lower Mainland, Oleksiak could still end up back on the move. Vancouver has acknowledged it is in a rebuild, and that could make the veteran a trade chip by spring. By next March, the pro-rated piece of his $5 million AAV would make him an affordable pickup for a contender looking for a rugged, experienced depth defenseman.
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