The Kraken kept two familiar names in the fold, signing goalie Victor Ostman and defenseman Ville Ottavainen to identical one-year, two-way deals.
Both contracts carry the same terms: $850,000 at the NHL level and $125,000 in the American Hockey League. They’re the basic qualifying offers for restricted free agents on expiring contracts.
Ostman, a Swedish goalie who turns 26 in October, got his first NHL start in Seattle’s season finale on April 16 in Colorado against the Avalanche and turned in a strong performance. He stopped 33 shots and finished with a .943 save percentage, but the Kraken couldn’t give him any support. Scott Wedgewood earned the shutout in the Avalanche’s 2-0 win.
Ostman also appeared once more for Seattle during the 2024-’25 season, coming on in relief for 20 minutes.
He was undrafted before the Kraken signed him as a free agent out of the University of Maine in the spring of 2024. Last season, he backed up Nikke Kokko with the Coachella Valley Firebirds and went 17-15-3 with a 2.81 goals against average.
Ottavainen, a Finnish right-shot defenseman who turns 24 in a month, has had a little more NHL exposure. He played one game for Seattle on April 15, 2025, logging close to 15 minutes against the Los Angeles Kings and picking up an assist on a Jaden Schwartz goal. He also scored a goal in an NHL exhibition game against the Calgary Flames the previous autumn.
A fourth-round pick by Seattle in 2021, Ottavainen has spent plenty of time in Coachella Valley, skating in 193 AHL games for the Firebirds and piling up 66 points over three full seasons.
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For Seattle, though, this is not the sort of move to make lightly. The Kraken are expected to hold out for fair value, which means any serious discussion would have to start with real assets coming back, not just a hopeful swap of needs. Boston has pieces it could dangle, but the question is whether the Bruins are willing to pay enough to get the kind of center they believe can help them now without emptying too much of the cupboard in the process. [Read more 🡒]