The Kraken’s roster churn hit two familiar names on Wednesday, with Jaden Schwartz headed to Colorado and Jamie Oleksiak landing in Vancouver. Both were original Seattle players, and both are gone now as the franchise keeps turning the page.
Schwartz, a 34-year-old winger, signed a three-year, $9.75 million contract with the Avalanche. That puts him in a familiar mountain-state setting, since he played at Colorado College before turning pro.
Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said, “We thought Jaden Schwartz would be a great fit offensively in a top-nine role,” and added, “Kind of go anywhere in the lineup, gives us depth, brings that championship pedigree. (Schwartz in 2019 won a Stanley Cup with the St.
Louis Blues, the team that originally drafted him in 2010.) Great guy, kind of fits our identity and the way we like to play.”
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski also pointed out that Schwartz accepted less than market value, writing, “The forward took less than market value, as AFP Analytics had him projected at around $4.8 million on a two-year term. He’s experienced, hard-working, offensively gifted and hungry to play relevant hockey after only making the playoffs once in Seattle. Good player, really good cap number for Colorado.”
Schwartz had finished the five-year, $27.5 million contract he signed with Seattle in 2021. Injuries limited him to 50 games and 11 goals last season, but he still posted his best Kraken numbers in 2024-25 with 26 goals and 23 assists. Across five seasons in Seattle, he played 301 games and produced 79 goals and 89 assists.
Oleksiak is also moving on, and he’s heading north on I-5. The Canucks gave the 6-foot-7 defenseman a two-year, $10 million deal.
Vancouver GM Ryan Johnson said, “Jamie is a big body who moves very well on the ice,” and continued, “He’s a solid two-way defenseman who isn’t afraid to use his size and strength to his advantage, and we like his reach and athleticism. He competes very hard and has grown into a good leader in the dressing room.
Adding him to the mix on the back end will help us in many positive ways.”
NHL.com listed Oleksiak’s Seattle line from 2025-26 at 78 games, 15 points, 36 penalty minutes, and a +9 rating. He also finished third on the Kraken in hits with 112 and blocked shots with 106. Over his career, he has skated in 758 games between the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Kraken.
The departures don’t stop there. Fellow unrestricted free agent Eeli Tolvanen is almost certain to follow.
There is also the broader criticism that Seattle should have handled these veteran pieces differently. The complaint is not that the Kraken failed to re-sign the trio.
The real issue, as argued here, is that management kept Schwartz, Oleksiak, and Tolvanen at the trade deadline in March while chasing a playoff run that ultimately went nowhere. The missed chance to get return value is what stings.
That said, general manager Jason Botterill has had a productive offseason in other areas. He traded for Mackie Samoskevich and, as of today, signed him to an extension.
He also got Bobby McMann under contract before free agency. Botterill resisted the urge to overspend on a cheap free agent, and when Chase Reid unexpectedly slid to the Kraken at 7th overall in last Friday’s NHL Draft, the club didn’t overthink it.
Still, draft picks and prospects come with no guarantees. For a team not in contention, the best play is to collect as many assets as possible.
Some of those picks can later become trade chips, like the first- and second-rounders used to bring in Samoskevich from Florida. Letting Schwartz, Oleksiak, and Tolvanen walk away for nothing is the part that looks like poor asset management.
Elsewhere, the San Jose Sharks committed five years and $35 million to Mason Marchment. Marchment spent 29 unproductive games in Seattle after arriving in a trade from Dallas last offseason. He did not score much, but he did create plenty of chaos on the ice, with opponents often dealing with the aftermath of the scrums he started.
Another former Kraken, Oliver Bjorkstrand, has moved on as well, leaving the Lightning to sign a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the New York Rangers.
In Other News...
Former Blue Jacket Mason Marchment Just Landed A Massive Long Term Deal
Mason Marchments path through last season was one of the more unusual storylines to follow from a Kraken perspective. He split the year between Seattle and Columbus after a December trade, giving both clubs a chance to see the same hard-driving winger up close, and now he has turned that stop-and-start stretch into a major payday based on what he has built since entering the league in 2019-20.
The latest move also comes with a built-in layer of personal history. Marchments late father, Bryan, had a connection to the Sharks as both a player and later in the organization, which gives this next chapter a different kind of weight beyond the contract itself. For Seattle, it is another reminder of how quickly roster business can shift for a player who was only here for part of a season before landing on a much bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Just Doubled Down On A Costly Scoring Bet
Seattle has kept leaning into the idea that a swing for offense can be worth the price, and the latest move fits that pattern. General manager Jason Botterill announced the Kraken have signed forward Mackie Samoskevich to a three-year contract, adding another young piece to a roster that has been searching for more finishing power.
Samoskevich now becomes part of the conversation in Seattle not just as a new name, but as a player the organization believes can help tilt the balance toward more goals. Botterill has framed him as a proven winner who brings speed and scoring ability, and the deal gives the Kraken a clearer commitment to that bet as they keep building around a forward group with room to grow. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Prospects Are Starting To Put The Rest Of Hockey On Notice
The Krakens prospect pipeline is getting a notable mid-summer spotlight, with five young players headed to the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase. The group includes Chase Reid, Casey Mutryn and Blake Fiddler for Team USA, along with Ola Palme and Loke Krantz for Team Sweden, a sign that Seattles drafting and development work is starting to spread across more than one national program.
The Showcase runs from July 26 to Aug. 1 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and it offers one of the better early gauges of where those players stand in the bigger picture. Reids path is especially worth watching given his Michigan State commitment, and hell be working under Team USA coach Adam Nightingale, which adds another layer of familiarity to a week that could tell us plenty about how far this Kraken prospect class has come. [Read more 🡒]