TRADE: Kraken acquire forward Oliver Bjorkstrand in exchange for two draft picks!!

[Sexymarinersfan]

What an absolute STEAL! This is probably one of the best moves made this whole offseason. Not for Columbus though. Jarmo deserves to be fired for this trade. Absolutely brutal on his part but props to Ronnie for fleecing him. Bjorky is a stud and will be a huge part of the Kraken offence this year.

I was worried all year that we got screwed after teams wisened up with Vegas, and there wouldn’t be opportunity to exploit other teams. Color me tickled pink.

Bjorkstrand was the best CBJ defensive forward as well as the best offensive forward for the CBJ. Defensive play in Columbus was non-existent except for Bjorky at times. That +/- is more a sign of how much 5 v 5 he played.

This is a massive fleece job, if Beniers and Wright stick and play up to thier potential (big if when it comes to hockey) then this team maybe just maybe makes the playoffs this year.

So essentially the Kraken traded Appleton and Jarnkrok for Bjorkstrand, David Goyette, and a 2024 7th. Looks like they came out ahead on that so far. Bjorkstrand should add more goalscoring prowess without subtracting on defense, a true two-way player entering his prime. Love it!

I posted this on another thread, but here's my predictions for the lines after this move:

Burakovsky-Beniers-Bjorkstrand
McCann-Wennberg-Eberle
Schwartz-Wright-Gourde
Tanev-Geekie-Donskoi (Assuming Geekie is re-signed)

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Schultz
Soucy-Borgen

Grubauer
Jones

Inactives: Kuhlman, Lind, Fleury

I could see Daccord beating out Jones for the backup goalie spot, but Jones is the frontrunner as of now. If Wright returns to the OHL for another year I envision Wennberg sliding up to the second line, Geekie moving into the fourth-line center role, and Kuhlman taking his place on the third or fourth line depending on how they'd want to slot him and Donskoi. Happy to have Oliver Bjorkstrand on the team!

[Boisehawk]

Thanks for the review.

[DavidGee24]

I'm just stunned that they pulled this trade off. They've added two forwards that are probably better than any of the forwards that are presently on the roster and utterly robbed the Blue Jerkits.

They could use one more good defenseman but I'm guessing Klingberg is out of the question. Even so, there's no excuse for this team not making the postseason.

[Sexymarinersfan]

I'm just stunned that they pulled this trade off. They've added two forwards that are probably better than any of the forwards that are presently on the roster and utterly robbed the Blue Jerkits.

They could use one more good defenseman but I'm guessing Klingberg is out of the question. Even so, there's no excuse for this team not making the postseason.

Yeah, Klingberg would be awesome! They might have to put Driedger on the IL to create some more cap space($3.5M). So its not completely out of the question, just highly unlikely. Francis has really put a solid squad together this offseason. I'm a huge fan of Bjorkstrand! I can't wait for the season to start!

[Sexymarinersfan]

I'm just stunned that they pulled this trade off. They've added two forwards that are probably better than any of the forwards that are presently on the roster and utterly robbed the Blue Jerkits.

They could use one more good defenseman but I'm guessing Klingberg is out of the question. Even so, there's no excuse for this team not making the postseason.

Well its not Klingberg, but you definitely got you're wish for some decent depth. Kempný is the second former Capitals defender we've signed this offseason, along with Justin Schultz. He's 31 yrs. old and has dealt with injuries in recent years, and only appeared in 15 games last season. But when he's healthy, as he has been in the past he's been a solid middle-pair defender. There’s really no guarantee he can get back to the level he played at earlier in his career, but with a one-year, $750k contract, the risk for us is essentially zero. He and Will Borgen will likely begin as the rotational 6th defenders for Seattle once the year begins.

I've included some line combinations that I found, keep in mind they don't have Wright included, yet. Basically our entire first line from last moves down a rung, which is HUGE, considering Eberle was our loan All-Star last season!!

[Bil522]

So with Gourde being injured and playing at 80% last year, don't you think he is better than Wennberg? Also, I see McCann ahead of Schwartz on that left side.

Now I will say my hockey expertise comes from reading the excellent Athletic NHL writers...so don't bash me too much

[Sexymarinersfan]

So with Gourde being injured and playing at 80% last year, don't you think he is better than Wennberg? Also, I see McCann ahead of Schwartz on that left side.

Now I will say my hockey expertise comes from reading the excellent Athletic NHL writers...so don't bash me too much

I'm still learning myself, and I'm a HUGE Gourde fan! My first ever hockey jersey. And yes, fully healthy, I think Yanni is better than Alex. Just depends on how they really all gel.

[Sexymarinersfan]

So with Gourde being injured and playing at 80% last year, don't you think he is better than Wennberg? Also, I see McCann ahead of Schwartz on that left side.

Now I will say my hockey expertise comes from reading the excellent Athletic NHL writers...so don't bash me too much

I'm still learning myself, and I'm a HUGE Gourde fan! My first ever hockey jersey. And yes, fully healthy, I think Yanni is better than Alex. Just depends on how they really all gel.

The Kraken made a bunch of roster cuts a couple days ago - I didn't see that this was mentioned here, so check it out:

https://www.capfriendly.com/depth-charts/kraken