Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann has been a solid NHL scorer for many years, dating back to when the Kraken took him in the Expansion Draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs. McCann is playing out the final year of a five-year, $25MM contract that has been an absolute steal for the Kraken. The 31-year-old has posted at least 20 goals in each season of the deal and has topped 50 points in every year with the Kraken, except last year, when injuries limited him to 52 games and 40 points. The Kraken are in a bind right now when it comes to roster construction. They aren’t bad enough to bottom out, but they’re nowhere near good enough to compete for a Stanley Cup. A best-case scenario this year would be for Seattle to reach the postseason, but if they find themselves out of the hunt before the Trade Deadline, it’s fairly likely that McCann would be moved if he hasn’t signed an extension by then. This isn’t to say that Seattle is actively trying to move him right now, but they have been open ot it in the past.
Any talk of trading McCann will end the second he signs an extension, but given that he’s been eligible to sign one for almost three months, it doesn’t appear imminent. All of that could change if Seattle starts the season on a heater, but if they slump, they will need to make a tough call on one of the best players in franchise history. McCann would fetch a haul at the deadline if Seattle made him available, and with a cap hit of just $5MM for the rest of this year, he would have a pile of suitors.
Now, much of this will come down to his health and production this season, but when he is healthy, McCann is a threat to score 25-30 goals. One other huge bonus with McCann is that he can play all over and in different situations, which would be valuable to any team looking to find a fit for him. Contending teams often acquire players late in the season only to find out it’s a bad fit (think Michael Bunting with the Dallas Stars this past season). McCann doesn’t necessarily need to run his own line, but he could, if need be, or he can be a piece of a solid unit and play with top players. These attributes are the types of things that GMs will look at and convince themselves he might be a better fit both on the ice and in the salary cap ledger than trying to get a star player. That will only grow the pool of suitors for McCann.
All of this will be a moot point if the Kraken play well through the beginning and middle of the season, but that is no sure thing given their roster construction. The Kraken missed the playoffs last season, going 34-37-11. They ranked 28th in goals per game and had just two players top the 50-point mark in Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers. Eberle actually re-signed with the Kraken, which is an indication that they plan to try to remain competitive. With veterans such as Vince Dunn, Chandler Stephenson, and Brandon Montour, that does seem to be the case. But does it make sense?
The Kraken have a mix of young up-and-comers and the aforementioned veterans, but they really don’t have any elite pieces on the roster right now, and it’s fair to wonder whether any are on the way. They have a lot of depth in their prospect pipeline, likely a top-10 system, but does it make sense to continue re-upping players in their 30s when the team is middling and missing the playoffs each year? That’ll be up to management to decide, but for the moment, Seattle feels like a team that is spinning its wheels.
Which brings us back to McCann. Do the Kraken want to keep bringing back the status quo? Or is it time to move McCann and add to the cupboards for the future? The team’s first-half play will determine much of that, but it doesn’t guarantee they’ll go one way or the other.
The market will also be a big factor for the Kraken. If it’s a sellers’ market, it would be hard to hang on to McCann, even if the Kraken are chasing a playoff spot. If it’s not, Seattle could ride it out until the end of the season or try to re-sign him.
The deadline is more than six months away, and a lot can happen. McCann is a player to watch, and the Kraken are a team to watch. Dunn is also a free agent at the end of the year, and with no extension in place, he could be a player the Kraken move on from. Time will tell what Seattle plans to do, but the next few months should be worth watching.
