4 Kraken Who Won’t Be Back Next Season

The Seattle Kraken have impressed many by this very strong second season in the NHL and have stuck to the plan of developing the talent they have. This caused them to do very little at the trade deadline and the feeling was that management didn’t have a lot of hope for going deep in the postseason this season, but are planning on being very good for a long time. The Kraken also have a very deep team which means that some players will be moving on. They are overstocked at each position, so let’s take a look at four players who won’t be back with the team next season.

Carson Soucy

There have been rumours for a while now that the Kraken will trade Carson Soucy. If they weren’t in a playoff spot this season, I don’t doubt that he wouldn’t have been traded at the deadline. Throughout his young career he has been highly undervalued and underplayed. Though I agree with his placement in the lineup on the third pairing, he could be even more effective in playing a shutdown role if he were given more than 15-17 minutes of ice time per game.

Soucy is a physical player that is always in the right position and has a very underrated ability to score goals. That hasn’t shown this season as much, but the two sides parting ways has been some time in the making. In the prime of his career, I do think the defenceman can find more playing time and a bigger role on another team and will choose to go that route once he becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the offseason.

Ryan Donato

Ryan Donato’s departure in the summer won’t be due to his production since he has been a solid piece of the Kraken’s deep forward group this season. He is one of few forwards who aren’t signed for next year and is also set to become a UFA. He has played up and down the lineup, but is paid and has the talent level of a bottom-six player who can contribute offensively.

Donato earns $1.2 million this season and the 26-year-old may demand a slight raise on his next contract. The reason why the Kraken are going to have to part ways with him is because the team already has so many forwards and more on the way. Daniel Sprong, who plays a very similar role to Donato, has three more goals and 12 more points while being a restricted free agent after the season. On top of that, Shane Wright will need a better shot at coming into the lineup and getting regular playing time next season. The assumption is that it will be in a role like the one Donato holds.

Joonas Donskoi

The Kraken are fortunate Joonas Donskoi has been injured the entire season as he played very poorly for them in their expansion year. Chosen in the expansion draft from the Colorado Avalanche, the 30-year-old massively underperformed and did not provide the depth scoring help he was known to do in every season of his career prior to that.

Related: 4 Canucks Who Won’t Be Back Next Season

Donskoi, having a cap hit of $3.9 million, will become a UFA after the season and there’s no chance the Kraken even consider extending him. The success this season and contributions from all of their forwards as opposed to last season is a clear indication that Donskoi is not needed and the cap space and roster spot will be put to better use. Two goals in 75 games last season is not going to cut it.

Chris Driedger

Chris Driedger is the only player in this group that isn’t a free agent after the season. This shouldn’t stop the Kraken from helping themselves out and moving on from the goaltender beforehand. He started this season off injured and upon return, was placed on waivers and has been serving in the American Hockey League with Martin Jones and Philipp Grubauer as the Kraken’s two NHL goalies.

Though Jones is the free agent after the season, he has contributed a lot more than Driedger has as a member of the Kraken and will warrant an extension and to be one of the two goalies on the team first. A buyout is a possible option for the Kraken and Driedger as he still has just one year left on his contract at $3.5 million. Seeing as his 2021-22 season went horribly and he is the team’s third-string goaltender, his injury really hurt his chances. And if not a buyout, maybe a trade is in order if teams have interest.