Could The Seattle Kraken Acquire Jack Eichel and Seth Jones?

Given the overwhelming success of the Vegas Golden Knights at the cost of 30 other NHL teams, it is safe to say that general managers around the league will be a little more calculated and careful as we approach the Seattle Kraken expansion draft on July 21. In this article I will take a deeper look at how the newest franchise can capitalize on two disgruntled stars and give themselves a lot of firepower prior to their first puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena. To start, we will head to Buffalo, where Jack Eichel is set to pack his bags.

The Jack Eichel Situation

Eichel was the second overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, only behind this generation's superstar Connor McDavid, making these two centermen natural comparisons given the fact that their teams were about equally bad at the time of their arrival. While McDavid has not exactly basked in playoff success or had a great supporting cast in his tenure with the Oilers, he has played in 21 more playoff games than Eichel, and has won 50 more regular season contests than his American counterpart. The Sabres captain is yet to sniff playoff action entering his seventh year in the league, but it's not like things are trending in the right direction, either. During those six seasons, he has had four different coaches and three different general mangers. Amidst the utter lack of continuity for the young star, the team has gotten worse, not better. Buffalo's situation makes the Oilers first round beatdown courtesy of the Winnipeg Jets look like heaven.

Their recent failures as a team aren't for a lack of trying from the Massachusetts native. In each of his first five campaigns, Eichel improved as an offensive talent and has blossomed into a dynamic goal scorer. The right-handed shot recently registered 36 goals in just 68 games before his 2019-20 season was shut down due to the pandemic. Although he ran into injury trouble and missed most of this year, there is no reason to believe he won't continue to produce as an offensive weapon and a career point-per-game player.

As the Sabres find themselves at the bottom of the league and with the first overall pick in this year's draft, all signs are pointing towards them hitting the reset button yet again. A situation that certainly stems from his discontent with the organization for showing no ability to field a winning team has been amplified this Summer by the apparent disagreement in how to handle a neck injury that was sustained by Eichel this season. In his exit interview, Eichel pulled no punches, as seen in a tweet by ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

"I'd be lying to say things have moved smoothly since my injury. There's been a bit of a disconnect between myself and the organization. It's been tough at times. Right now, for me, the most important thing now is to try to get healthy, figure out a way to be available to play hockey next year, wherever that may be."

Reading between the lines would suggest that Eichel wants out of Buffalo, and who can blame him? Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggested as much on Donnie & Dahli earlier this week. Trading a player with the stature of Eichel is always going to be tough. As we have seen so many times before, the team that gets the best player in a trade is often getting the better end of the deal. With these circumstances, however, Buffalo seems to have accepted that they need to move past this situation by dealing him to another club. Plus, with the team likely to select Owen Power first overall in the upcoming draft, they could set themselves up nicely if they are able to compile him and other young talent on the roster like Dylan Cozens with assets that come back in an Eichel trade.

The Seth Jones Situation

Ah, if there was one situation that compared to the misery that is the Buffalo Sabres, it might be the Columbus Blue Jackets. Don't let the recent postseason births and one of all-time great playoff upsets in their sweep over the Tampa Bay Lightning a couple of seasons ago trick you. Year after year the greatest talent on the Jackets' roster either leaves in free agency or demands to be traded. The list of talent that has come and gone through the franchise in the last five years is extensive, starting with Ryan Johansen in 2016, followed by the likes of Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Sergei Bobrovsky, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and captain Nick Foligno. While Johansen and Foligno leaving seemed to be at the discretion of the team's front office, the other four were not. For whatever reason, Columbus has had real difficulty maintaining top talent when they have it.

This offseason we can now add Seth Jones to the list. News broke that Seth Jones would not be renewing with the Blue Jackets after next season, instead intending to test the open market as a free agent. With the recent departure of coach John Tortorella, the teams disappointing efforts this season, and their history of losing top talent for nothing, general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen has no choice but to deal his number one right-handed defenseman. Losing Panarin, Duchene, (and less so) Bobrovsky on the open market in recent years should motivate Kekäläinen to move Jones this season and avoid the risk of losing him for nothing next Summer. Just like Buffalo, the city of Columbus seems destined for a total rebuild, something that was probably going to happen even if Jones stayed. With him leaving it has become a certainty.

Things may not be as bad as they seem, though. The Jackets find themselves heading into this offseason with three first round picks in the NHL draft. One is their own, while the other two once belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning, which they acquired in return for David Savard and the aforementioned Nick Foligno. Furthermore, while the team was introducing Brad Larsen as the new head coach, Kekäläinen mentioned that with the expansion draft, teams are "hungry" for picks in the draft. The reasoning? Exchanging a player for one of the Jackets' picks allows them to get something in return for a player that might get plucked for free by Seattle in July. After all, a team can only protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and a goalie, or can opt to protect eight skaters and a goalie. Because of that, Kekäläinen may be able to take advantage of the draft stock he has to speed up a rebuild by gathering a solid player or two. That or he may be able to exchange Seth Jones for some combination of entry draft picks and expansion draft picks from Seattle.

Seth Jones

On July 21, the Seattle Kraken will be choosing a player from each of the other NHL teams, excluding the Vegas Golden Knights, who are exempt. Drawing on history from Vegas' turn at the expansion back in 2017, the event inspired a flurry of movement around the league.

Teams were trading draft picks to Vegas with the agreement in place that they would pluck one player from their roster over another, as seen with the Minnesota Wild, who gave up Alex Tuch, who at the time was ineligible for the draft due to his status as a rookie, in exchange for a third round pick and the understanding that the Golden Knights would not select either of Matt Dumba or Marco Scandella. I bet the Wild wish they could have that one back. The Ducks did the same thing, trading ineligible top prospect Shea Theodore in exchange for protection of both Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen. Another one that, looking back, was a monumental mistake. It's hard to believe, but the Pittsburgh Penguins actually paid Vegas with a second-round pick to take Marc-Andre Fleury. Just look at how that has panned out.

Having those examples being so recent and obviously lopsided would suggest that teams will avoid the strategy of paying the Kraken in picks or prospects to select one player over another, but that doesn't mean the Kraken won't have leverage or that other teams won't make mistakes. With the second overall pick in the upcoming draft and a handful of good players expected to be available, general manager Ron Francis should have the assets in place to kick the tires on one of or both Jack Eichel and Seth Jones. I imagine Eichel would be a higher priority on the Kraken's wishlist given his status as a top ten center in the game, but if he isn't available at the right cost, they may take a look at Jones. I suspect landing Eichel would require that second overall pick, whereas Jones would be less costly.

It is a longshot that both Eichel and Jones are on the Kraken for puck drop next season, but given that both guys look to be packing their bags and the leverage that Seattle has in the way of draft capital and expansion picks, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them is in The Emerald City by the end of Summer. Ron Francis has the resources to make it happen, the question is if he is willing to meet the asking price of the Sabres or Blue Jackets. Another interesting wrinkle in all this is that Columbus could be a team in the mix for Eichel with the great draft capital that they have. Perhaps there could even be a trade that involves the exchange of Eichel and Jones. Regardless, both stars should be on the move in the coming months and we are all excited to see where they call home next season.

Follow Peter on Twitter @MuffinHockey and check out his articles at the Stanford Daily Newspaper and The Hockey Writers.