No. 2: Seattle Kraken
- Potential Trade Targets:
- Adam Larsson ($4M cap-hit, Defenseman)
Over the past week, The Hockey Writers have brought up the idea of the Toronto Maple Leafs trading for Adam Larsson and I’m starting to believe the hype.
The only thing that Seattle wants to compete for right now is the first-overall pick, so why wouldn’t they be open to trading Larsson? The 29-year-old is a solid top-four defenseman on the roster, but he’s only going to help them win right now, which is the opposite of what the team is trying to accomplish.
The Kraken are at least three years away from being a playoff team, so why not make a deal with the Leafs?
In a perfect world, Toronto could trade Jake Muzzin for Adam Larsson and instantly save $1.625M. Not only that, but they would make their right-side of their defense better and they’d be able to use that money to re-sign Rasmus Sandin.
At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Larrson still brings size that you’d miss from Muzzin, but most importantly, you’d get a reliable and healthy defenseman. Larsson has played in every game three of the past four seasons, which is something that can’t be said about Muzzin.
Obviously, this trade straight-up probably wouldn’t work, but if you added a draft pick or two, the Kraken may say yes, as draft picks are one of their most important assets right now.