Fresh off acquiring two first-round draft picks and a second-rounder for veteran forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, Kraken general manager Ron Francis suggested Wednesday he now has draft capital and salary cap space to “make this team better” this summer.
Francis dealt both to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two top-10 protected first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 plus a second-round selection this coming July along with forward Mikey Eyssimont, 28, who joins the team in Nashville for Thursday’s game against the Predators. The Kraken also gave Tampa Bay a 2026 fifth-round pick in a deal that garners Francis about $10.6 million in additional salary cap space next season from the departures of Bjorkstrand and Gourde.
“We’ve got five first-round picks and four second-round picks in the next three drafts,” Francis said. “This is the first time in our history we’ll have two first-round picks in the same draft. And now we’ve got it twice, in 2026 and 2027.
“So, the plan is not to draft nine hockey players,” he added. “The plan is to try to move those picks or package those picks. And we feel we’re now in a position with some of the kids we’ve drafted and developed that we’re in a better position to maybe do some things to help move this team forward.”
Francis said he’s “disappointed” a Kraken team he felt playoff-worthy and “the best” yet lags 11 points out of a wild-card with the NHL’s fifth worst record. And he wants that changed quickly, adding Wednesday’s deal “gives us the opportunity to now go out – whether it’s free agents or trades in the summertime – to make this team better.”
One of his forward prospects, rugged 2021 fourth-round selection Jacob Melanson, will join the Kraken in Nashville and potentially make his NHL debut. But there are a bevy of others excelling at the forward position, including winger Jani Nyman, tied for third in AHL scoring with 26 goals in his rookie campaign. Eduard Sale and Jagger Firkus are also having solid AHL rookie seasons, while Ryan Winterton has already had NHL tastes with the Kraken.
In addition, the Kraken have seen winger Kaapo Kakko find his stride since a December trade from the New York Rangers. Kakko is a restricted free agent after this season, and Francis indicated the team could try to extend him on a multi-year deal, depending on other potential moves to come.
“The big thing is, we’re not satisfied with where we are, and we need to make this better,” Francis said. “We need to move forward. We’ll be evaluating not only what’s gone on up to this point but watching closely down the stretch.”
Wednesday’s deal unfolded ahead of Friday’s noon trade deadline and might not be the end for the Kraken, who still have pending unrestricted free agent Brandon Tanev in the fold.
The hefty draft pick haul attained by Francis for Gourde, 33, a pending unrestricted free agent who could have left at season’s end and Bjorkstrand, who turns 30 in April and had a year remaining on his contract at a $5.4 million salary cap hit, raised eyebrows and garnered praise around the league. Either of the protected first-round picks acquired for 2026 and 2027 would slide to 2028 if they wind up being top-10 overall selections.
If both are in the top 10, they’d slide to 2028 and 2029, respectively. The Kraken also would gain an additional third-round pick from Tampa Bay for the year that each first-rounder slides to.
The second-round pick obtained for this summer was originally acquired by the Lightning from Toronto.
Gourde was first dealt to Detroit in Wednesday’s trade ahead of being shipped to Tampa Bay, with the Red Wings assuming 50% of his roughly $1.29 million in remaining salary this season in return for a draft pick from the Lightning. The acquisition of Eyssimont likely won’t impact the Kraken’s cap space next season as he’s a pending unrestricted free agent earning $800,000.
Gourde confirmed after Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota that he’d had contract extension talks with the Kraken. But Francis said Wednesday they never progressed to an offer, especially once the Lightning began discussing first-round picks.
“I had a price in mind that, if I could get the price, it was better to make the deal than to do the (Gourde) signing,” Francis said. “And if I couldn’t get the price I wanted, then I was more than comfortable to turn and try to get him signed.”
Francis said the Lightning had expressed interest in Bjorkstrand, but then by Monday night, a package with Gourde was mentioned, and talks progressed into Wednesday morning. In fact, both players were preparing to leave for the airport and the team’s morning charter to Nashville when Francis had to phone and tell them not to go.
“I hate doing that,” Francis said. “I’d much rather sit across from a guy face-to-face and have that conversation.”
Gourde instead drove to the Kraken Community Iceplex to gather personal items and wound up speaking with Francis in his office. Francis said both players are “good people” who played significant roles in franchise history, especially two years ago during the team’s lone playoff appearance.
Bjorkstrand scored both goals in the Kraken’s clinching 2-1 Game 7 win over Colorado in the opening playoff round. Gourde led the team in playoff points with four goals and nine assists and scored the opening game overtime winner against Dallas in a second-round series that also went the full seven contests.
Gourde returns to a Lightning team where he won consecutive Stanley Cups just ahead of the Kraken selecting him in the July 2021 Expansion Draft. Bjorkstrand was acquired from Columbus for third- and fourth-round picks in a salary dump by the Blue Jackets in July 2022, and the ensuing season teamed on a line with Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen that caught fire the second half and helped propel the Kraken to the playoffs.
The willingness to part with Bjorkstrand and Gourde signifies how far the Kraken have evolved in their forward ranks. Gourde was their top-scoring centerman the franchise’s debut season, but the team initially struggled to place more high-caliber center depth around him.
But by Gourde’s final game Tuesday night, the Kraken trotted out a lineup against the Minnesota Wild that included Matty Beniers, Chandler Stephenson, and Shane Wright filling center spots on the top three forward lines.
“You can have a conversation on what makes a good team, and it’s going to go right down the center of the rink, along with defensemen and the goaltender,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma had said the day before the trade. “And that’s an exciting thing for us as we continue to go here for the rest of this year. The play of Matty. Chandler’s a big force down the middle of the rink. And the development of (Wright).
“That’s three good spots right down the middle of the rink, and that’s what can make this team a good team,” Bylsma added. “And that’s a positive thing and a hopeful thing for the future.”
Stephenson, Wright, and Beniers occupy three of the team’s top six spots in points.
“Matty’s 22, and Shane is 21,” Francis said. “We still have one of the youngest center duos. Two of the top-three centers we have are still extremely young. And if you go back and look at other teams who were in that position, Washington falls into that, and Edmonton falls into that. Those are teams that took some lumps, and then as these young kids materialize and get stronger and better and understand the league, historically, those teams tend to get better and better.
“And that bodes well for us.”
Francis added that signing the experienced Stephenson last summer also helped the team’s center growth, as should last summer’s first-round pick Berkly Catton – again tearing up the Western Hockey League with Spokane. Catton is too young to be AHL-eligible next season and could get an extended NHL look out of training camp rather than being returned to junior hockey right away.
And while insisting he’d “never tell fans to be patient,” Francis suggests ill-timed injuries this season to Jordan Eberle, Vince Dunn, Gourde, and others helped make things look worse than they truly are.
“I do think we’re much closer than people think,” he said. “And I do think with the right few tweaks, we can get back to where we want to be, and that’s fighting for a playoff spot and getting in the playoffs.”
