2022 NHL trade deadline: Four Kraken players Bruins could target originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins will welcome the Seattle Kraken to TD Garden on Tuesday night for the first ever meeting between these NHL franchises.
The Kraken are not enjoying the same success that the league’s previous expansion team — the Vegas Golden Knights — did in its inaugural season.
2022 NHL trade targets: Five forwards Bruins should pursue before deadline
Seattle has the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 14-26-4. Reaching the playoffs is not a very realistic goal, so it would behoove the Kraken to gauge the trade market and see what they could potentially acquire for some of their veteran players, especially those able to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Here are a couple Kraken players the Boston Bruins might want to consider pursuing before the March 21 trade deadline (all salary information via CapFriendly).
2021-22 Stats: 4 G, 13 A in 38 GP
Age: 38
Contract: $6.75M cap hit, UFA in 2022
Giordano is still a legit top-four defenseman despite being close to 40 years old. He’s averaging 21:25 of ice time against quality competition, while also contributing to the power play (3:00 per game) and penalty kill (1:27 per game).
Basically, Giordano a highly experienced (nearly 1000 career games), all-situations defensemen who can step in and upgrade a contending team’s blue line. He’s also a tremendous leader and high-character player who’s been a captain for the Kraken and Calgary Flames.
The Kraken have a plus-31 edge in shot attempts, a plus-7 advantage in shots, a plus-8 lead in scoring chances and a 95-76 differential in high-danger attempts when Giordano has been on the ice during 5-on-5 action, per Natural Stat Trick. The same cannot be said for several other Seattle defensemen. Even on a bad team, Giordano is helping drive puck possession and scoring chances at a pretty good rate.
Giordano would likely be a rental, but if the Bruins want to push their chips on the table for a top-four defenseman, the Kraken captain is among the best options.
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2021-22 Stats: 6 G, 7 A in 33 GP
Age: 27
Contract: $2.75 million cap hit, UFA in 2023
The Bruins could use some more size and toughness, and Soucy would give them both with his physical style of play and 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame. Goal scoring is not a pillar of Soucy’s skill set, but he does have six tallies already this season — one away from his career high of seven set two years ago.
Soucy is a good target for the Bruins if they’re looking for defensive depth and more penalty killing. He’s also a left-shot defenseman, which the Bruins need. Another plus with Soucy is he’s not a rental — his contract runs through next season at a reasonable cap hit.
Marcus Johansson, C/LW
2021-22 Stats: 5 G, 10 A in 33 GP
Age: 31
Contract: $1.5 million cap hit, UFA in 2022
The Bruins acquired Johansson before the 2019 trade deadline and he turned out to be a good fit in the bottom-six as Boston made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He provided valuable bottom-six scoring with 11 points in 22 playoff games that season.
Johansson is a quality two-way forward with enough versatility to be productive at center and both wing spots. He’s a player B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy could trust in a lot of different situations.
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Calle Jarnkrok, C
2021-22 Stats: 7 G, 8 A in 32 GP
Age: 30
Contract: $2M cap hit, UFA in 2022
The Bruins need center depth, preferably a No. 2 center, but another player at this position would absolutely help. Jarnkrok is not a real No. 2 center, but he would be a nice bottom-six upgrade for the B’s. He also contributes to both special teams units in Seattle. Jarnkork has plenty of experience, too, including 63 career playoff games.