After signing defenseman Brandon Montour to the largest contract in franchise history at the opening of free agency on Monday, Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis raised eyebrows for a second time by signing center Chandler Stephenson to a seven-year contract that carries a $6.25 million average annual value.
Like Montour, Stephenson is also 30 years old, but while Montour was brought in to help drive offense from the back end, Stephenson will be expected to slot in as a pivot on one of Seattle’s top two forward lines.
After a few low-production, bottom-of-the-lineup years with the Washington Capitals, Stephenson’s career blossomed with the Golden Knights after he was traded there in December, 2019. He ascended to a top-six role and became one of the key pieces that helped Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2022-23.
How Stephenson fits
In the current makeup of the Kraken roster, Stephenson is a good fit. He’s a solid face-off guy, a two-way forward, and can chip in offensively, having produced at least 16 goals in each of the last three seasons.
Assuming Shane Wright becomes a full-time NHLer next season, and assuming no trades of centers, the Kraken now have Matty Beniers, Stephenson, Wright, and Yanni Gourde down the middle. In a way, Stephenson replaces Alex Wennberg, who went to the New York Rangers at the NHL Trade Deadline in March.
Last week, I predicted the Kraken would aim to add a 20-goal winger and a 20-goal center but did not predict an upgrade to the blue line, which came by way of Montour.
Jared McCann // Matty Beniers // NEW 20-GOAL WINGER
Jordan Eberle // **Chandler Stephenson // Andre Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen // Shane Wright // Oliver Bjorkstrand
It’s the Neighborhood // Yanni Gourde // Jaden Schwartz
Brandon Tanev
We still think there’s a chance Seattle looks to snag a scoring winger either via trade or with a shorter-term deal for one of the remaining free agents out there.
Worth noting, Stephenson only broke that 20-goal plateau one time in 2021-22 when he notched 21 goals and 43 assists, so whether he really drives a big offensive improvement for Seattle remains to be seen.
Considering Stephenson’s age and the length of his contract, there are concerns that this deal could be a bad one to have on the books in a few years. The analytics community was overwhelmingly down on this signing, which is certainly concerning.
Still, as I noted with Montour, teams have to overpay to land some of the biggest names in free agency. Is this an example of an overpay? Yes. Could it end up being worth it? Maybe.
Cap situation
As I noted when writing about Montour earlier, the Kraken are reaching salary cap pinch territory. We still don’t know where new contracts for Eeli Tolvanen or Matty Beniers will land, and even without those factored in, Seattle is already down to about $8 million. Add in Tolvanen and Beniers, and they’re likely over the cap.
So, there are certainly moves coming to create space, and if the team does want to add one more forward, then multiple contracts will likely have to be dumped.
Aggressive moves
The Kraken have made no secret they want to be more competitive next season. These are now two splashy moves, and we do not believe they are done.
What say you, folks? Have the Kraken made themselves better?
