Seattle Kraken trade their 5th all-time leading scorer to NY

Alex Wennberg, an original Seattle Kraken player, is heading to New York in a trade.

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The 29-year-old forward is going to the Rangers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. The latter pick originally belonged to the Dallas Stars.

Per NHL insider Chris Johnston of The Athletic, the 2025 pick could become a third-round selection based on a condition in the trade that sent the pick from Dallas to New York.

The condition on the 2025 fourth-round pick headed to #SeaKraken in the Alex Wennberg deal: It becomes a 2025 third-rounder if Nils Lundkvist gets to 55 points total for this season and last (he's currently at 31 points through 105 games played).

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 6, 2024

The Kraken also retain 50% of Wennberg’s contract, per a press release announcing the deal.

“We want to thank Alex for his contribution to the Kraken over these last three seasons,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in the press release. “Alex has been with our team since day one and was an important part of establishing our franchise. We wish him well in New York.”

The trade gives Seattle nine picks in this year’s draft, which will be in Las Vegas on June 28-29.

Wennberg, a native of Sweden, recently became the fifth player to score 100 points in a Kraken uniform. He initially joined the team as a free agent prior to Seattle’s inaugural NHL season of 2021-22 and is set to hit free agency this summer when his three-year, $13.5 million contract is up.

Alex Wennberg with some nice moves in tight to extend the @SeattleKraken's lead heading into the third period! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/SlMlrZuAY3

— NHL (@NHL) November 16, 2023

The No. 13 overall pick by Columbus in the first round of the 2013 draft, Wennberg has nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 60 games this season with the Kraken. He appeared in all 82 games for Seattle in 2022-23, scoring 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists). Wennberg also had two goals and five assists in 14 playoff games with the Kraken last year.

Wennberg did not play in either of Monday’s win at Calgary or Tuesday’s win at Winnipeg, with coach Dave Hakstol citing “trade-related issues” as the reason.

The Seattle Kraken are in an interesting spot with the NHL trade deadline set for noon Friday. Seattle has won four of its last five games and is 7-2-1 over its last 10 contests, but at 28-23-11 for 67 points, the Kraken are tied with St. Louis at six points back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference with 20 games to go.

The Kraken return to Seattle for a five-game homestand at Climate Pledge Arena beginning at 7 p.m. Friday against Winnipeg.

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