The Seattle Kraken are engaged on a deal to maintain defenseman Adam Larsson within the Pacific Northwest for the following 4 years, per reports from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman included in a follow-up report that Larsson’s wage shall be $5.25M every season making it a four-year, $21M extension.
The fourth general decide of the 2011 NHL Draft initially got here to the Kraken group throughout the 2021 Growth Draft from the Edmonton Oilers. Seattle rapidly signed Larsson to a four-year, $16M contract and he has been with the group ever since.
Larsson has excelled throughout his time with the Kraken as he’s garnered extra accountability in his profession than at any level with the Oilers or New Jersey Devils. He’s solely missed one common season recreation (which got here this previous season) and has averaged 22:57 of ice time in 245 video games with the younger franchise. His consistency and availability alone would have earned him an extension in Seattle however Larsson has additionally chipped in adequately offensively with 20 objectives and 76 factors general.
He led the workforce in blocked pictures and hits throughout the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons whereas dropping to second and fourth this previous 12 months, respectively. The one main downside to Larsson’s recreation is his possession high quality which largely falls under a 50 % CorsiFor share. A lot of that may be attributed to the truth that he’s averaged a 55.4 % Defensive Zone Begin share in All Conditions throughout his time with Seattle.
The $5.25M wage over the following 4 years is only a notch under Evolving-Hockey’s prediction of a $5.5M wage on a four-year pact. The deal will hold Larsson in place till the 2028-29 common season and hold Seattle’s defensive core largely intact earlier than Vince Dunn’s present contract ends after the 2027-28 marketing campaign. There gained’t be any issues on the fitting facet of their protection for fairly a while with the workforce including Brandon Montour on a seven-year deal earlier within the offseason.
Not solely have the Kraken ironed out their blue line for the following three to 5 years, however the workforce has additionally taken a significant potential commerce chip off the marketplace for subsequent 12 months’s commerce deadline. Larsson would have been an excellent candidate to market at subsequent 12 months’s commerce season if Seattle discovered itself exterior of rivalry.
