The Seattle Kraken have made two roster transactions ahead of their Saturday, Nov. 15 game hosting the San Jose Sharks. The team has placed forward Kaapo Kakko on injured reserve (IR). In addition to this, they have activated forward Frederick Gaudreau off IR.
This injury is a tough blow for Kakko, as he missed the majority of the beginning of the season. He missed it due to a broken hand he suffered during the preseason. He played his first game on Nov. 1 and has only played in seven games since then. He scored his first goal against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and quickly exited the game afterwards, only playing a total of 3:51.
Kakko joins Jared McCann and Joey Daccord on IR, two other strong players the Kraken are struggling without. Seattle cannot afford to lose any more players in their top six, nor their starting goaltender. Matt Murray and Philipp Grubauer have been holding down the fort, but the team will need their starter as the Kraken prepare to go on their next road trip following this game against the Sharks.
On the other hand, though, Gaudreau was activated off of IR, which is a great sign that he could play tonight. He is a new acquisition to the Kraken team after he was traded by the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft during this past offseason. Gaudreau only played four games with the Kraken before succumbing to an upper-body injury on Oct. 16 when Seattle played the Ottawa Senators. He recorded one assist in the game prior against the Montreal Canadiens.
With Gaudreau back in the lineup, this is a great time for him to add veteran presence to the bottom six once more. The younger players who have made up this line in the past few games, Ben Meyers, Tye Kartye, and Ryan Winterton, could use the added experience Gaudreau has had to teach them a thing or two. The fourth line has already been successful for the Kraken in their past few games, so hopefully, Gaudreau can help add to this.
