The Seattle Kraken has been one of the surprise teams of the 2022-23 season as they sit atop the Pacific Division with a 29-15-5 record and 63 points. The Kraken has been a solid team up and down the lineup, as it has been a team effort to get to this point. With 33 games remaining and a playoff berth on the horizon, the Kraken are ready to do what it takes.
First, they must weather the injury storm as they have been banged up as of late with the loss of star rookie center Matty Beniers and now defenseman Justin Schultz. The Kraken defenseman was injured against the Oilers back on January 17th and was placed on injured reserve on January 27th. It seems he will miss a chunk of time with an undisclosed injury.
With the injury, the Kraken has completed a trade tonight with the San Jose Sharks to bolster their defensive unit.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis has acquired defenseman Jaycob Megna from the Sharks in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
The 30-year-old Megna is a big-body defenseman who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 220 pounds. This season, he has been solid for the Sharks, recording one goal, 11 assists, and 12 points in 48 games. Megna has also recorded a plus-6 rating which is impressive considering how bad San Jose has been on the season.
While this is a minor move by Ron Francis to address a glaring need for defensive depth, expect this trade to be the first of a few he will be executing as the March 3rd trade deadline is now less than a month away.
