Kraken continue to build out roster with addition of depth veteran

Bellemare became an unrestricted free agent after finishing his two-year contract ($1 million cap hit) with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He sees a $225,000 decrease in pay on his new Kraken deal and will now carry the lowest cap hit in his career since the 2016-17 season.

Bellemare, 38, is coming off a down season with the Lightning in 2022-23, when he posted just 4 goals, 9 assists, and 13 points in 73 regular season games – his lowest point total in an 82-game season since 2017. He also had a goal and an assist in six playoff games before the Lightning were eliminated in the first round at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games – their first first-round exit since 2019.

Bellemare began his professional career as an undrafted free agent, spending the first 11 seasons of his career in Europe before signing his first NHL deal with the Philadelphia Flyers at the age of 29. He’s since played for the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Lightning over the course of his nine-season NHL career.

The Kraken haven’t made too many significant additions to their NHL roster so far this offseason, with their only notable roster signings seeing them bring in a veteran defenseman in Brian Dumoulin, as well as taking a flyer on the struggling Kailer Yamamoto. The Kraken still have over $12.5 million in cap space, although they have a few restricted free agents to sign on their blueline in Vince Dunn, Will Borgen, and Cale Fleury.

The outfit is coming off a strong sophomore season in the NHL with a 46-28-8 record, snagging the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference to secure their first playoff appearance in franchise history. They then earned their first playoff victory with a Game 1 win over the Colorado Avalanche in the first round and their first playoff series win when they defeated the Avalanche in seven games before going on to lose to the Dallas Stars in seven games during second-round action.