According to a report from Jeremy Rutherford, the Seattle Kraken will sign free agent forward Jaden Schwartz when free agency opens tomorrow. As an expansion team, the Kraken had an exclusive window to negotiate with pending free agents ahead of the expansion draft. Stay tuned for details of Schwartz’ contract.
Update: Schwartz to Seattle appears done.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 27, 2021
Seattle Kraken Sign Forward Jaden Schwartz
Schwartz was drafted in the first round, 14th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 Draft and has never played anywhere else. Schwartz has totalled 154 goals, 231 assists and 385 points in 560 regular-season games. Schwartz helped the Blues make the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons with the team. In 88 career playoff games, he tallied 26 goals and 28 assists for 54 points.
He had career-high point total in 2014-15, when he put up 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in 75 games. The highlight of his playoff career was when he helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup in the 2018-19 playoffs where he had 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points in 26 games. Those 12 goals included two hat tricks.
Last season, Schwartz had eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 40 games. He was held to no points in the Blues’ first round-playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Blues were swept. It was obviously not one of his best seasons, but he was struggling with a lower-body injury for part of the season, so this shouldn’t be the new normal for Schwartz.
What This Means for the Future
Schwartz is only 29 years old. If he can fully recover from his injury, he should have plenty of good years ahead of him. While his name may not be as well known as Ryan O’Reilly or Vladimir Tarasenko, in non-injury riddled seasons, he was consistently one of the Blues top scorers and he certainly has the potential to do that again for his new team. He’s a great top-six forward that will make a difference. With a Stanley Cup under his belt, he can show younger players what it takes to win. Schwartz provides offence to a Seattle team that will need it given the expansion draft results.
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