Coveted Seattle Kraken forward Alexander Wennberg will not take part in Monday night’s game against the Calgary Flames for a reason “related to a transaction.”
Head coach Dave Hakstol made the announcement during his pre-match press briefing, according to the Seattle Times Sports newspaper.
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The profile of the 29-year-old Swede has quickly become interesting for teams looking for depth at center, since candidates for an exchange for this position are becoming rare. Since the transactions of Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan, Adam Henrique (Anaheim Ducks) and Wennberg are the pivots most likely to evolve under other skies.
The 14th overall pick in the 2013 draft, that of the Columbus Blue Jackets, has shown great consistency since the start of his career. He has 25 points in 60 games this season, which is still far from his personal high of 59 points in 2016-2017.
Wennberg, who will become a free agent next summer, earns $4.5 million this year. The Kraken or a third team could get involved in order to retain a little of his salary to facilitate a trade.
Rumor has it that the New York Rangers are the favorites to acquire the 6’2″, 190 lb left-hander.