Fantasy Take: Wennberg Looking to Expand Role in Seattle
Michael Clifford
2021-07-28
Seattle remains maybe the most mystifying team of the offseason. They did not make a single trade at the Expansion Draft, and it seemed they shot themselves in the foot by asking for too much in return. That is a huge mistake because teams are dumping good players left and right *with* draft picks in order to clear cap space. Why the Kraken weren't in on players like Shayne Gostisbehere is beyond me.
The head-scratching continues:
Not that Wennberg is a bad player or anything. But why sign him for three years at $4.5M a season when they could have traded *for* Tyler Johnson at a similar cap hit (which is irrelevant for them anyway) *and* receive a draft pick for their troubles? No? Just sign a middling free agent for some reason? Ok.
Anyway, I called him a middle free agent for a reason. According to HockeyViz, his offensive and defensive impacts are the very definition of middling:
In that sense, this isn't a terrible deal. The Kraken get a guy who can competently play 3C for three years while the team is building. But again, why not just go get Tyler Johnson and a draft pick?
Does he