Seattle finally gets Kraken on free agency season, adding winger Andre Burakovsky for five years at $5.5M AAV, as well as Andrew Poturalski for two seasons. The team also announced that they signed their top pick Shane Wright (or is it Shane Wrightski?) to his entry-level contract.

The Kraken get: A big, steady player who is in the heart of his prime. Burakovsky may have just had a career high of 61 points, but in actuality he has produced at around this level for three years. It's just that COVID messed with the two prior ones, limiting his games. However, keep in mind that Burakovsky played most of those games with Nazem Kadri. Seattle doesn't currently employ that caliber of player. But perhaps a big body like Burakovsky helps push Matty Beniers to the next level a little sooner.

In a minor signing, the Kraken also added minor leaguer Andrew Poturalski. The 28-year-old is coming off an eye-popping 101-point season in the AHL. And when he played two games with Carolina last season he picked up an assist in each of them. So perhaps nothing minor about this signing? The contract is a one-way deal, implying that the team will at least give him a shot at cracking the roster. Expansion teams traditionally make this sort of thing work out, so don't be surprised if this ends up making an impact. Poturalski has 221 points in his last 204 AHL games. And Carolina rewarded him with a grand total of four NHL games over six years.

Other minor signings – the Kraken added a No.3 goaltender in Magnus Hellberg. He has some upside given that Seattle’s No.1 goalie has injury issues. The team also signed minor leagues Jesper Froden and defenseman Brogan Rafferty.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Before we get into it, let's take a look at potential line combinations.

Andre Burakovsky Matty Beniers Jaden Schwartz

Jared McCann Yanni Gourde Jordan Eberle

Brandon Tanev Shane Wright Joonas Donskoi

Morgan Geekie Alex Wennberg Morgan Geekie

Max McCormick Alexander True Andrew Poturalski

📢 advertisement:

Karson Kuhlman Kole Lind

A lot of moving parts with these lines. If they decide to give Wright another season of junior, then Poturalski could get a look as a third-line center. If not, then Poturalski is likely just a first call-up from the minors to fill any forward spot that needs him. I suspect that Burakovsky gets first dibs alongside Beniers, and so Eberle gets bumped off the top line and top PP unit. Regardless, Burakovsky is going to take a production hit here. No way he gets up over 60 points again. Last season one player on Seattle topped 50 points – McCann. And he had exactly 50.

Cap Burakovsky at 55 for this season, but expect closer to 50. But maybe instead of Beniers getting something like 42 points, this will help him get up over 50.

Fantasy Players this helps, in order: