Toronto once again failing to make it past the first round has already sparked some change, seeing Craig Berube replace Sheldon Keefe behind the bench. There is tons of talk around Mitch Marner being the next domino to fall.
The forward has a one year left on his $10.9 million contract with a no move clause, but if he's willing to waive, Seattle makes a lot of sense, as The Athletic's Kevin Papetti points out.
Jared McCann, a player the Maple Leafs had for a few days before losing him in the expansion draft, is one of those $5-million plus forwards that could make some sense. Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jaden Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky also fit into that category. Not including one of those players, most likely McCann, wouldn't make sense for Toronto as they are in win-now mode and need skilled players.
One of the big NHL-ready prospects that could be included is Shane Wright. He was the projected first overall pick for most of his draft year until very late, and ended up slipping to fourth overall, behind Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Logan Cooley.
Since that time, Wright has bounced around between the OHL, AHL and NHL, leading to some concerns about his overall development. He may welcome a change of scenery and the Kraken may not have any issue with including him in a deal for an impact forward.
Whether or not Marner's camp wants him to be traded, or Seattle would be willing to spend that much on the forward remains to be seen. With just over a month to go until the draft and free agency it may not be long before a tough decision needs to be made.
