Overview

• Seattle and Chicago completed a one-for-one swap on June 21, sending 30-year-old Andre Burakovsky to the Blackhawks in exchange for 25-year-old center Joe Veleno.
• Burakovsky finished the 2024–25 season with 10 goals and 37 points in 79 games and is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $27.5 million contract carrying a $5.5 million cap hit.
• Veleno recorded eight goals and 17 points last season after moving from Detroit to Chicago and has compiled 38 goals and 81 points in 306 NHL games.
• Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said the deal increases Seattle’s salary cap flexibility and trims an overcrowded group of veteran wingers.
• Chicago is banking on Burakovsky’s two Stanley Cup championships and 153 career goals to boost its top-six forward group and accelerate its rebuild.