Seattle Kraken Place Young Former First Round Pick on Waivers Ahead of Contract Buyout

The Seattle Kraken recently traded forward Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for Joe Veleno, a former first round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings.

But they have decided that Veleno does not fit into their long-term plans, and have placed him on waivers for purposes of buying out the final year of his contract.

Veleno had 1 year left on his contract with an AAV (average annual value) of $2,275,000.

The Red Wings took Veleno with the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft with the selection they received from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Tomas Tatar.

Veleno never offensively clicked with the Red Wings, with his best production being 28 points (12G, 16A) in 80 games in 2022-23.

After just 10 points (5G, 5A) in 55 games with the Red Wings this year, they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for goaltender Petr Mrazek at the Trade Deadline.

Veleno would have 7 points (3G, 4A) in 18 games with the Blackhawks after the trade, but like Seattle eventually did, Chicago didn't see Veleno as a long-term fit with their team.

Having now been traded twice within barely over a 3-month span, Veleno will have to hope that another NHL club takes a chance on him for this season. He'll likely have to accept a short-term "prove it" style contract if he still wants to play in the NHL.

In 306 career NHL games with Detroit and Chicago, Veleno has 81 points (38G, 43A).