Seattle Kraken officially move on from forward now drawing major interest around NHL

Eeli Tolvanen is still sitting without a contract as free agency rolls into its eighth week, but that has nothing to do with a lack of options.

According to his camp, real conversations are happening with several NHL teams, even if none of the interested clubs have been named publicly yet.

The uncertainty has stretched well beyond what anyone in Tolvanen's camp likely expected when free agency opened in July.

One club has already been crossed off the list.

Seattle, where Tolvanen spent the past three and a half seasons, is not in talks to bring him back.

The Kraken have moved on at forward, adding Mackie Samoskevich and Curtis Douglas this summer, and they view restricted free agent Jacob Melanson as their internal answer to some of the physical edge Tolvanen provided.

It is not a money issue for Seattle either.

The Kraken currently sit second in the league in cap space at $18.4 million, trailing only Detroit, so this looks like a straightforward roster call rather than a financial one.

Detroit, Edmonton and Calgary have all been floated as landing spots given their cap flexibility, and Montreal could make sense if Kent Hughes strikes out on a true second line center and pivots to adding a winger instead.

Carolina has also come up, though that would depend on how much room is left once the Hurricanes sort out Alexander Nikishin.

Tolvanen is only a year removed from a 23 goal season and has racked up an average of 211 hits a year over his last three campaigns, the kind of scoring with an edge that plenty of teams covet.

Last season was quieter, with 12 goals and 24 assists in 78 games on a $3.475 million cap hit.

Pro Hockey Rumors projected a three year deal worth around $4 million annually, but with the calendar this deep into August, a one year prove it contract in that same range may be the more realistic outcome now.

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