Seattle Kraken place Joe Veleno on waivers to buyout contract
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 22: Seattle Kraken General Manager Jason Botterill speaks to the media at a press conference at the Kraken Community Iceplex on April 22, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken placed newly acquired center Joe Veleno on waivers on Sunday for the purposes of buying out his contract.
Veleno, 25, was acquired last week from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for veteran winger André Burakovsky. Veleno had just one year left on his contract and was set to earn $2.275 million this season. Since he's under 26 years old, the cap penalty for a buyout by Seattle is only ⅓ his remaining salary, which will result in a $795,833 cap charge this season and a $295,833 charge in 2026-27.
The trade allowed Seattle to shed Burakovsky's contract, which was worth $5.5 million over the next two seasons. By acquiring Veleno and buying out his contract, the Kraken will have saved just over $4.7 million on their salary cap this season instead of carrying Burakovsky on their roster.
Kraken general manager Jason Botterill appeared lukewarm on Veleno's future with the team after the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night.
"Yeah, it's a situation where, look, we certainly made the trade to open up cap space from that standpoint," Botterill said. "We're excited to bring a player of his sort of experience into our organization from a speed standpoint, and we'll continue to look at sort of how our organization fits over the next couple weeks here."
Veleno recorded 17 points in 74 games last season, split between the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. He has 81 points on 38 goals and 43 assists in 306 career games with Detroit and Chicago.
The NHL buyout window closes on Monday.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Kraken and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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