In 49 games with the Kraken, Jarnkrok scored 12 goals and dished out 14 assists, putting up a minus-15 rating for Seattle.
While neither cap hit was particularly burdensome, the Blackhawks do have the advantage of having salary cap space that they could leverage by agreeing to retain salary, especially in the case of a player like Dylan Strome, who carries a cap hit of $3 million, or Dominik Kubalik, who has a cap hit of $3.7 million.
That could entice a team to bump up a draft pick by a round or two, or even to include a more highly-prized prospect, to acquire either player. That likely won’t come into play on Kubalik’s part, as he isn’t likely to get a significant raise with 11 goals to his credit in 61 games this season, but it could make an impact on Strome’s future status. As of late, the former first round pick has begun to find his form for the Blackhawks, and has 16 goals in 48 games this season.