The Kraken’s first Washington native appears to want to move to another state.
Kailer Yamamoto, a pending restricted free agent, will not be offered a contract and will become an unrestricted free agent on Monday, July 1, according to reports from Alison Lukan (Seattle Kraken) and Geoff Baker (Seattle Times).
Free agents have restricted or unrestricted status, based on years of service. A restricted free agent is someone whose contract has expired and whose negotiating rights are held solely by the team that had that player under contract. If the team chooses to waive these rights, then and only then can the player be free to move around the league without constraint.
By announcing this, the Kraken affirm that Yamamoto is not part of their plans next season. RFAs Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen are in contract negotiations and it’s safe to say that Seattle certainly won’t give up Beniers’ rights and is highly unlikely to do so for Tolvanen.
Yamamoto, born in Spokane, is the first Washington-born player to play for the Kraken. He played his entire junior hockey career with the Spokane Chiefs. He scored 8 goals and 8 assists (16 points) in 59 games played during his lone season with the Kraken.
