Seattle Kraken claim Eeli Tolvanen off of waivers from Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators caught everyone a little off guard yesterday when they announced that they'd placed former first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen on waivers for reassignment to the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.

Then the Seattle Kraken swept in this morning with a claim for the Finnish winger, adding him to their ranks for naught but the cost of his contract – a three-year pact that lasts through to the end of next season with a $1.45-million cap charge annually.

There was some optimism within the Predators organization that Tolvanen would clear, per a report from EP Rinkside's own Sean Shapiro. There just aren't many teams out there who can afford to place nearly $1.5-million bets on fringe players, particularly with a contract that runs into next season. But apparently there's at least one such team in the Kraken, and that's all it takes.

Eeli Tolvanen, claimed by SEA, is a young shot-first winger who hasn't really managed to assert himself offensively at 5v5 yet. Pretty low-event bottom sixer for now, but we'll see if the Kraken can unlock his potential. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/0bTwwdh6gQ

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 12, 2022

Tolvanen, 23, struggled to carve out a full-time role on the Predators roster, playing in 13 contests and chipping in with two goals and two assists, averaging short of 13 minutes a night. There was so much promise when the former-Predators winger scored at over a half a point per game rate as a rookie, but he's struggled since, plateauing at 0.31 points per game in the two seasons that followed.

It's the same questions as always with Tolvanen: Can he skate well enough and think the game at a sufficient pace to consistently produce in the NHL and does he bring enough to the table away from the puck?

There's been not-insignificant growth in the latter department, but it seems as if it's come at the expense of what made him special in the first place.

For a Kraken team that can fit him under the cap and is in a position to make these sorts of bets, the hope is that they can bring out the best in Tolvanen and coax a lengthy, productive career out of this no-risk, high-reward bet.