Report: Kraken likely to move Giordano before deadline

It appears Mark Giordano's tenure with the NHL's newest franchise will be a short one.

The veteran defenseman and Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis recently met to discuss Giordano's future, and the pending unrestricted free agent is expected to be moved ahead of the March 21 trade deadline, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday's "Insider Trading."

"What the two have decided is that Seattle will explore the trade market for their veteran captain, see what's out there, and most likely move him," LeBrun said.

Seattle selected Giordano from the Calgary Flames in the previous offseason's expansion draft and subsequently named him captain. The 38-year-old was left exposed after playing 15 seasons in Alberta.

The Kraken sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division with 36 points through 53 games.

"In general, I'm told the Kraken hope to be aggressive with all their cap space in terms of making other moves," LeBrun said.

Seattle projects to have over $34 million in deadline cap space, according to Cap Friendly.

Giordano carries a $6.75-million cap hit, but the Kraken could easily accommodate salary retention in any potential deal.

The 2019 Norris Trophy winner has registered 531 points in 996 career games and averaged more than 20 minutes per contest in each season since the 2009-10 campaign.