Kraken re-sign Eeli Tolvanen to two-year, $3.475 million AAV contract

A young forward is hanging around the Pacific Northwest for the next couple of years.

During the Seattle Kraken’s development camp at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Friday, general manager Ron Francis announced that forward Eeli Tolvanen has been re-signed to a two-year contract. The deal will carry at $3.475 million AAV through the 2025-26 season.

The announcement came in front of a crowd viewing a prospect scrimmage, which drew a rather favorable response.

Tolvanen just finished the final year of a three-year contract that he originally signed with the Nashville Predators in August, 2021. That AAV was $1.45 million.

Tolvanen joined the Kraken in December of the 2022-23 season, when he was claimed off waivers. The Vihti, Finland native had spent the first five-plus seasons with the Predators organization, the team that took him 30th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. However, Tolvanen wasn’t meeting the expectations the franchise had for him, only hitting the 20-goal mark during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

After being picked up by Seattle, Tolvanen’s game elevated. He scored 27 points in the final 48 games and added eight points in 14 postseason games, as the Kraken advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 2023-24, while the team did not have the best of seasons, Tolvanen had one of his better NHL campaigns. In 81 games, the 25-year-old notched 16 goals and 25 assists for a career-high 41 points. His quick shot and dynamic hands make him an exquisite offensive weapon, someone Francis feels the team needs to keep around for a couple of seasons.

In 264 NHL games, Tolvanen has scored 57 goals and 62 assists, including nine points in 21 playoff appearances.

Tolvanen has also represented his country on a number of occasions. He played for Team Finland at the IIHF World Junior Championships three times, winning gold in 2019. Tolvalanen also won gold with the Finns at the 2016 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship.

According to CapFriendly, the Kraken have 49 of a possible 50 standard player contracts signed for next season.