Jets acquire Brandon Tanev from Kraken for 2027 second-round pick

The Winnipeg Jets acquired forward Brandon Tanev from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027, according to TSN reporter Darren Dreger.

Tanev has 17 points in 60 games in 2024-25, putting him at a pace of just under 25. It’s a modest production total, but Tanev is known more for his grit and work ethic. Tanev represented Canada at the 2024 World Championship, with the team falling short of a medal.

The 33-year-old is considered one of the best examples of an undrafted player carving out a solid NHL career. Tanev wasn’t drafted to the OHL, either, and ultimately took two years off from hockey after spending a year playing U-18 AAA. He would sign with the OJHL’s Markham Waxers in 2010-11 and put up just under a point per game. Two years later, he’d end up in college, where he began to show just how hard of a worker he could be.

Tanev spent his college tenure playing for Providence College, where he won a national championship in 2015. He signed with the Jets in 2016, quickly earning a reputation as a tenacious forechecker and penalty killer. His speed, physicality and his personality on and off the ice – especially those crazy headshot pictures – quickly made him a popular figure.In 2019, Tanev joined the Pittsburgh Penguins, where his role as a bottom-six forward solidified.

His work ethic and ability to get in opponents’ heads made him a bigger name than most bottom-six NHLers. In 2021, Tanev was later selected by Seattle at the NHL Expansion Draft, where he became one of the team’s most popular players. Despite suffering a significant ACL injury in the club’s first campaign, Tanev bounced back and set a career-best of 35 points in 2022-23.