Poached from The Athletic.

Mason Appleton is a 25-year-old power forward who responded to his first opportunity in Winnipeg’s top-nine with a 25-point, 56-game breakout season — essentially a year-long hint that a bigger opportunity might yield a 40-point middle-six player. Given that he earned just $900,000 this season and doesn’t have UFA eligibility until 2023, Appleton gives Seattle a capable third-line player who will definitely outperform his contract and may even creep onto its second line before his Kraken career is over. Stylistically, an Appleton highlight reel would just be a series of plays where he gets a defender’s hip, drops his shoulder and drives the puck to the net until something good happens. -Murat Ates